Wrongful Termination?

[Cindi86Rai]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hi, this question is for my brother who has Autism.

He was recently hired at a corner store preparing and serving food. His 2nd week on they drastically cut his hours down from 6 hours to 2 hours a day and told him it's because they only need him part-time instead of full-time now. Then his 3rd week he was off the schedule completely and was told when the manager comes back there will be a meeting.
After 4 more days of waiting they ask him to show up for a meeting to see about working something out.
The manager asks him if he burned someone the past week to which he stated he did not recall any event like that happening. The manager said well I saw it on video and will need to terminate you right now.
This meeting happened in the middle of the store with guests all around.
He asked if he could see the video because he was in disbelief and she refused and handed him an envelope with papers inside.
To this day they have not paid him his wages, provided valid reasons for decreasing his hours suddenly and now he is terminated for something he has no recollection of.

My question is if this is a wrongful termination? Is there a way to see this proof even if we don't see it directly can there be a way? Lastly how do we get his paycheck when they said he was going to get a paycard delivered to the store but hasn't received it.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hi, this question is for my brother who has Autism.

He was recently hired at a corner store preparing and serving food. His 2nd week on they drastically cut his hours down from 6 hours to 2 hours a day and told him it's because they only need him part-time instead of full-time now. Then his 3rd week he was off the schedule completely and was told when the manager comes back there will be a meeting.
After 4 more days of waiting they ask him to show up for a meeting to see about working something out.
The manager asks him if he burned someone the past week to which he stated he did not recall any event like that happening. The manager said well I saw it on video and will need to terminate you right now.
This meeting happened in the middle of the store with guests all around.
He asked if he could see the video because he was in disbelief and she refused and handed him an envelope with papers inside.
To this day they have not paid him his wages, provided valid reasons for decreasing his hours suddenly and now he is terminated for something he has no recollection of.

My question is if this is a wrongful termination? Is there a way to see this proof even if we don't see it directly can there be a way? Lastly how do we get his paycheck when they said he was going to get a paycard delivered to the store but hasn't received it.

Was this your brother’s first job?

 

[adjusterjack]

Your brother should file for unemployment compensation, right now.

And he should file with the EEOC to determine if he was a victim of illegal discrimination.

 

[quincy]

Your brother should file for unemployment compensation, right now.

And he should file with the EEOC to determine if he was a victim of illegal discrimination.

It doesn’t sound like he has worked long enough to be eligible for unemployment compensation.

But he certainly will want to press his employer on the missing pay - and possible discrimination.

 

[zddoodah]

An employer does not have to justify reducing an employee's hours. Also, your brother was, presumably, an at-will employee and, therefore, subject to termination at any time for any non-illegal reason. No way for anyone here to know if the termination was for an illegally discriminatory reason.

Google something like "how long to pay final wages in texas" to find out how long it should take and what can be done about it.

 

[cbg]

This is not NECESSARILY a wrongful termination. In an at-will state, which is every state except Montana and even includes Montana in some circumstances (including these), he can be terminated for any reason that is not prohibited by law. He can be lawfully terminated because the day of the week ends in Y. They do not need to have proof of wrongdoing before he can be fired; there does not need to BE any wrongdoing before he can be fired.

Like the posters above, I am a bit suspicious that his autism was a factor. However, given the short duration of his employment, it's going to be a tough case to make; presumably they knew of his condition when he was hired. If they were going to discriminate based on his autism, it would have been easier and cheaper not to hire him in the first place, and in that case it would have been almost impossible to prove. Given the facts we have, I suspect their defense will be yes, we hired him knowing he was autistic and thinking he would be capable, but once in the job it was clear that he could not do the job to standard so we let him go. (And that would likely be a legal firing, if that is the case.) However, I can't see that it would do any harm to discuss the matter with the EEOC and/or a local attorney who practices plaintiff-side employment law.

He MUST be paid for all the time he worked. Under Texas law, since he was fired they have six days to pay him. If it has been that long since his last day, or if it goes beyond that time, he should most definitely file a claim for unpaid wages.

https://www.twc.texas.gov/jobseekers/texas-payday-law#:~:text=If an employee quits, they,as requested by the

 

[Cindi86Rai]

Was this your brother’s first job?

No he's had other jobs.

 

[adjusterjack]

He should file for unemployment compensation.

 

[quincy]

No he's had other jobs.

Thank you for answering my question, Cindi86Rai.

Because your brother has had jobs before this latest one, he should check to see if he is eligible for unemployment benefits. He can do this while still exploring the possibility of illegal discrimination. Here’s a link on how to apply: https://www.twc.texas.gov/jobseekers/applying-unemployment-benefits

I hesitate to mention the following only because this type of claim is probably not worth pursuing but ... because your brother was confronted and fired in front of others in the workplace, accused of burning a customer, there is a possibility he was defamed if the accusation was false and it affected his reputation. A possible defamation claim, along with possible discrimination, are both avenues to explore once your brother has collected his earned wages and applied for unemployment benefits.