Q: Worked 9 years maximum part-time hours for national chain in CA. Summarily fired for one procedural error. Any recourse?
After spending several minutes showing a customer our inventory of gold chains, I accommodated his request to see two of them side-by-side on the counter between us. He grabbed the chains and ran out the door. Store management said nothing and kept scheduling me as usual -- then summarily fired me a month later, disregarding 9 years of completely positive reviews in my personnel record. The dismissal noted I hadn't followed a new -- generally unenforced – procedure to get a customer's ID first and then show only one piece of jewelry at a time. Most significantly -- despite security footage absolutely proving otherwise -- the dismissal incorrectly claimed I had left a jewelry case unopened and accessible, causing the robbery. Personnel told me my honesty, integrity and sales production were never an issue, that the store would provide a good reference for me on demand. Two employment law firms have declined to help me. Am I just out of luck?
A:
Yes you are.
In California you are employed at will unless you have an agreement to the contrary about that status with the employer. The employer of an at will employee can terminate that employee at any time and for any reason or even no reason at all. Being a good employee does not play into the legal rights. If you have an employer stupid enough to let a seasoned employee go over a mistake, you have no recourse but to move on and find an employer who hopefully will treat you better.
Good luck to you.
A:
Assuming you are an at will employee, i.e. you are not protected by collective bargaining agreement or a contract restricting the employer power to terminate you, your employer can fire you for any reason or no reason, except a prohibited reason. The fact the employer terminated you for a "new" and "generally unenforced rule" raises some concerns about whether the reason is a pretext or untruthful.
However, in order to have a legal claim, you would need to prove that the employer's decision to terminate you was motivated at least in part by hostility towards your membership in or association with a protective class like race, religion, gender, gender expression, military service, pregnancy, disability, etc. or opposing illegal conduct.
You should immediately apply for unemployment and get any written recommendations you can to help with your job search.
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