I have been working with ABM Engineering for 24 years with a clean record, and no problems. I was hired by a different manager within the same company, and now he wants to fire me because i made one mistake. What can i do? What are my legal rights? I appreciate all responses. Thank you.
Call the local Bar Association and ask them if they can put you in contact with an appropriate attorney. You should be able to get a basic appraisal of your options for free.
- I am not a lawyer nor an official representative of this board. My memory of similar threads though is that the above is always the answer. Legal questions are discouraged on this site due to regional differences, privacy, because someone may be misrepresenting themselves as a real lawyer, or other problems. The end result is that either way you need to get into contact with a real, local lawyer for a reliable answer.
Are you a member of a union, or do you have a contract? Was your “mistake” important enough that they have a legitimate reason to fire you? Are you thinking that you have the right to force them to keep you on? Of course you do have one right: the right to look for a job somewhere else.
On a not legal advice basis: you’re pretty much screwed. Unless you can prove they fired you for racial discrimination reasons, or religious reasons, or a few other reasons, they have the right to terminate you at will.
You have the right to apply for (and will probably get) unemployment. Your mistake is probably an excuse to get rid of excess personnel, but they are likely within their legal rights to can you.
From the registration agreement:
I would advise you to consult with an attorney, who will know, among other things, which state you’re in. Also, “one mistake” covers a lot of territory. Did you spray paint your stapler red? Did you sleep with your boss’s SO? Just what did you do, and where did you do it?
Note that answering these questions might identify you, so if confidentiality is a concern, don’t answer. However, you’re not going to get much useful information if you don’t answer.
ANY answer you get from anyone on this Board, regardless of how good an attorney they are, would be immediately suspect, since it will be based upon incomplete information. That’s why the attorneys here won’t give specific answers to such a question.
Contact a local attorney who specializes in employment law. That’s the only person who can give you the answers you seek.
I’m reasonably certain this depends a great deal on where you are. Here where I now live you told essentially the truth – NC is an “at will” state with very minor exceptions. But there are states where your comment would be misleading – an employee has certain rights as against an employer regardless of contract, discrimination, etc.
Are there any states that haven’t codified “employment at will?” In other words, absent a contract or discrimination against a legally protected class (age, race, gender, religion, etc.), can’t anyone in the US be fired at any time for any or no reason?
See the various “exceptions” sections here: At-will employment - Wikipedia
One mistake is sometimes all it takes to get fired, I suspect it was a doozy though. Do you think you are being let go just to prevent full retirement or something like that? If so, yeah you “could” have a legal leg to stand on, but to echo everone else, go see a real lawyer.
Talk to a lawyer.
At will doesn’t always mean you have no rights. In addition to protected classes of employees, sometimes an employment policy will be enforceable, such as granting you a right to certain procedural safeguards before being disciplined. Big companies, especially, like all kinds of personnel policies that might be helpful (although they always state in the beginning they’re not enforceable–sometimes they are)
Assuming that you are not in a union and don’t have a contract, there’s a pretty good chance you are screwed because of “at will employment.” Obviously you should consider discussing this with an attorney in your jurisidiction.
That said, I would investigate whether the employer has an internal grievance procedure. Also, if you have a good relationship with somebody who is high up in the company, I would consider scheduling a meeting with that person to see if any strings can be pulled on your behalf.