Got Fired From Work

[Keanu]

My first time ever getting fired. The boss didn't like me, and my role in trying to unionize our department resulted in pretty brutal discrimination, ex, i was placed on permanent 12 hour midnights while the rest of the supervisors (some much newer then me were rotating day shifts). I got in trouble for another employee apparently not doing their job on night. The boss claimed we were on the internet and screwing around. Well every shift was spending a lot of their time on the net. Other supervisors got caught doing much worse (having sex at work with a co-worker under them, stealing, ect), and didn't even get written up. It seems all that matters is how much the boss likes you and when and how severely they intend to implement the rules.

So here I am, wondering if I went to the laboour board would there be a case at all? What avenues shoould I take? I'm still stunned.

 

[fuji]

Talk to an employment lawyer. If you really did break the rules I doubt you could get reinstated, and from the sounds of it, I doubt you would WANT to be reinstated. You have (and it sounds like, for some time, have had) no future in that organization. Holding onto your job via purely procedural/legal arguments might be/have-been possible but really there's no chance you'd get a promotion or any sort of interesting advancement. If there's no chance for you to grow in that job, why on earth would you want to be there?

I agree your union organizing activities likely contributed to your downfall. If I were your boss, I'd probabably be out to get you if you were militating for a union as well. I'd try my best to "do it legal", but I would find a way to get you. To be honest it sounds like you've had kind of an "us versus them" hostile attitude towards your former employer, and perhaps other supervisors do not come across as having the attitude problem that your boss perceived that you had.

So, really, the question you should be taking to the labour lawyer is whether or not you got an adequate amount of severance, or whether by going to court you could get more.

The labour board is probably not the right venue for this, but a labour lawyer will be able to tell you that. I'd guess it's not the right venue because you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar. That other people had their hands in the cookie jar won't matter to the board--a complicated argument about discrimination probably needs a court.

Anyway, a labour lawyer should be willing to extend a free telephone conversation to you where they'll spend 20-30min listening to your situation, at which point they will tell you what your legal options are and an estimate of your chances for success and what you might be able to get out of it. It won't cost you a cent, and it'll be better advice than you'll get for the same price here on terb.

Good lawyers won't just try and convince you to use their services either. I had a very different sort of dispute with a former employer once and went to a labour lawyer for a free consultation. To my surprise, the guy recommended a labour board approach in my case, which cost me nothing and earned him nothing, and that turned out to be very good advice as I got 95% of what I asked for. A good lawyer will give you the best advice he can, confident that enough cases will come along that he can make money on that he doesn't need to chase ambulences or lie to drum up more clients.

 

[Pargolfer]

Keanu,,IMHO,the real issue for you was...

trying to organize a Union at work....Employers don't relate well to that type of activity...worse than getting caught screwing someone (male or female ) at work...

My first time ever getting fired. The boss didn't like me, and my role in trying to unionize our department resulted in pretty brutal discrimination,

 

[Papi Chulo]

How long were you employed there?

 

[bsi]

The other guys are right, the union thing was most of the problem.

Reading your post, your story seems to be "yeah I did stuff but other guys did worse than me". That argument rarely goes anywhere in a legal environment.

Although this job is probably done, you should keep that in mind for future jobs. Relying on the knife to land on the other guy is not a good strategy.

 

[Keanu]

Anyway, a labour lawyer should be willing to extend a free telephone conversation to you where they'll spend 20-30min listening to your situation, at which point they will tell you what your legal options are. It won't cost you a cent, and it'll be better advice than you'll get for the same price here on terb.

I definately don't want a job in the organization again. For all the grief endured, a discrimination lawsuit is the best I can hope for. The cost of a labour lawyer was my main concern as I am not willing to blow a lot of cash for nothing. Thanks for the reply, Fuji. Without a union to go to, I guess they can and will do anything they want.

 

[Never Compromised]

The money that you spend on lawyers might be more than what you might get in compensation. Believe me, they will find a way to fire you.

