Is this legal?

hyperJulie
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:08:17 +0000

Okay, I’ll try to address everything, and I have to correct some errors in my understanding, which are reflected in the original post. I’m speaking to my dad to clarify:

-According to my dad, his company’s policy on vacation time is that it’s use it or lose it. They do not pay for unused vacation, and they consider it a “bonus” they they provide to employees.

-The previous employees that my dad references having been denied unemployment after fighting the company were fired longer ago than the most recent rash of terminations. The most recent was about 8 months ago and he said that the “at cause” portion of his termination was questionable.

-So far, all of the employees fired have been cited as “for cause” terminations and denied any vacation or unemployment benefits.

-The total number of employees fired in the past month have been 3 full-timers and 4 part-timers. Additionally, another employee was terminated after a severe motor cycle accident outside of work because he was not yet “100%” and they did not want liability for any reinjury. He’s not collecting unemployment because he is currently on disability.

-One of the “for cause” fired employees was employee of the month before.

-Another 2 full-time employees have been fired “for cause” in the past 7 months.

-My dad’s record in the past YEAR has been completely clean. They currently have nothing on file that they could terminate him for. However, as with the case of today’s layoffs, they will claim that a higher up in the company saw the state of the store and was “furious,” despite accounts from employees that accompanied said higher up and said his reactions were pretty tame and involved pointing out a few areas for improvement. The basis of today’s two terminations were that the floor was dirty and it was the job of the maintenance staff to keep them clean.

-My dad is the only full-time employee left outside of the meat room. There are 4 in the meat room, which is the main draw of the store, then produce, which is where my dad works.

Overall: I may have somewhat misrepresented the numerical scope of the terminations because I didn’t realize that the store didn’t have as many full-time employees as I thought. I guess this has been an ongoing trend in the past year or so of the store’s operation but has intensified over the past few weeks. I was in any way intending to exaggerate the situation, and I apologize if any of my gaps in knowledge led me to do so.

The people that have been fired are going to dispute and get unemployment, but apparently people appealing this at his company in the past have not been successful. My dad doesn’t know why.

Silpat: Yes, there is an at-will clause in whatever my dad signed. I know how that works. It’s just that they’re saying these are “for cause” terminations and denying unemployment benefits and vacation on that basis.

Thanks everyone else for the suggestions. My dad is intending to continue to talk to his former coworkers and see how their appeals go and such. As for him, he’s focusing on staying out of trouble and not giving them any excuse to can him. He is currently on vacation and is very worried that they will fire him when he comes back, but thankfully his manager really has his back and is trying to protect him. We will pass on any suggestions to other coworkers who have already lost their jobs, and will fight tooth and nail if my father loses his, because I can say wholeheartedly that they have no reason to fire him “for cause.”

I would really appreciate any further input now that I have better clarified the situation. I am not looking to advise my dad to act rashly or to do anything that could threaten his livelihood, but I have long since come to the conclusion that the store he works for has very questionable practices, both ethically and practically.