Fired For No Good Reason and Didn't See It Coming (attorney, house)

[phoenixscorpiogirl]

Well, as some of you know I had recently left one job to work @ a new one that paid more and had better benefits.
I work in health care, specifically behavioral health. Basically I worked in one of their homes watching over people that were mentally ill, (schizophrenia) some were there for attempted murder while off their meds...and there was a lot more work such as reports and daily progress notes that were never ending. Also, sometimes us Techs had to drive them around to stores and errands and such.
Well, shortly after I started our Supervisor got moved because she wasn't doing her job right. I had complained to the co coordinator about how things were disorganized and I couldn't find certain documents etc. Plus the place was a mes and dirty so I helped organize everything and cleaned up then they had me doing the supervisors job as well as my own.
Soon, I started to get a little overwhelmed (being new also and leaning all the different reports due every month) but I worked a lot of overtime too. I let the new coordinator (who just got promoted) that I felt I was falling behind on my work and needed some help from other staff they had filling in. They were just telling me the other week how great I was doing, and thanking me so much yada yada yada.
So I was shocked when suddenly they met me at the house -after having me go to a staff meeting no less- and let me know I was being terminated because I wasn't meeting their expectations!
I couldnt believe it, as they were giving me these couple of lame reasons(which I had previously addressed about the work basically being overwhelming) I thought at first I was getting a warning-but no-nothing. Just like that after all the fuc**** work I did for them and all the overtime they totally blindsided me.
I was very upset and still am, I want to file a complaint. I know this is an "at will"work state but what about the fact that I was having to do work other than the job I was hired for? After all, I wasn't hired as a supervisor. And I was the only regular staff they had, everyone else was from a temp agency they desperately need people thats another reason why I can't believe they let me go like that. And not only that the clients were upset to see me getting my stuff as I was walked to the front door...OMG like I was gonna start throwing punches I'm not that stupid.
I just feel so disillusioned-I should have listened to my friend Las Vegas Drunk ...now I am out of a job and a single parent. I applied for unemployment but I just am tired of working my ass off for A-holes that treat people like crap, even after going to college and working hard, its like its all for nothing.
I am seriously thinking of leaving Az..I love the beauty of the state but am getting fed up!
Sorry to sound like such a whiner I just needed to get this off my chest

[ladysovereign]

Originally Posted by phoenixscorpiogirl

Well, shortly after I started our Supervisor got moved because she wasn't doing her job right. I had complained to the co coordinator about how things were disorganized and I couldn't find certain documents etc. Plus the place was a mes and dirty so I helped organize everything and cleaned up then they had me doing the supervisors job as well as my own.
Soon, I started to get a little overwhelmed (being new also and leaning all the different reports due every month) but I worked a lot of overtime too. I let the new coordinator (who just got promoted) that I felt I was falling behind on my work and needed some help from other staff they had filling in. They were just telling me the other week how great I was doing, and thanking me so much yada yada yada.
So I was shocked when suddenly they met me at the house -after having me go to a staff meeting no less- and let me know I was being terminated because I wasn't meeting their expectations!

This scenario sounds so much like what happened to a friend of mine who also worked with Mentally Disabled clients for a local hospital. He was overworked as they kept firing staff and his Supervisor was having some issues but they kept telling him he was doing a great job. Then "boom", they fired him (he never saw it coming either). He found out from some friends who still worked there that he was replaced and the new folks had to be trained. His suspicion (and mine) was that the new folks were earning much less than he was and that is what pleases the shareholders, unfortunately. And this "change" does upset the clients greatly as they have enough issues in their life that when they depend on someone and then they're gone isn't easy for them to take.

I personally would not go after them legally as Arizona is a "Right to Work" state with "At Will" employers and you could better spend your time looking for new employment. See if your Supervisor could give you a letter of recommendation to help you. Good luck.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by ladysovereign

I personally would not go after them legally as Arizona is a "right to work" state and you could better spend your time looking for new employment. See if your Supervisor could give you a letter of recommendation to help you in securing new employment. Good luck.

This has NOTHING to do with "right to work". The OP is correct... the applicable legal concept is "employment at will". While this sounds like an unfortunate situation, it does not sound like any exception to the employment at will doctrine would apply, and there would be no one to file a "complaint" with... not the EEOC, not the Department of Labor. No harm in getting a consultation with an employment law attorney, but I'm not hopeful. I think arranging with your supervisor that they will give at worst a neutral reference may be the best you can do.