 

[Keanu]

How long were you employed there?

29 months total, 2 promotions to the third department.

 

[dragnbiz]

Take note that if you were fired for cause (with a reason) then legally the company is required to give you ZERO severance. Any severance they give you will be to make you go away quietly.

 

[calloway]

Do you want your job back or are you simply looking for severence and compensation? First... go get laid and get rid of the immediate stress. Then start documenting the facts... not rumours... the facts. If possible... try to get written statements from other employees and supervisors to confirm your information.

But at the end of the day... your employer can fire you for any reason they want. The only issue is how much severance they owe you.

http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut...52/_s.7_0_A/7_0_252/_l/en?docid=STEL02_038207
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/factsheets/fs_termination.html

 

[Keanu]

Take note that if you were fired for cause (with a reason) then legally the company is required to give you ZERO severance. Any severance they give you will be to make you go away quietly.

I'm not getting a dime of severence.

 

[danmand]

I think you have a good case, if you had several promotions, and never had any warnings in writing. Generally, a company has to put an employee on notice, i.e. give him a warning and a chance to correct the problem.

There are of course exceptions for severe infractions like stealing.

 

[Esco!]

Can you not get a few months of unemployment insurance??????

 

[gentle_lover]

I'm not getting a dime of severence.

Guess you gotta stop hobbying now

 

[calloway]

Take note that if you were fired for cause (with a reason) then legally the company is required to give you ZERO severance. Any severance they give you will be to make you go away quietly.

That's not the case. It depends on how long you've been employed.

The following specifies the periods of notice an employer must give an employee based on length of employment:

Length of Employment: Notice Required

Less than 3 months - None
3 months but less than 1 year - 1 week
1 year but less than 3 years - 2 weeks
3 years but less than 4 years - 3 weeks
4 years but less than 5 years - 4 weeks
5 years but less than 6 years - 5 weeks
6 years but less than 7 years - 6 weeks
7 years but less than 8 years - 7 weeks
8 years or more - 8 weeks

 

[Keanu]

First... go get laid and get rid of the immediate stress.
But at the end of the day... your employer can fire you for any reason they want. The only issue is how much severance they owe you.

I banged my girl yesterday but really am not in the mood. I saved up enough money to hold me for a few months, not a problem there. I'd love to go out and totally get hammered and party but not knowing what I'll be doing on Monday, is keeping me down. I have a $1900 paycheque coming and $5000 in vacation pay. They owe me another $600 in missing pay but I doubt that will see my bank account.

I know more then enough to lose them the contract (a large one) but that's not my style. I'm not the bitter vengeful type, but it's pretty upsetting the way politics played out here. I feel like a black guy in the south around 1950.

 

[Keanu]

Can you not get a few months of unemployment insurance??????

Ei wouldn't help me much. The rate pay of my job was crap $16. I got by on 100 hours of overtime a month. That was where the real money was made. It feels good to not always be working but man, I was treated like a dog. The other employees couldn't believe it. In the mean time, I'll have to likely get a instant job somewhere to get a little bit of money coming in for a few months or more until something else comes in .The next time you're at the mall and see a security guard getting 12.5 an hour depressed at the food court, don't laugh. It could be me, lol.

 

[Never Compromised]

Can you not get a few months of unemployment insurance??????

The rules have changed. Fired with cause may mean no benefits.

 

[Esco!]

I was treated like a dog. The other employees couldn't believe it.

If thats the case then maybe its a good thing you got canned.
Sometimes life hands you something bad so something good can come out of it later.
Perhaps a much happier work environment awaits you somewhere else

EDIT: Ok, that was straight out of Dr. Phil's book, I'm gonna go sit in the corner and be sick now

 

[calloway]

I feel like a black guy in the south around 1950.

Sorry Keanu... but you lost me on that attempt at humour. Unless you're black and you lived in the south around 1950... there is no comparison.