Would You Believe This?

MuscleAvatar · #1 January 2nd, 2006, 12:29 PM

I lost my job because I called in sick on Friday. They probably just thought I wanted a three day weekend because it was New Years Eve. HELLO! They heard me coughing up a lung practically all day before. What kind of people were these?

Terrible place to work for.

Can a company fire you for calling in sick after putting out a memo saying that you should stay home if you are sick?

xythan_shadow · #2 January 2nd, 2006, 01:19 PM

Ouch man, sorry to hear that.

I hope you went to see the doctor that day.

I'm not sure the legal ramifications of this whole situation, so I will kowtow from that part.

Corwin · #3 January 2nd, 2006, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuscleAvatar

Can a company fire you for calling in sick after putting out a memo saying that you should stay home if you are sick?

I am not a lawyer, but from what I do know, every state is different.

First, your company probably has a grievance policy. You should file a grievance for unfair termination. If you did go to a doctor, get a letter from him saying you were sick. If you didn't, you might want to get a notarized letter from someone who knows that you were sick -- preferably a friend and someone not related to you, but if it has to be a relative, that is better than nothing. If you cannot file the grievance in person, send it via certified mail (return receipt request) for the sake of documentation. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

You might also want to apply for unemployment. The company can challenge this "for cause", but may not. Even if they do, you can fight it (and by filing a grievance, you put the company on notice that you think the termination was unfair).

Talk to a lawyer. Bring all your documentation and understand that there won't be any quick fix and fighting this could easily take months or years. It might be easier to collect the unemployment and get a new job somewhere else.

Good luck.

MuscleAvatar · #4 January 2nd, 2006, 03:52 PM

The thing is, I was still under the probation term of my employment, so they can fire you at will, whatever the cause may be or no cause at all.

Still it sucks knowing that you were just following company guidelines for being sick, I should have probably asked does this apply for probation people or regular employees. If they had said for both then I probably could have done something.

They didn't even give me a chance to go to the doctors. They called me at 11:15 that morning. Bastards. I would never want to work for such a shithole of a company again. A COLLECTION AGENCY!!

glassbear · #5 January 5th, 2006, 09:26 AM

I managed collection Agencies for about ten years. At one company I had to go through a management training course. About the fifth week of the course we got to the part about turnover. They had a documented policy that said that they expected at least 60% turnover rate. Even if you have good employees you were supposed to make life so miserable for your midrange collectors that they would quit. If that didnt work, you were supposed to make sure that most of the incoming trainees couldne make it. This prevented the company from having to pay out in taxes, insurance, and other benefits.

I quit the next day and switched careers.

If you have been doing this type of work for any length of time, the skills that you have learned are a great fit into the world of HR. If you can spin yourself properly, this might be a more psychiclly rewarding field. After a year or so doing the grunt work (filing, typing, reference calling, etc.) there are any number of ways to advance. Every company worth its salt has an HR department and you will always be ble to find a job.

Good Luck

Voyager · #6 January 5th, 2006, 04:38 PM

Hey guys...just wanted to jump in here. I work in Corporate Training, which many times is under the HR function. Can tell you that HR is not the nicest department either. By one HR rep's own description, they are there to protect the company against the employees, and will throw an employee under the bus if that is what it takes.

Knew an administrative assistant who was repeatedly verbally assaulted by her supervisor, who had a horrible temper. When she went to HR about it, she was told, "Look, you are an administrative assistant, he is a Vice President. He is right and you are wrong." She later transferred to another job.

And in the current job search, have come across several HR Reps with major attitudes...as if they had to prove themselves by insulting candidates...who I had to muster every gram of calm in my body not to raise my voice in an initial interview.

Guess there are drawbacks in each profession...

V

glammaman2000 · #7 January 5th, 2006, 06:12 PM

...there are no perfect situations(although"inherited wealth"has a nice ring to it)Still,I can't help but think that you've dodged a bullet.Working in a collection agency must be rough!

brent · #8 January 7th, 2006, 12:08 AM

Don't forget there are plenty of states, like here in Nevada, where employees have absolutely no rights at all. Employers gladly fire people here for being gay, jewish, or what have you. It really depends on your state.

pdxflex · #9 January 18th, 2006, 11:12 PM

A lot has been said here before, but I think you are better off anyway. As others stated, if you work in an "at will" state, especially in a probationary period, then no cause for release is needed. Unemployment rules differ from state-to-state, too, with termination reason sometimes part of the deal of whether you collect or not. I wouldn't be surprised that if you filed for unemployment that the company would challenge it because of those costs are indirectly assessed back to them.

Collection agencies are notorious for being high-turnover places. They often have moving and impossible to reach goals for employees, violate their own policies (and often the law), and more than occasionally let people go right before "bonus" periods. Cases are referred only after the company has exhausted its own resources (and pretty much written the money off).

I hope you can find meaningful, sustaining work. I personally left the for-profit world because life seems too short to be only chasing money. And I DO work for an HR where it isn't only about protecting the employer.

wbhunk · #10 January 20th, 2006, 12:07 AM

Yup, I'm an HR consultant, and everyone here's already nailed the salient points. Apply for unemployment, look for another job, and by gosh, find something you want to do, instead of just working.

As for HR departments, they are what the company wants to make them. Smart companies see them as another strategic piece of the puzzle, especially in an economy as service-oriented and knowledge-based as the US.