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Hi! I am new to this forum and looking for some answers.
I was "fired" from my job on September 16th, 2012 for "willful misconduct" from a local attorney's office. The office was only myself, the Secretary and the Attorney. I handled the real estate and estate work. I was, at the time, 25 weeks pregnant.
There is a lot of information to this and I will do my best to get it all. Firstly, I was "warned" early April of this year that my work was "lacking". What had happened was that some of the paperwork I had completed drafts of the attorney had not returned to me in time for the paperwork to be filed. Of course, to him this was my fault that he did not return the paperwork. He also cited me for taking a day off to be with my Mother while my Father had surgery (I gave him notice of this and I NEVER took time off). I was to have 2 weeks of paid leave each year. I believe the most I took was 8 days of sick time and days off. He also did not want me taking deposits during my lunch hour as he knew my husband and father were both off of work so he figured they could do it.
I took this first "warning" very seriously. I stopped taking deposits, I took NO personal calls, I made sure all of my work was checked, double checked, filed on time, and done as completely as was possible .Which honestly was not a large change from before I was just covering my butt so I could document and PROVE to him that I was not behind, which I never actually was.
The Secretary and I both talked about how I was being treated so much differently than she was and how we didn't understand why.
Anyhow, I became pregnant in early April and informed him in June that we were expecting again. My son at this point, was 3 years old. For the first pregnancy my boss was very excited. He did not have a problem with the doctor's appointments or my needing extra time to complete a task or time off since I was not feeling well. This was NOT the case with this pregnancy.
In July, my doctor informed me that I was borderline with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension and that I needed to take frequent breaks to avoid further complications. I informed my boss of this immediately and he did not oppose to my need for breaks. It became routine for me to work on a project and then take a short break. Since I did not take personal calls or a book to work, normally I would just get up and stretch, get some coffee, or check facebook. None of these things were ever stated as "against the rules" and we didn't have any type of employee handbook. I worked for this attorney for 4.5 years and always took facebook breaks; it was customary.
Anyhow, the day he fired me he gave me a power of attorney document that I had completed the rough draft on. I had missed a ",singly or jointly" in the document and had a number type-o. He sited this as poor performance and said he had "other examples" but I cannot possibly think of any and he would not show me proof.
I was granted unemployment and now he is appealing the case. I know that the burden of proof is on him and I HAVE hired my own attorney, however I know that it is not above him to forge documents or lie. I am very concerned.
Do any of you have an opinion on my chances? It is extremely hard for me to find employment in such a rural area and being as pregnant as I am.
Do NOT waste a dime on an attorney. You don't need one. This is so clearly a case of "poor performance," and poor performance 99% of the time canNOT ever be misconduct.
This is a slam dunk, and if an attorney took your money in a case like this, he did worse to you than the system can.
He can't call it "willful misconduct" because he pulled facebook posts I made during my "breaks"? I believe he is wanting to state that maybe I took too many breaks??? or wrong time??? We never discussed the amount, timing, etc of the "breaks". I also have a slip from the Dr. stating that I was advised to take said breaks.
What was written on the unemployment paperwork when your employer first responded? He doesn't get to say you made mistakes for the reason, and then change that reason to "Facebook usage" at your hearing.
To be fired over Facebook, he'd have to produce a written policy, that you knew of the policy, that you were warned when you were caught doing it, and that you kept doing it. Pulling print offs AFTER you were fired wouldn't prove that he necessarily knew of your Facebook usage at the time he fired you. You could be guilty of theft, but if he didn't know about it prior to firing you, that can't be the reason.
Go get your retainer refunded, and file a complaint with the BAR regarding the attorney you hired.
He posted that I was working on personal matters during business hours. Specifically, what I posted was a notice of a craft event my business was hosting. Again, during a short break. No company policy or handbook. I was "warned" about my business at the april meeting but not told to not use facebook at all. He was aware that I still continued to use facebook during breaks and did not tell me this was not acceptable.
I must add, the secretary was a local tax collector on the side and she would work on her tax records and take days off to do this work also.
I was fired for "poor performance" back in 2005. I'm going along, happily collecting unemployment. After a few months, Ex-Company decides it was really a case of "willful misconduct." They appeal my unemployment benefits. The state of Michigan, in its wisdom, essentially tells Ex-Company, "up yours." Yay! The End.
It has been in the news so often that posts on sites like Facebook have caused numerous people to get fired. I am a bit surprised people still use it during work hours even though they have not been told not to. To me it is common sense to not do personal business while being paid by someone else, even if it is on a break.
I think but am not sure that your former employer has the burden of proof when it comes to the reason you were fired but I don't think I would hire my own attorney unless it is absolutely necessary to do so. Wait and see what happens at the hearing then decide how to proceed from there.
I don't understand. If it is a break then isn't it my time? How does the that mean I cannot do any personal matters? Does it dictate I cannot call to check on my child or check on anything online? There was no company policy and I was never told DO NOT USE FACEBOOK there was also not enough work to be done to keep me busy ALL day without any breaks.
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