you're fired!!!!

[ms. bing]

i finally got fired.
and she couldn't have done it better if she had wrapped it up with a big bow on top and a note that said "please litigate".

on monday my boss (the nutbag) comes to me and asks me to work on thursday. i said "um, no." she said "even if you come in at, like, 5pm?" and i said "um, no". she then said, "ok, i'll ask tiffany to come back in around then".
yesterday they had a meeting i can never attend because i'm in class until almost 5pm. when i went to pick up my check it said that everyone who works that day must work until the end of the big dinner party they were catering because they needed all the help they can get. failure to do so would result in termination. i thought, "lucky i don't normally work that day".
last night she called me. i didn't answer the phone. the voicemail said for me to call her.
today i called her. she called me back. she said that they had decided yesterday that everyone who works for them had to work that party thursday night or they were fired. since i wouldn't work it and also couldn't come in for my regular shift on friday (my daughter's daycare is closed, they've known this for two weeks) that it just wasn't working out. she said she had heard i was going to put in my notice next week. she got all insulted and said that since that was the case she would simply accept my resignation effective immediately.
in the state of texas, most of this happens to be illegal. normally i wouldn't care, but the other people who work for her have children and such as well, and she treats them like property. she even has a habit of referring to them as "my mexicans", which really hacks me off. most of them are also afraid to quit, despite legal status, because they have limited language skills and are afriad they won't get another job.
there is a growing trend in this country among employers to take advantage of this situation with immigrant labor and exploit them as much as possible. but i have news for her. i do not have limited language skills. i'm not on probation (another one of her favorite hiring pools is the local halfway house) and i am not otherwise in a position to keep my mouth shut and be treated however she wants. i'm an intelligent, educated woman for whom this was a part time job to help me get through college. and i have been waiting for her to do just this so i can go through the proper channels and bite her where the sun don't shine.

what she is doing is wrong. i am going to expose it. in a sense, i took one for the team.
by the way, i already have another job for fall semester. all i have to do is get through the summer.

[ms. bing]

found it.

the family medical leave act requires that an employer allow any eligible employee at least 12 weeks leave, paid or unpaid, to care for a child, parent or other family member.
at my former job you are allowed 3 days per month and after that you are fired. they came up with this rule around january. it doesn't matter to them how long you've been working there or why you are missing work.
part of the reason they fired me was because i couldn't work when they wanted to since i had to take care of my daughter. they had plenty of notice. i don't qualify because i haven't been there long enough. but plenty of other employees do.

[Cruise Director]

Originally posted by ms. bing

in the state of texas, most of this happens to be illegal.



I'm not saying that I either agree or disagree but I do have some questions. Utah is a 'right to work State' which is the same as Texas. In Utah that means I can terminate an associate at any time for any reason as long as it is not discriminatory. I did a bit of a goolge search and could not find any information on Texas but I am curious as to what law she broke by terminating your employment?

[Koliedrus]

Changing company policy on a whim in the middle of a work-week? Regardless of legalities that's just fucking WRONG.

Federal regulations act as an umbrella for employment activity. You may have something with the Family Leave Act but I'm fairly sure that you'll have to provide proof that you requested a leave of absence for a consecutive period of time. It may not help with, say, one day per week.

You're automatically covered by Fed and State regulations. Agreements drawn up between you and your employer are legally binding. If you have a contractual agreement, I can only hope that a circumstance such as this was worded and signed by both you and the company.

Don't make the mistake of thumbing your nose when think you have a handfull of good cards. Start negotiating the DOL voicemail system and start asking questions:

http://www.dol.gov/dol/contact/contact-phonecallcenter.htm

Keep notes. Take names. Write down details while they're still fresh in your mind.

I have a contract with my employer but it doesn't cover individual days taken off for sick kids or daycare closure. I pretty much have to rely on my current boss (they change frequently) to take my work ethic and past performance into account and hope that they have a soul. During one flu season, Sid and I had to trade out taking days off to take care of the kids. When questioned about absences I gave details and stated that I was taking care of my family.

"You have a 'family' here that depends on you, too."

After hearing that, I calculated the distance from my elbow to the speaker's nose (I chose a different option).

Keep doing what you're doing, Bing. Don't let them see your cards.

[Billyman]

I say drop the whole thing and move on.

This isn’t about legalities, company policy, regulations, agreements or any of that hub-bub. It’s about the audacity of one and anger and revenge of another.

We all know you hated the job bing, we all know you and you’re boss didn’t get along. You already had all the reasons to quit and find something else but you were/are like a lot of us; not happy, would like to find other but the paycheck at the end of the week makes you forget about it for a little while. The next week rolls around, more bitching and complaining goes on, another paycheck…….wash and repeat.

You’re boss was looking for any good reason to get rid of you and you know that. Does that make it right? Well hell no, but that boss and job has caused you enough headache, anguish and anger. Carrying it on further isn’t going to help you in the long run.

Take being dismissed from the job as the needed push you’ve needed to find something else, something more, and something better.

I swear you’ll be a lot less stressed.

I’m looking for a housekeeper by the way. :D

[ms. bing]

after a bit of time the initial anger has passed. most of what she did/does is reprehensible. i was not nearly as angry about being relieved of my position as i was about allowing her to continue to treat good people the way she does. but in the end they are allowing her to treat them that way, no?
the fact that i know what she did was wrong and illegal is enough for me. i'm not going to have any problem finding another job as i now qualify for the "bilingual" category, which makes me an asset at almost any job in this state.
it is hard for me to swallow the fact that people out there behave this way in their business and prosper at it.
i would have made a hell of an abolitionist.

[Koliedrus]

You have two options. Billy did a good job voicing one of them.

Now (and as it always has been) it's a choice only you can make.

Justice vs Comfort

That's a tough one. Most people choose to turn their backs on the past when it's painful to recall. Now that you're no longer being treated unfairly, you can turn your back and walk boldly into the future.

You have your family to think about as well as the red tape that's involved with any legal process. And God help you if the media gets wind of you making changes. You may end up being labeled as a troublemaker.

No pushing either way from me. You are obviously intelligent, educated and able to make decisions based on your circumstances.

You have my support no matter which direction you choose.

(Personally, I'd stomp the bitch in the ground, but that's just me.)

[Uberwonder]

I would at least take a shot at getting her.
I would also do it for the rest of them, you can take care of yourself.