I was laid off form my job Friday. What a mess!! To make a long story short. I left my job in September to accept a management position for a guy that was opening a new convienence store. I had 10 years as a manager before and am well qualified. I began working for him in Oct and set up all the suppliers, did all the hiring and scheduling, etc. The store opened aprox a month a go and I was working 17 hour days training all the employees. 2 weeks ago he even gave me a $3.00 an hour raise. He also tried to hit on me and I found out that he uses illegal drugs. I told him that I wanted to keep this relationship professional and what he did in his personal life was his business. He came in on Friday and I told him there were problems and that the registers where not balancing, he then proceeded to tell me that he couldnt afford to have me work for him and had to elliminate my position. I have never been fired from a job and have taken this very hard. I worked my but off for him and because I rejected his advances he lets me go! It is my word against his so what legal recourse do I have? I have filed for unemployment but wont know for 2 weeks if he will try to fight it. Any advice?

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), December 02, 2001

Answers

I'm really sorry about your situation. What state you live in will determine what actions you can take. For example, North Carolina is an "employ at will" state, which means any employer can terminate any employee WITHOUT cause. Unemployment funds may still be payable if he said he was eliminating the position. Good luck.

-- cathy in NC (planet10@gloryroad.net), December 02, 2001.

Discuss you case with an attorney specializing (or at least knowledgeable) in sexual harassment cases. Initial consultation is usually. Won't be cheap, so you will have to decide what your chances of winning are. It may not be just your word against his if a pattern of similar activity against other current or past employees can be documented. I agree, it sounds like you were laid off, not fired, which may qualify you for unemployment insurance payments.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 02, 2001.

He would have no recourse on fighting your unemployment, given he just gave you a sizeable raise. I would certainly talk to an attorney about this one and have him at least send a letter to the upper management of the store and get the details of what your boss told upper management of why you aren't working there. If he hires anyone in your old position, it gives you a lot more to fight with.

-- beckie (none@this.time), December 02, 2001.

don't bother with an attorney at this point, he can't do anything you aren't capable of doing or letting the Federal government mediators handle. Call the closest Federal EEOC(equal employment opportunity commission) office in your area. Start the process to file a complaint. Your state likely also has a discrimination law enforcement agency. You should file a duplicate complaint with them, the EEOC may do this for you if you request it. Do not expect a quick resolution. If at some point you hire your own attorney, it shouldn't cost you anything. Any decent lawyer works those cases on a contingent basis. There's rarely a need to have your own attorney in EEOC cases because the EEOC provides you with representation.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 02, 2001.

I might add that in most states employers can terminate at will, with no reason at all. But that's beside the point. If you can present a compelling case that you were fired because you didn't submit to sexual advances, then you have a case. The EEOC will accept your complaint regardless. You don't need any proof. An EEOC complaint hanging over an employer will usually get them to reconsider or offer a settlement. It costs you nothing but costs them plenty to defend against a complaint. You likely won't get your job back, and it won't help at all with present time but in the end you may get some satisfaction, some money for your troubles, and teach this employer a lesson. I was in operations management for a few years. Attorneys, Teamsters union, workers comp rarely raised an eyebrow, but EEOC matters were serious stuff and we usually settled out just to get rid of them.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 02, 2001.

From your description I would say you have NO chance of sexual discrimination case. If it was a single event as you have outlined, even with the layoff, you have nothing to go on. If there was several encounters after you told him no, then you might have a case, but based on the short time peroid involved I would say no. The issue of a raise then the layoff mean little. You were doing a good job and got a raise, but operating cost were to high, poof, your gone.

I am sure a lawyer could wring some money out of him even if he did nothing wrong, but thats a moral issue you would have to deal with.

-- Gary (gws@columbus.rr.com), December 02, 2001.

He probably won't fight it. But don't take getting laid off as an insult. It reminds me of that line of Scarlet O'Hara's to Rhett Butler: "An insult from you is like a compliment from anyone of real breeding!" (Or may be it was intelligence or discernment.) People on drugs are unbalanced, and cannot be taken seriously. Take comfort in the fact that with the monkey of drugs on his back, his business will not last long, and in all likelihood, the imbalance of the registers went up his nose. The sooner you let go of the whole scene the better your life will be. And there is no need to mention these few months of employment to any prospective employers -- you can say you just wanted to take a break. That way he will have no chance to tell lies about your work performance or character.

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), December 02, 2001.

Gary -- I'm not sure if her lawyer could wring any money out of him, but for sure her lawyer would wring money out of her...

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), December 02, 2001.

