wrongful termination?

[smbusinessfired]

I live in South Carolina, and have been employeed by a lawn maintenance/landscaping company with approximately 15 employees for 14 months. Until now, I have been lead to believe that I was one of the better workers within this small company. A couple of months ago, my boss offered salaried pay rather than hourly, and I have frequently heard positive feedback regarding my work from customers. I thought that I had accrued 5 days of vacation, and some sick days (as indicated on my check stubs). I chose to use a vacation day yesterday to spend time with my kids on their Spring Break, which my boss agreed to. He said that they would be short of help so I agreed to come in until noon to help out. When I came in, he told me to meet him at his office. When I did, he fired me because of a job that my crew had done that was not satisfactory to him. He cursed at me , gave me my check, told me that Americans were lazy and didn't want to work (Most of his employees are Hispanics - legal? I don't know. I did fill out an I-9 when I was hired), and told me that this would be the last check I ever got from him. I think he would ideally like to have a whole employee load of Hispanics over Americans, from comments he made to me. I was shocked! I asked about the vacation time I had accrued, and he told me that he wasn't going to give me another G.D. thing! I know that other people have quit for workers comp reasons (he refused to pay for needed medical attention for work related injuries). He has told all of us in meetings to be careful, because he didn't have insurance to cover us. I feel like I have been very wrongfully terminated. Does it sound like I have reason to see a lawyer? I know this business doesn't have much, but I think I at least deserve my vacation time.

 

[Beth3]

Your boss is entitled to his opinions, even if you or I don't agree with them. The question is, did he terminate you because of his discriminatory beliefs (which would be unlawful) or because of the poor job he says your crew did - even if that was inaccurate or unfair, that is legal. I'm getting the sense that it was the latter.

One of the legal principals that come into play here is the "single actor" theory. If the same individual who hired you, fires you, it's more difficult to sustain a discrimination complaint based upon national origin or race, as if he intended to illegally discriminate, he wouldn't have hired you in the first place.

The good news is that he DOES have to pay you your vacation pay. South Carolina reg's say that when an employer provides a vacation benefit under company policy, final wages must include unused vacation. Contact your State's Department of Labor.

I'm guessing this guy doesn't have a policy manual or employee handbook, so be sure to hang onto your pay stubs that show you had five days of vacation due you.