Q: Can you be fired for a work schedule change you weren’t notified of?
Hi. Every week I take a photo of my work schedule that’s posted each Sunday. This past Sunday, according to my schedule I was supposed to come in on Wednesday. When I arrived today (Wednesday), my boss told me he had changed the schedule and that I was actually supposed to come in on Tuesday (Yesterday). I asked how I was supposed to know (since I hadn’t been in since Sunday) and why he didn’t call and he said it was because he just assumed I was an unreliable no-show. Then he fired me for not showing up to work on Tuesday - even after I showed him my photo of the schedule. He said that he couldn’t see the dates on the photo (my name is at the bottom of the list so it wasn’t captured in that pic but the date of when I took the photo is still relevant) and asked me to leave. How was I meant to know if I wasn’t at work until my assigned shift and no one told me? Is this legal?
A: Unfortunately, there is no violation here. While this situation is unfair to you, you live in an at-will employment state, meaning you or your employer may terminate the employment relationship for any reason or for no reason at all (as long as the reason is not discriminatory).
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