A friend of mine started a job about 2 months ago. She thought she was doing a good. She had very little training as the person who did the job was gone when she got there. Today her boss calls her in and says they are letting her go and bringing the old person back because she is not catching on quick enough. The boss says he never wanted to let the other person go, it was his management company's decision. She left a decent paying job for this position. The problem I see here is that she was never told that there was a problem until she was let go. Should we contact the state labor department to file a complaint or is he within his rights as an employer? Sorry I am upset for her and partially trying to vent but would appreciate any feedback on this matter.

Unless she had a contract of some sort, it may be hard to do much. In my state, it is a right to work state, meaning that I can fire at any time, and they can quit at any time. Of course you may be able to look at unemployment pay if she has worked there long enough. If she was fired for discrimination of some sort, it may be a different case.

Good luck.

Call the labor board and they can send you the state labor laws.

New Jersey does not have a "Right to Work" law, so she may be covered by certain "implied covenants" pertaining to the Labor Laws of your state, even without a contract.

In any case, I am not a lawyer and that sounds just like a lawyer question. There are many "ask a lawyer" sites online, with one of them listed below.


http://www.geocities.com/heartland/lake/3339/askalawyer.html

Research.

it sounds like a performance issue to me. "she is not catching on quick enough". if they can demostrate an average time for a person to learn the job, and it takes her time that is excessive of the average, it really doesn't matter what they said about the other guy. she may also have been on a probation period, to under any extent, allows termination of her postion for really any reason.

I told her to ask him to give specific examples of where she is not catching on. He said "Dave" wants to come back because he did not like the job he went to and has 20 years experience and knows the company inside and out and she is just not working out. He could not give specific examples however. I think he is just worryin about having more time for golf.

not sure what to say i manage a call center in Texas. The first 90 days is an eval period where the employer or empoylee can terminate with out any notice. Furthermore Texas is a right to work state, which means you can be terminated at anytime. Now what keeps me and my boss inline is a claim for unempolyment. Every claim that is filled against us, our rates increase. Did your friend sign a contract? Pret is hitting the nail on the coffin. Your friend can join me in looking for a new job. a little fyi Call centers are the worst jobs. They have the highest rate of sickness, employee fatigue, and emplyee unhappiness. Remember money does not equal a good job.

Originally posted by flatso
A friend of mine started a job about 2 months ago. She thought she was doing a good. She had very little training as the person who did the job was gone when she got there. Today her boss calls her in and says they are letting her go and bringing the old person back because she is not catching on quick enough. The boss says he never wanted to let the other person go, it was his management company's decision. She left a decent paying job for this position. The problem I see here is that she was never told that there was a problem until she was let go. Should we contact the state labor department to file a complaint or is he within his rights as an employer? Sorry I am upset for her and partially trying to vent but would appreciate any feedback on this matter.

employment at will is simply that, the employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any time for any reason (assuming compliance with rules like title VII (not race gender religion age etc...)). Im afraid that unless she was signed onto a contract the recourse will be slim....however the boss would always be safer not mentioning any reason at all...how old is your friend? if she is over 40 she can make an age discrimination claim, otherwise im not sure. you should contact a law firm that specializes in the employee side of HR law and descrive the situation, but im telling you i dont think that there is enough cause here for an action :(

With only working for the company for two months, your friend was still within her probationary period (first 3 months of employment..longer or shorter as deemed by the company); a period in which the company is evaluating her skills and job performance more heavily than usual. I'm sure your friend signed that she read and reviewed the employee handbook/policy guide where her probationary period as well at the company's "at-will" employment policy was outlined. This probabtionary period allows employers to terminate their relationship with the employee within the first three months of employment for ANY reason (except obviously those barred by law: race, gender & disability) without explanation.