Remember you were looking for a job when you found that one so have lost nothing. As for fighting the unjust firing or lay-off, think about it, do you really want that job back?

-- Just Duckie (Duck@spazmail.com), December 02, 2001.

Tracy, I know this is no consolation and won't pay the bills, but consider yourself lucky you found out about his true lack of caracter this soon, I will almost guarantee he was going to try to "blame" you somehow on the registers not balancing, and make you feel guilty about it while he pays for his drug habit staright out of the register drawer.

You really don't want to have to work with someone who is a drug addict AND your boss, just too much crap to have to deal with all the time, it ain't worth it!

As for taking him to court, it ain't worth it either, consider it a learning experience, he is most liable to say YOU did the harassing, not him, remember, no moral scruples in residence there!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), December 02, 2001.

Thanks far all the responses. I really a true believer that everything happens for a reason. I guess that I am the most upset for letting myself be foolish enough to take some one at their word. I have wanted to look into self sufficientcy for a long time and maybe this is my oppertunity. I am going to try and develope some type of home based business, possibly medical transcriptionist. Possibly board a couple horses. I feel I was used and once all the hard work was done and you wont put out... see ya.. This is a wonderful forum and I truly appreciate all the responses.. Thanks for being there. Tracy

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), December 02, 2001.

Forget EEOC. They are a bunch of bumbling idiots. Federal non- workers. Go get yourself a vicious lawyer. One who is savvy in employment law. The local bar association can recommend one.

Dark

-- (Darkdakota@aol.com), December 02, 2001.

You were not let go because of you turning his hit down, you worked for 2 weeks after it happen. You were let go because you were aware of the money shortage, which would have lead you to him doing it. You can try a lawyer but I think you will be wasting your money for the little amount that they might get from him. Best thing is learned from it and move on with your life.

-- TomK(mich) (tjk@cac.net), December 03, 2001.

Of course Tracy was fired because she wouldn't "come across". Once she'd established the business for him, he wanted her to perform another function for him. When she wouldn't, he waited long enough to make sure he could keep the business going without her, then canned her. Teach her to bruise his delicate ego!

Tracy, if it's any comfort, you will have your revenge, and it doesn't need any effort on your part - he'll do it himself. Probably already has, when he fired you. He will be incapable of keeping the business going without someone to do the work - he won't be able to maintain it himself, despite what he thought. May cost him five years of his life until it finally disappears round the S-bend (although probably less), but then his habits are going to cost him more than that. Yes - he lied to you. Yes - he used you - treated you like a day-labourer instead of the hard-working professional you are; and tried to treat you like a whore. At least you didn't let him treat you like a Kleenex tissue - use, soak it up, and then discard. You are still entitled to maintain your pride, whereas ANYTHING he has is false and transient.

You are probably entitled to recompense through the courts, but it's a hard way to get money - it eats up a lot of your life, and seconds of your life are all you've got in this life. You'd probably be better off letting it go, and getting on with life. Apart from any other consideration, potential future employers are likely to shy clear of anyone who sued their former employer, regardless of the reason. Not just, but true. My advice is to document what happened, and store it with a bank or lawyer or document repositery or some such, so that you can pull up a dated copy if he ever slanders or libels you when it does matter - then let go of the matter.

Now, I've been used and abused - although not directly for sexual reasons. Happens I was hired by a bosses boss, when the immediate boss was on holidays. The immediate boss prefered his employees to be female and teenaged, so I was given nothing to do and then fired for doing nothing (although happens I had done a lot despite his efforts - but I'm sure what I had done was discarded immediately). Happens it was a small part of a world-wide enterprise, but the whole thing went belly-up just a couple of years later (anyone remember Litton Industries?), so it was probably for the best. May be the same here - if that's the way he's going to work, could you have stopped him from running the business into the ground anyway? May have just saved you two years of your life.

One thing, though. DON'T LET the shock the bastard's given you rock you. Sounds a bit at the moment as if you may be retreating into a shell. Natural reaction, but don't allow him that victory. Homesteading is great, but don't do it before you're ready - a frugal lifestyle is good, but allowing yourself to be forced into it when you don't have adequate reserves is ungood in the extreme, and may trap you for the rest of your life.

Question: everything you did for him, and thinking you were doing for yourself as well - could you do it again, just for yourself? Sounds like there was a gap in the market you worked to fill, and I'd expect there will be a gap in that market again shortly. If you don't want to address that market again, then could you do it in another? Or in another area (and wait until his geographic area becomes vacant)? Just don't allow yourself to be forced into trying without adequate financial reserves. Ultimately, that's the only reason any business fails.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 03, 2001.