Up until today my wife had worked for an organization for 15 years here NY. She was let go by the Territory Manager today. My wife worked three groups on Saturday morning, members come in, are weighed and then go into a meeting to discuss weight loss issues. At each meeting the receptionist(my wife’s positions) is responsible for tallying up the number of members that come to each meeting.
What happened was:
My wife was instructed by the group Leader( the person whom runs the meetings) to leave a meeting open longer for low count groups so that it will look like more members attended a certain meeting than really did. This is improper procedure and she was let go because of it. The Territory manager claimed it is fraudulent.
The group leader denies ever having instructed my wife to count in members this way.
My wife has a witness who is willing to state the the Group Leader instructed my wife to count members this way.
This is a common practice of counting members here at other meetings.
The Territory Manager and the Group leader are good friends
The Territory Manager is resigning in July.
No one else was let go for this reason.
My wife is 56.
Does my wife have any recourse? Any advise would be appreciated.
Agree with zoosermom. This is way too much personal info about other people (your wife and other people she works with) and a particular company (and a particular location and territory).
Receptionists often barely make above minimum wage at small meetings. If she worked 3 meetings per week (about 6 hours), it’s probably not worth fighting over once you add in commuting time and unreimbursed mileage. Holding the tally open to increase the numbers, thus increase staffing requirements, may have been why your wife was scheduled to work those meetings anyway.
What do you want to happen? that your wife gets her job back? If that were to happen, likely they would make her miserable.
I wouldn’t count on that witness. At some point, the witness may fear that she will lose her job for helping your wife. After all, the person who lied did so to protect her own job.
Your wife has 15 years at a business. She should quickly apply to other jobs and find something better…and move on.
Is NY a state where employers can fire “at will”? Edit…it appears that NY is an employment at will state.
Our next-door neighbor is a PhD who moved from California to Maine for a job. He was just let go, totally unfairly. Maine is also an at-will state, so he has NO recourse. If he’d been in California, he could have sued the employer. I don’t think there’s anything your wife can do, unfortunately.
You can’t sue easily for unfairness. You have to allege discrimination against you as part of a protected class- i.e. race, sex, age etc. Having a jerky boss who fires you for no good reason does not give rise to a cause of action.
Is there any kind of an HR department or upper tier corporate structure to which/whom your wife could follow up (or a fraud/whistleblower type of hotline as mentioned by poster above)?
Second, you could look into filing an age discrimination complaint, if you think that might be a factor. At the very least, it may be a forum for your wife to set forth her allegations/version of the facts and force the employer to respond (and thus flush out the improper goings-on at the company, the way your wife sees it).
An assigned investigator investigating the complaint might well believe her version. Not sure of the procedural stages in NY (may never get that far), but it might be one avenue. Get the witness to sign an affidavit that is as specific as possible. Don’t forget she should also file for unemployment benefits.
“In New York, a discrimination claim can be filed either with the state administrative agency, the New York Division of Human Rights (DHR) or the federal administrative agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If you live in New York City, you can also file a discrimination claim with the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CHR).”
I lied, third thought: In general I tend to try to avoid at all costs all litigation, or the lengthy, time-consuming (and usually frustrating) administrative avenues like the one I suggested above, because it may just not be worth it (and causes undue stress). Do take some time and consider whether it might not be more peaceful for her (per some other posters’ recommendations) to simply move on and find another position… she may find that when one door closes, another opens, and it’s way better than the old room she just left.
Even if NY is an “at will” state, your inquiry should not stop there. The scope and extent of the “at will” doctrine is based on state law which can vary from state to state. Under a particular state’s laws, there can be exceptions and limitations based on employee handbooks and manuals issued by the employer, public policy and other factors. In addition, the “at will” doctrine is limited by both federal and state discrimination laws and whistle blower statutes. Your wife, at age 56, falls within the protected class for age discrimination. While your original post does not suggest it on its face, a more in depth investigation could reveal facts and circumstances giving rise to an age discrimination claim. If you really want to follow up on this, consult with a NY attorney who specializes in employment law. Seek a specialist; this is a complex and nuanced area of the law.
Pennsylvania is an “at will” state. In the absence of a contract, you can be fired for good cause, bad cause or no cause at all as long as the employer does not run afoul of state and federal discrimination laws or limited public policy exceptions. I have had cases, however, where an employee was fired for reasons, under circumstances or otherwise inconsistent with the terms of a published personnel manual. The circumstances were such that a quasi-contractual claim could be asserted on their behalf under the substantive terms and procedures contained in the manual with the result that I was able to negotiate monetary settlements on their behalf. I’ve had cases where under the facts and circumstances I’ve been able to argue discrimination or the creation of an unlawful hostile work environment. Point is, you’ll never know if there’s something that can be done on behalf of your wife unless you consult with a NY employment law attorney.
At will isn’t the issue if it is termination for cause as at many companies, the latter immediately ends some benefits that would continue in the case of a normal termination. Depends on whether this is your situation. …