[Beware_of_Dog]

Well, you chose a tough field to spend your professional life in. More work for less pay is the norm in that profession. Prepare for more frustration and disillusionment the more years you stay in that field. If you do, hopefully you will find that 1 out of 100 jobs and employers that will give you a rewarding experience. It is a shame that colleges don't warn students about all of the negatives about different jobs their majors lead and limit them to. I experienced the same in my major field of study. I was never happy until I left that field and did something totally different that was fun and paid better too.

But, on a positive note. No matter what field you are in, you HAVE TO get yourself in the frame of mind that it is their loss and will be someone else's gain. You will have lots of jobs in your life. Just learn from this experience and move on. If leaving the state for somewhere else will help you, go for it. Sometimes a change of environment is a positive thing.

Whatever you do, DON'T hang on to what they did or bring it up again to future employers you apply to or work for. That is the worst thing you can do. You MUST get positive and simple let that ugly experience go!

[mohawkx]

Very few people who are terminated ever feel the termination was justified.

[ladysovereign]

Originally Posted by observer53

This has NOTHING to do with "right to work". The OP is correct... the applicable legal concept is "employment at will". While this sounds like an unfortunate situation, it does not sound like any exception to the employment at will doctrine would apply, and there would be no one to file a "complaint" with... not the EEOC, not the Department of Labor. No harm in getting a consultation with an employment law attorney, but I'm not hopeful. I think arranging with your supervisor that they will give at worst a neutral reference may be the best you can do.

Okaaayyy...I corrected my post long before I saw your comment. Don't have to be nasty about it. And I can see that it's obvious that you agree with me as you practically repeated my advice.

[phoenixscorpiogirl]

Well the thing is, there was NO supervisor.
She was moved out of that site, I was doing her work. I was not hired for that position. If that makes anysense. That'sthe loophole I was thinking of in filing a complaint.
Even if I do not have a case i am going to complain a lot just because of the way they have treated people. I have heard things from other workers that are stepping down from supervisory positions, a lot of their house are not staffed correctly or have other issues. and one lady who did somewhat train me did say she would give me a good reference once I need it.
I am angry but trying not to panic just yet. I just hope I qualify for unemployment for e few eeks until I figure out what I want to do
By the way, my degree was in Criminal Justice. I wanted to work in Customs but when I went to school they failed to tell me you have to train at a Fed facility out of state for 6 months! That wasn't an option for a me, being a single parent. But that degree does relate to other fields like the clients I had who were on probation but mentally ill.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by ladysovereign

Okaaayyy...I corrected my post long before I saw your comment. Don't have to be nasty about it. And I can see that it's obvious that you agree with me as you practically repeated my advice.

I didn't mean to seem nasty about it, but that mischaracterization happens on the majority of the employment related threads here, gets a bit tiresome, sorry. As far as not having grounds for any formal complaint, yes, we agree on that. But, right to work doesn't even belong in this discussion-- right to work and employment at will don't always go hand in hand.

To the OP-- the fact that you were doing a job other than the one you were hired for when you were terminated still doesn't give you any legal grounds for a "complaint". It may give you a better posture in terms of unemployment compensation, if memory of those regulations serves me correctly.

Who are you going to "complain a lot" to about how they do business? You might want to rethink that if you are going to look for work here in a similar field. Word gets around.

People end up in those situations all the time, and sometimes it doesn't work out. I would use what you learned, and move on.

[mohawkx]

Unfortunately, you are a victim of the new economic business model. Use less employees to achieve the same benchmarks. Give more responsibility to existing employees while maintaining the same titles and pay grades.

[phoenixscorpiogirl]

Originally Posted by mohawkx

Unfortunately, you are a victim of the new business economic model. Use less employees to achieve the same benchmarks. Give more responsibility to employees while maintaining the same titles and pay grades.

yeah it did seem like certain people in the admin ooffice were getting promoted all the time while they got more and more clients but no new pay for employees at the sites, and did want the those employees in the field to do more and more work

I think Im just gonna get a CNA license and do private work. Shoot, it pays more and is less stressful.