Wrongful termination 3

[kawh1]

Here's the short story:

S - supervisor
M - manager

I accepted a job offer that stated I was to be paid X amount for a month, and was to be later given a performance review in which my salary would increase to Y amount. This is a full time, "permanent" position.

The employer kept putting off the review by a couple of months, until I finally asked S more than once that he agreed to set up a review. S agreed to ask management about the salary increase as previously agreed on my job acceptance during the review. He even went as far to say that I was doing an acceptable job, but needed improvement in certain areas. S gave me two choices of assignments to do in the near future.

Couple days later, I asked again about my salary increase. I was then told by S that I was not getting the increase due to unsatisfactory performance. When I asked for details, he refered me to management. After a meeting between M and S, they called me into office and said I was fired for not doing satisfactory work.

This completely contradicts what S previously stated, since he was going along with the plan of increasing my salary as agreed on my job offer. It's obvious that M (who has no idea of what I do in the company) plainly did not want to increase my salary, even if that was the agreement. They wanted to keep me around based on my old salary that was supposed to last only thirty days, after I worked there for three times as long.

I don't know how to handle this situation. I could sue, but that would take more money than it's worth. I hate being taken advantage of, especially when the pay conditions were in writing. What's worse is M saying how S reported to him that I was doing a bad job - when clearly that wasn't what S told me when I had a meeting with him. I could even tell S's eyes welled up with tears during the meeting. S is M's hand puppet.

Do I just forget about the incident and move on? A fistfight would have felt good in the office, but it would have been nowhere near prudent. I'm also worried about putting that job down on the resume (even if I don't list them as reference), if prospective employers call them, they might tell the lies they told me.

 

[kawh1]

Thank you all for your advice and kind words.

You obviously can't deal with employers that are dishonest - because dishonest people believe in their lies, and factual reasoning falls on deaf ears. I would counter the manager's accusations, only for him to bring something else up. He wouldn't go back and revisit his accusations when I countered them. The manager stopped talking to me after I disagreed.

I was fired because I asked them to honor the job acceptance agreement. They weren't unhappy with my performance prior to me asking for the agreed pay increase. I was already out of probation. While the supervisor did ask for improvements (and felt I was doing a good enough job to ask management for the pay increase), that was one week before I was fired. There wasn't time to show improvement because of what I was working on. As a matter of fact, the supervisor wouldn't even ask for improvements if I hadn't asked for the performance review that was agreed upon. As far I know, there's nothing in writing about my performance. I'm not saying I was the perfect worker, but there's nothing that couldn't be changed if the supervisor let me know.

To clarify on the refences, I don't want a reference from them. I want to put the job on the resume, in which there's a risk of prospective employers calling them by looking them up online. Fortunately for me, I have references that hold a lot of weight.

There's no checks and balances within the company. Friends and family of management work there. Management are buddies.

Here's a couple warning signs I have seen:

- there's mostly people in their 20s or close to
retirement age working there
- you see names of people in recent documents and emails,
none of them work there anymore
- your coworkers make fun of how any new employees that
walk through the door wouldn't last a year

I'm glad I don't work there anymore, but I wanted to leave on my on terms, and not through the dishonesty of management. There was relief and a smile on my face as I walked out the door. It's time to move on.

 

[jmw]

That last says it all.

It also says what I suggested you look for... past history and if you have some of these names still, you might track a few down... if you think its worth it.

But consensus seems to be that for a 3 month employment, you can get away without it adversely affecting your job prospects.

I think the advise on how to present it seems good.
The advise is not to hide the employment but explain it as suggested.

The question is, how to present it in such a way that prospective employers don't expect to get a useful reference from them... it might not go down well if they don't expect a non-reference. Ideally they should look to your previous employers for some good references and not waste time on this company... what can they say meaningful after three months?

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[KENAT]

Seems like you've got the answer you need but just to make one point.

Employment law/employees rights etc vary quite a bit with geographic location. Different countries have different rules, different states in the US have different rules.

So any response above where people talk about what the law requires etc. may be correct for them but not for you.

If you are in an 'at will' state and your contract doesn't change that then they can get rid of you without notice, without reason, without severence. Although I dont' know if the fact they gave reason changes your legal standing.

Sounds like you're better off without them, good luck at the next place.

As to your list of 3 warning signs to look out for, well my last place was a definite yes on the last 2 and most, but not all, employees fit in the categories you give in the first. However, once I'd worked out the lay of the land, it actually was a great place to work. I'm not sure I realized quite how great until I'd worked elsewhere.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[SLTA]

If this company is as crappy as you say, word is likely getting around in the industry. For new interviews: be honest, explain why you were let go after asking for your contract to be honored, and move on with the discussion. Don't harp on it or it will look like sour grapes. More than likely, the new companies won't be totally surprised by how you were treated.

When interviewing for my current job, I was scared to mention why I left my old job, but was honest that it was not a good/healthy place to work. Turns out my new boss knew all about my old boss so no explanations were required!