She probably has one already. Making personal calls from work phones is never a good idea in my book. I don't care what the reasoning is.
Wow, that is real crummy of them to do that! Sounds like talking to a lawyer is a good idea... Most importantly, try to keep your wife calm because she's almost due...stress is not good for the baby! Hope things work out for you guys.
Screw the 'at will' stuff. If you bring a complaint against the company, it will likely be for sexual discrimination. 'At will' doesn't matter. That said, I can understand that a couple with a new baby doesn't need the hassle of a lawsuit. But, at least talk to a lawyer now. You'll get a better idea of the extent of the hassle and the chance of success.
tough times... prego and with no job... be grateful you have yours, no? I wouldn't advise to get a lawyer as someone already said... you don't need THAT hassle right now... or ever. Also, if they warned her about not making personal calls, I wouldn't have thought she could have made another personal call. I would have spoken to the manager and asked for permission if it was really that important... the warning was there for a reason. If they couldn't understand she really needed to make those phone calls, she could have left that job and spoken to people about them not being sensitive... but... going against a warning... I don't know about that... Hang in there and if she wants to get another job, good luck. I think you can look at the positive side and know she can rest easily at home before she delivers... and healthily. EDIT: I apologize. I thought I read that she was warned, but after reading, I see she didn't get one. Still, being under investigation means you have to watch that anything you do or the company can jump on a little single thing just to do what these people did to her. Still sucks to get laid off, I know.
That sucks...Not sure if a lawyer would help, but it doesn't hurt to talk it through...Texas employment is an at will state, so although it's crappy what they did, not sure anything will come out of it...
1) Check your (her) employee handbook and see what it says about personal calls. 2) Apply for COBRA. Make sure you apply as an ARRA subsidy applicant. Because your wife was terminated involuntarily you should only be responsible for 35% of the premium.
Good advice on both counts. While they didn't write her up per say she was aware she was under investigation which sounds like the school could say that was the warning. In that case just file for unemployment and leave it at that and deal with the more pressing issue.
This is not necessarily relevant. There is no law that requires you to be warned for misbehavior before termination. She should read her employee manual. If it lays out specific steps that must be taken with regards to types of workplace misbehavior (personal calls) then see if the company followed them. More likely you'll find language about the employer having the right to use discipline as appropriate. If they did an investigation and determined she had been violating company policy, policy that is in an employee handbook or provided to her in some other way, there is absolutely no leg to stand on in protesting the termination. Definitely make sure they get you the COBRA paperwork on time. An employer has only X number of days to get you the paperwork. After that they are in breach of federal law. Take the COBRA and be sure that you apply as a subsidy applicant under the American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that entitles you to a 65% subsidy for 9 months. Sorry she got fired, but aside from the fact that she was pregnant this doesn't sound nefarious. If you post a thread that said "My non-pregnant wife just got fired for talking on the phone too much" you wouldn't get much sympathy. If you have any questions about your ARRA or COBRA rights, post them in here and I'll give you advice, no charge, or direct you to websites that can help you answer questions. Good luck man. Try not to stress about it too much. Consult a lawyer if it makes you feel better, but nothing you've said in here seems to provide much room for a case.
What? That's the whole point. What are the chances she would have been fired if she wasn't pregnant? Maybe, maybe, maybe it was just an unhappy coincidence. But, let's be real; the company wanted to avoid the burden of having a woman out on maternity leave, and then having a woman back with new childcare issues. And, they've covered their tracks shoddily, firing her 'for cause' with the flimsiest excuse of a very minor policy infraction. They could have been building a case over the 8 months of pregnancy, giving her warnings and bad reviews, but they didn't even bother to do that. They've discriminated against her specifically because of her pregnancy. Maybe she won't get justice. Maybe their weak-sauce excuse will shield them in court. But, the firing was likely nefarious and, for all our benefits, should be punished.
Racking up personal calls varies its significance at different companies. My company doesn't care, but my wife's company has meetings about them and will fire somebody over it. There's no way to say that this is a nefarious firing just because she was pregnant. It could have been and I wasn't trying to say it wasn't, what I was trying to say was that because of the infraction she would have no legal leg to stand on. Company handbook says you can't use the phone for personal calls You use phone for personal calls Company fires you You scream discrimination You'd have to be able to demonstrate that... A) there is no company policy with regards to personal calls or B) there is a company policy that specifically states that a warning must be issued or C) with other non-pregnant (or non female) employees an official warning was given as opposed to firing But even with C a company could be protected by "case by case" language. Workplace discrimination is hard to prove and it is even harder when you actually do break company policy.
Sure. I didn't object to the argument that she couldn't win, just the argument that the firing wasn't nefarious 'besides the pregnancy.' If the protection of our constitutional rights is really so poor, than so be it. I will also object (now) to some of the fatalism in this thread -- people arguing she can't win so don't try. That might be true, but she should at least hear that from a lawyer who does this stuff for a living. An initial interview with a lawyer isn't a huge imposition.
Texas is an 'at will' state but Texas still must abide by federal laws. The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law that states you cannot terminate somebody for any medical reason unless it specifically contradicts with the stated job responsibilities. This law was toughened only a year ago to expland the meaning of disabilities to mean anything related to your body. For example, you can't be fired because you are anemic. Being anemic isn't a 'disability' but... I'm POSITIVE you have a case ...now whether you win the case is a different matter. +1 for a lawyer.
As much as I want to believe that they are wrong-doing, I have to see all sides before I make a decision. I still don't know what I am going to do... Since my boss is the owner of a small company, I am going to talk to him and see what he thinks... This could lead to talking with a lawyer in the same office building. P.S. Would it make a difference for a company to lay my wife off and leave the other 10 women in the company or did my wife just make it easier to pin point which one they will let go. All the women are within about a week from each other so they would all be on leave around the same time..
10 other pregnant women? Out of how many people? It would be interesting to see who else was or will be terminated. It could well be a good argument for the company if those others are not terminated. But, who knows what their situatuions are.
