My friend was fired from his place of employment; The supervisor had accused him of swearing at him, and was suspended for 3 days. When he called the employer after the suspension, he was denied his job and was never told he was fired, merely he couldn't work at the location.

2 months later, when the former employee tried to collect unemployment, the Employer stated the reason he was fired was he had Threatened to Kill the Supervisor, and later Threatened to Kill the Owner. The employer also stated that several witnesses were present, and reported the incident. He was eventually denied unemployment.

He appealed his unemployment, and won. The employer had no evidence of the incident, no statements from witnesses, and changed the story several times. The court ruled against the employer for that reason, as his story did not make sense and he had no proof.

My Question is, due to the severity of the claims against him, and the fact they remain on his employment record, I'm encouraging him to file a Lawsuit, mainly for damages and to have these claims removed from his record.

I know the case will be easy to prove in a Small Claims court, as it was easy to prove in the Unemployment Hearing, as the Employer stated on record several times witnesses were there, and had no statements on there behalf, as none existed. Would a Lawsuit be worth it for him?

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Originally Posted by sjethro00

Would a Lawsuit be worth it for him?

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Hello again, jethro:

Nahhh. Sure, the lies were severe, but they weren't sustained at the hearing and there's no record of them anywhere that can be used against your friend. Plus, he won his case, so he has no (monetary) damages.

excon

excon, wouldn't his loss of wages and initial denial of unemployment be considered monetary damages? What do you think?

I have to disagree with excon here. The firing was without merit. The employer has gone ON RECORD making accusation they have failed to prove. The employee can, at least sue for lost wages from the time of termination. If he can prove that he lost even one potential job because of the lies from the employer, he can wind up owning the employer's company.

Your friend should consult an attorney. A case like this is very likely to be handled on a contingency basis, so it won't cost up anything upfront.

He had no loss of unemployment since the claim was latter accepted, and they will pay from the date he filed, ( so he lost no unemployment income)

And I also am going "huh" as to why he waited two months to file for unemployment. Something just seems wrong here. Does not most people file a day or two latter.

Hello Scott:

Why is this firing any different than any other firing where the employee is an "at will" employee? True, the employer didn't need to lie, but his lies weren't sustained at the unemployment hearing. So no, I don't think he's entitled to lost wages.

However, I agree that if he can prove he lost even one potential job because of the lies, then he has a case. But, of course, we're speculating here. The OP didn't present this as his problem.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Excon, wouldn't his loss of wages and initial denial of unemployment be considered monetary damages?

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Yes, there's some measure of damages here, but certainly not worth suing over.

excon

He may have gotten his unemployment, but he was fired because of lies. While an employer can fire an employee at will, they can't fire them because of lies. If the employer had kept his stupid mouth shut, there would be no case. But, because the firing was based on falsified statements then there is a case. That means he can sue for lost wages. Unemployment doesn't pay full wages.

There was just a case on LI of a teacher fired allegedly because she was a witch. She lost because the school district was able to prove the firing was for other reasons. That wouldn't be the case here. The employer made a public record that the firing was due to threats that where never made and therefore falsified.

Despite it was not sustained in court, its still in writing, in his employee record.
I'm not 100% if it will effect him in the future, in terms of finding a good paying job, that does full references/background checks.

He was able to find work, granted it was at a fast food place, which hired him on the spot, and did no references on him.

Maybe I'm wrong in saying he should sue a slander lawsuit, but how do you go about having that removed from his record? He's an immigrant to this country, and this was his first job, I don't want to it to be one of his last. I agree, it might not be worth it financially, but if it means proving to future employers that it didn't happen, it would be worth it

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

And I also am going "huh" as to why he waited two months to file for unemployment. Something just seems wrong here. does not most people file a day or two latter.

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He had a full time seasonal job outside of the one he was fired from. He was working 45-50 hours a week there, and about 30 hours at the one he was fired from. I don't think he was able to collect unemployment. Once he was laid off from the seasonal job, he filed for unemployment and was denied. Most of the income he had was from the job he was fired at, as he worked there longer. If he was able to file unemployment sooner, it was my fault, as the only way he knew about, and how to file unemployment was from me.

I hate to point this out but since we are hearing this situation 2nd hand from you there is a possibility that there could be a bit of truth to the employers story. Who knows?

Hello again, jethro:

I don't know what record you're talking about. There is no such thing as an "employment record", per se. His file in the unemployment office, IS NOT an employment record.

The only other record we're talking about here, is his previous employer. In fact, he doesn't want his "record" removed from his former employer either. Because, if he's really looking for grounds to sue his former employer, then as both Scott and I suggested, he'd very much like to have his former employer badmouth him.

excon

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

I hate to point this out but since we are hearing this situation 2nd hand from you there is a possiblility that there could be a bit of truth to the employers story. Who knows??

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Actually, I've done a lot of stuff for him. I was a witness to the incident, as I was working there at the time... nothing happened. My friend has only lived here for a year, a lot of stuff is very new to him. He didn't even know how to file unemployment, or even much about unemployment if it wasn't for me.

This is the same company that has fired many people, and falsely accused them of doing something, I was fired from there. His case has been the most extreme in terms of accusations. It's also not a coincidence the supervisor who accused him of it eventually took over his shift/hours in addition to his own, and became a full time employee with benefits only after the employee was fired.

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello again, jethro:
I don't know what record you're talking about. There is no such thing as an "employment record", per se. His file in the unemployment office, IS NOT an employment record.

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Sorry, I meant the "Employee Warning Record". From my experience, these are part of your records (and can be obtained via Open Record Statute) .

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Originally Posted by sjethro00

Sorry, I meant the "Employee Warning Record". From my experience, these are part of your records (and can be obtained via Open Record Statute) .

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Hello again, jethro:

I've never heard of such a record. What government agency keeps this record? Actually, I question it's existence.

excon

Jethro00, it would be wise for your friend to not use this previous employer as a reference, da. That would bring his "employment record" into new hands and be a problem. There is no emloyment record that follows you wherever you go like your school records when you were a child.