AboutTimmy Chou Expertise I am a experienced Mediator and a partner in a management consulting firm. As a mediator I work as a third-party neutral and specialize in partnership/shareholder disputes, management/labor issues, company culture difficulties, and family-owned business problems. I can help describe why alternative dispute resolution may be a good choice for you. As an experienced management consultant I may be able to offer creative ideas to help resolve your organizational and business problems and disputes. "If you say conflict, I say opportunity".
Question I was hired by a company in October of 2008. I agreed to the job because they were willing to work with my schooling, which was every Tuesday and Thursday. Between the date of hire and date of termination I received 2 employee recognition awards, an "atta-girl" write up and had an exceptional review. I also single handedly organized the company picnic, and saved the company thousands of dollars in inventory. At my review, in April, I was asked to start putting in 40 hours a week. I told my supervisor I would try to get as close as possible to those hours. I had been averaging 30 - 36 hours a week, depending on my husbands work schedule. I was able to average 36 - 40 hours on most weeks but had a very difficult time doing so. I decided to write my employer a letter stating that I was unable to work the 40 hours a week while going to school and that I would be looking for other employment. I also advised them that I would be willing to go to part-time status. When I spoke to my supervisor on May 12th he asked me if I would be willing to be placed on part-time status with a dollar an hour raise. I said that I would. Throughout the rest of the week, he told me a decision hadn't been made but they were looking at options and had me make up a schedule that would benefit both of us. I did that. I was supposed to have May 15th off work due to it being my birthday but was told that it would be in "my best monetary interest" to go ahead and come in, so I worked that day.
The next day, I received a phone call that my mom had passed away suddenly during the night. She lived out of state, so I had to travel to take care of her funeral arrangements and her belongings. I kept in touch with my employers the entire time I was in Florida. That Friday, I spoke with both my immediate supervisor and the operations supervisor and said I would return to work on Tuesday due to having to withdrawal from classes at school and due to having to settle personal affairs at home.
When I went into work on Tuesday, I was welcomed back and told I was missed by the operations supervisor. I went about my normal duties and about 30 minutes later, the owner of the company told me that the operations supervisor (who is his fiance) needed to ask me a question. She asked me if I was looking for other employment, as she was holding the letter I wrote, and I said that I was looking around but had not found anything suitable. She became angry at me and accused me of lying about my schooling, stealing company time and not being physically fit to do the job. She then said she was going to "help me look for that other employment and go ahead and let you go". I said okay and went to get my personal belongings. She followed me through the building and continued to berate me. She stood approximately 6 inches from me, in a very threatening manner. When I began to take my belongings off the wall, she started ripping things down. She told me I could get the rest of my things later through human resources. I left.
I attempted to file unemployment and was told that the company said that I voluntarily quit and was not qualified for benefits. I have an e-mail stating that the reason for my termination was stating that I could not work the requested hours, that I admitted looking for other employment, and that I didn't report to work on Monday as they wanted. There has been 6 or 7 people terminated in the past 6 months. The company has only around 20 people total.
I have had to be put on an anti-anxiety medication since the termination due to the way they have treated me and the passing of my mom so suddenly.
I need to know what my options are. I live in SC and did work for an "at-will" employer. I was told that the reason I was denied unemployment benefits was that I admitted I was looking around for other employment. I just bought a house!! I need income and the market is tight, what do I do?
Answer Thank you for your question!
As I always note to questioners, mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.
The case you describe here is very typical and can be considered a "classic" HR dispute presentation. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice, nor mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.
Note that this may have legal factors and you may wish to consult a labor attorney.
I often tell people that it may be useful to consider that right and wrong are not always the most useful places to begin in dealing with these sorts of problems. For most large organizations there is only expedient and inexpedient. Also, there is a cost to exacting justice and the costs can be quite high. Remember that your person-hood and your work are not even remotely related and that the most successful people at work are often the least successful with others since they have often become successful on the bodies of those they have slain.
You are dealing with authority figures or owners who are only interested in the path of least resistance in terms of how they manage the business. I'm guessing they could care less about you so don't put too much investment in your position. You were terminated for business reasons and now you must create a business reason to deal fairly with you.
Please begin by documenting a very careful chronology of events as they have occurred. Names, dates and locations. Put things in writing at this point as completely as possible. Be sure to document as much of your excellent work history as well, including incidents of praise or recognition. You recognize that you can be fired for just about any reason without a problem in "at will" states. However, and this is vital to your case, you cannot be treated differently than other workers nor can your contract be violated. Naturally you want to show that others are NOT being treated the way you have been treated.
If there are published employment policies you must get copies of these documents to determine if procedures were followed in terms of the rules you are accused of breaking, confrontational rules, grievance procedures, appeal procedures, etc. You must note any company or supervisor violations of these rules as well as any failure to follow these rules in your case.
Utilize state employment office resources and advocates to assist you. At this point you must remain calm and poised. Be prepared with evidence and facts. Use any other advocacy resources you may have. Be prepared to write letters and file complaints with the state and federal labor offices. You can file with these office for free and they will fight your case for you, but you must have your facts ready for them.
Your company must see that you are not going away, you are going to use every lever you have, you are going to tell everyone and proclaim their practices far and wide, and that it will cost a lot more to deal with all the problems you will cause them for their practices and then they will make a business decision and deal fairly with you. Be professional and show the company that it is more risky to terminate you under questionable circumstances than to merely leave you alone.
If you want to send a letter, I would advise only a letter that demands your job back at this point. You want to preserve ALL of your rights if possible.
As far as unemployment compensation you have evidence to fight their assertion -- use it. You are entitled to a hearing -- demand one.
Remember that you could eventually arrive at a place where you will be required to finance a lawsuit or other action and then you have to decide if the costs are worth the benefit. Also, if you are successful, you will have to work in a hostile environment and sometimes there just isn't enough money in the world to make that worth it.
You need help. Please see your State Labor Office.
These are some ideas. Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.
GOOD LUCK!
Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation
Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system
Benefits of Arbitration:
Confidential, no public record
Limited exchange of documentation, information
Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
Cheaper than litigation
Preserves business relationships
Negatives of Arbitration
It's a compromise, no 100% winner
Complex arbitration can be costly
If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process
Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.
Benefits of Mediation:
Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
Can be quicker than litigation
Less costly than litigation
Preserves business relationships
85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions
Negatives of Mediation
may not reach a binding decision
unskilled mediator
Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes
Benefits of litigation:
a clear winner and loser
uses a prescribed set of procedures
more predictable outcomes
is final
Negatives of Litigation:
waiting for court dates can do more harm
usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
part of the public record
