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Dennisrw · Dec 20, 2009, 01:59 AM

I have had a spotless record where I work since 2001 until this month and year of 2009. I was an assistant manager and my personal life effected my job. I lost my mother in May, later my daughter got in a car accident didn't know if she would survive, my son who served in iraq lost contact with him. But the thanks of God he is save and home now and my daughter is doing great. All these personal situations affected my job. I got depression and tried to work it all myself. But couldn't sleep or relax it effected my work and I called in sick but got others to run the store until my return. My dm called me. I told him of my situation and I got suspened, then fired. What I thought was family at my work turned out my dm turning his back and firing me wondering if there are people out there in this situation and what you did if you got your job back or not. I can't afford an attorny to fight this madness of unjustified termination must be Arizona a right to work state. No family feeling.. alone, and deserted

s_cianci · Dec 20, 2009, 09:10 AM

Unless you have a contract or other legally-binding agreement, you are at 'at-will" employee,meaning that they can terminate you at any time for any reason (except discrimination or something else that's protected by law) and, conversely, you can quit at any time for any reason. Whether is was necessary or reasonable for your DM to fire you is certainly open to discussion but has no legal bearing on the situation at hand. On a personal note, have you maybe tried speaking with your DM and advising him/her that you've since come to terms with the personal issues that in the past were affecting your job? Maybe you could be reinstated or transferred to another location. After all, if you were an assistant manager for 8 years, you're obviously familiar with the inner workings of the organization and,a s a result, probably worth your weight in gold in a business that probably has an extremely high turnover rate and expends much time and resources on training and re-training people. Did your store's performance decline as a result of your taking sick leave? You were an assistant manager, so that would imply that there was a manager who's above you who would've been there to pick up the slack for you. These are just some things you could discuss with your DM when making your case.

excon · Dec 20, 2009, 09:24 AM

Hello D:

Arizona has nothing to do with it. "Right to work", is a union issue. The "at will" provision cianci is talking about, is nationwide... So, you have no case...

Times are tough. But, your news, overall, ISN'T bad. Get yourself together and go back to work.

excon

Fr_Chuck · Dec 20, 2009, 02:01 PM

Yes, had you asked the company for assitance though most likely its employee assistance for abuse and mental health issues then they may have had to give you time off to deal with this and get professional help.

But you did not do that, and they fired you first.

You have no law suit but you should appeal this to the DM boss and to the company HR, explain that when you told the DM your problems you expected help though the company employee programs, not to be fired.

JBeaucaire · Dec 20, 2009, 04:06 PM

In touchy situations like this where the legality is not obviously on your side in any meaningful way, you need to ask yourself first, "Do I want to work there or not?"

If no, then drop it and it move on with your life, the sooner you get it out of your head the better you will be. While job hunting resist the urge to dog your prior job or boss, it will work against you.

If yes, well, then this is harder... you will need to swallow all your pride and especially any sense of entitlement you're harboring and go ask for your job back... or ask for a new job based on what they have available. Cite your prior work record carefully, not as an explanation of why they have to hire you, rather a good example of what you've accomplished in the past and are eager to do so again.

You really have to do this correctly, there is no entitlement... every time you cashed a paycheck from them you evened the score, that's all that was owed and accepted.

Choose well. Job's are a blessing, but a proper attitude about it all is even more so.