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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:05 am Subject: Unemployment

I was terminated from my job at Baxter International yesterday after being accused of doing something I didn't do, last week they moved their business to a new building, at the end of the week they were packing up plasma samples which have to be kept at between -25 to -40 degrees C which is around -125 degrees F. While boxing the plasma they had the freezer door open for a long period of time and an alarm went off when the temperature went above -25 degrees. I wasn't told about this as I was on break when it happened. I came back and transfered a sample to the freezer in question and I was warned about it so I started using the backup freezer. Yesterday I was told that 3 people saw me access the primary freezer 2-3 times after I was told not to, then it became 3-4 times.

If they wanted to make up a reason to terminate me I wish they could have at least got their stories straight. Anyway, I'm going to try for a job with Verizon and look into Information Technology courses. Still, this is been one heck of a bummer.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:20 am Subject: reply

man,sorry to hear that dude.in this day and age employers
sure go about things differently.probably wanted to show
some kind of cause.still sucks though. Mad

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:28 am Subject:

I am so sorry to hear that JC. Hopefully you will find the perfect job for you--you will be in my prayers..karen

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:37 am Subject:

I'm terribly sorry to hear this also, but, they say everything happens for a reason, I bet there's a much better opportunity out there for you anyway. Good luck!

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:46 am Subject:

JCEMT, I'm so sorry to hear the bad news! I hope things work out for you! Keep us posted!

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:21 am Subject:

JCMET, my sister is working at Verizon and they pay an excellent wage and even better benefits...good luck to you...I know the call center in the city I live in is still looking to fill about 500 slots. Cool

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:47 pm Subject:

My local verizon office is getting ready to open about 30 additional customer service positions.

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:05 pm Subject:

Dear JCEMT,

So sorry to hear that. We, our community, is here by your side to support you. Always believe in your self. God is Great.

Best of Luck,
Jason

Guest · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 11:48 pm Subject:

jcemt I feel for ya emphatically --so many companies these days are looking for excuses to get rid of employees so they can replace them with min wage or prevailing starting wages employees-they are all trimming the fat so to speak in this economy I just hope they don't have video of you using access to the primary freezer if so you are screwed and they did have grounds to fire you.....good luck! Also if you only used the back up freezer they are probably trying to use you for an escape goat for whatever went wrong if you have witnesses and they do not have you on video tape doing what they accused you of ...
you have clear grounds for a law suit as I'm sure you already are aware of good luck!

Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:03 am Subject:

As far as having grounds for a lawsuit - Most employment is at will employment. This means that either party can fire or quit for no reason.

It is very hard to prove that you were fired for someting like that. The employer can pull out every tiny little thing you've done and show it as cause.

I'm just being realistic. Very few people win lawsuits against ex employers for that sort of thing. Unless it's got sex involved, it's a hard sell.

Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:09 pm Subject:

Personally I would file for unemployment & make them prove the specific allegations to the board. If they cannot do this,they must pay you. I have done this in the pass to prove false allegations out.Good luck.

Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:19 pm Subject:

JCEMT! I'm sorry to hear what you are going through, and can certainly empathize with you! I'm sure you'll be back at work before you know it, though! Just try to not get discouraged.

And sad to say, Goudah2424, is right on target! Most employment in most states is "at will", so you do have very little recourse if you are fired from a job for any trumped up reason they give. The only thing you might sue them for is discrimination based on the federally protected situations like: sex, ethnicity, age, medical, etc. So it would be very difficult to get an attorney to take your case if you don't have the discrimination extremely well documented.

At my last job, I had the department director refuse to promote me, and even tell me this verbally, because I was having health problems. I complained to HR, which did no good. I even filed a complaint withe the EEOC, which really did no good as the investigator never took my complaint seriously; he tried to argue me out of even filing the complaint.

CajunBulldog is absolutely correct! Even if you don't get to or need to use unemployment benefits, you need to still file for it. You would at some point attend a hearing (either in person or by phone) where both side present their case and a determination is made as to whether it was reasonable grounds for dismissal. Sometimes the employer doesn't even show up for this hearing and, in that case, you should win by default.

Guest · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:51 pm Subject:

the sad part is that in my state "hearings" are most often conducted by phone
all they (the employer) will have to state is the exact reasons jc said they terminated him for and have an employee or two standing nearby to agree with what employer accused him of and the employer will win hearing and doesnt end up paying --in a right to work state--employers are not responsible for keeping bad employees on their pay roll and should not have to pay unemployment if they had reasonable factual reason to fire.. if jc feels he has a case for unreasonable dismissal I feel a lawsuit (if he has time and proof )is the only option where he might be vindicated

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:52 am Subject:

My state is an EAW state and unless the reason they fire me is human rights, sex, etc. based then they can just say we fired him because he looked at me the wrong way, or set a pen down the wrong way. I'm just going to move on and put this all behind me as I look for brighter prospects in the future.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 3:13 pm Subject:

Very sorry to hear that you lost your job in a time where having a job is so important right now with the state of the economy.

Does your workplace have a Human Resources department? If you do, I would have them get involved in this issue.

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:35 pm Subject:

GOOD LUCK JCEMT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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