Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I have a long time report who I get along with very well. She is a fantastic worker, a great person, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I have been instructed to make separate her from employment with the company.
This came as a total shock to me, since she gets glowing reviews, she has been with the company over 35 years, and is one of the best people on my staff. When I probed my superiors for a little more information into their decision to terminate her employment, they told me it was because she was getting " long in the tooth. "
I know this is completely unethical, I am personally very hurt by this, because she does not deserve this, but I can not go against the current here and lose my job,I am a single working mother and need this job.
So Im torn, do I anonymously let the employee know, even though I have no proof, or do I just terminate her as told too and put this poor woman in financial harm?
Get a NEW job and do not do this. Imagine if you do fire her, your child there to witness your behavior. Would you be proud?
I was in your spot 26 years ago with my boss, who along with posting ads to replace a voluntary quit, wanted to fire a single mom who reported to me 2 weeks before Christmas. I told him he could either replace 1 (vol quit guy) or 3, not 2, and if he chose 3, I would walk out immediately. She worked for us 2 years before starting a new job.
So I have a long time report who I get along with very well. She is a fantastic worker, a great person, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I have been instructed to make separate her from employment with the company.
This came as a total shock to me, since she gets glowing reviews, she has been with the company over 35 years, and is one of the best people on my staff. When I probed my superiors for a little more information into their decision to terminate her employment, they told me it was because she was getting " long in the tooth. "
I know this is completely unethical, I am personally very hurt by this, because she does not deserve this, but I can not go against the current here and lose my job, I am a single working mother and need this job.
So Im torn, do I anonymously let the employee know, even though I have no proof, or do I just terminate her as told too and put this poor woman in financial harm?
So, they want you to do their unethical, dirty work. Quite frankly, I wouldn't do it without them giving me a VERY solid reason. How shameful. What a crappy workplace. Find another job ASAP.
Get a NEW job and do not do this. Imagine if you do fire her, your child there to witness your behavior. Would you be proud?
I was in your spot 26 years ago with my boss, who along with posting ads to replace a voluntary quit, wanted to fire a single mom who reported to me 2 weeks before Christmas. I told him he could either replace 1 (vol quit guy) or 3, not 2, and if he chose 3, I would walk out immediately. She worked for us 2 years before starting a new job.
So, they want you to do their unethical, dirty work. Quite frankly, I wouldn't do it without them giving me a VERY solid reason. How shameful. What a crappy workplace. Find another job ASAP.
Record everything in writing and move the record off-premises.
And then do the right thing. You already know what that is.
Courage is about doing the right thing when you don't feel safe. Preparedness is making sure that if you're harassed for upholding the law, someone else takes you seriously.
I've done this and discovered that a wrongdoer is very afraid to be exposed.
Remember the poem about "they came for musicians, and I did not speak up, because I was not a musician. They came for artists, and I did not speak up, because I was not an artist....
and when they came for me, no one was left to speak up for me."
Without a written document or a recording that clearly says that specific statement the statement was never made and everyone in management will deny it was ever made.
OP: Do as you have been instructed to do unless you have absolute proof of what was said.
I actually did, im not trying to twist anything, I was just posting asking for opinions on how to proceed, not whatever youre trying to accuse me of.
How about instead of trying to focus everyone's attention on the "long in the tooth" comment you tell us what all the other things were. If you are that concern and really want good advice, you would tell us the truth about what was said, not some edited version that focused on one and only one phrase with no context? The only reason I can think of for not telling us what those other things were is they were legitimate and necessary reasons to fire her and the "long in the tooth" was referring more to her longevity with the company, not so much her physical age. So, what's it going to be?
How about instead of trying to focus everyone's attention on the "long in the tooth" comment you tell us what all the other things were. If you are that concern and really want good advice, you would tell us the truth about what was said, not some edited version that focused on one and only one phrase with no context? The only reason I can think of for not telling us what those other things were is they were legitimate and necessary reasons to fire her and the "long in the tooth" was referring more to her longevity with the company, not so much her physical age. So, what's it going to be?
With all due respect,I think youre being purposely combative here.
When someone says to fire somebody because theyre " long in the tooth " the LAST thing im assuming is that comment correlates with their tenure with the company, and the first thing any reasonable person would assume is that the comment is being made in regards to age.
And whatever other reasons they have for letting her go, legal or otherwise, are trumped by the fact that they included her age as a reason also.
Some folks are acting as if being fired for Age is this abstract and alien concept that never happens.
I have no idea what this means, I am not retired, and there are no follow ups, Im just distressed over what to do.
Let's examine part of your initial posting:
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisa33441
So I have a long time report who I get along with very well. She is a fantastic worker, a great person, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I have been instructed to make separate her from employment with the company.
People who have direct reports are in management. At the very least you are a first line supervisor to this employee. Without any follow-ups you aren't doing your job. Besides taking orders, it is your job to ask questions, offer solutions and warn upper management when they might be doing something extremely stupid which is going to come back to bite them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisa33441
This came as a total shock to me, since she gets glowing reviews, she has been with the company over 35 years, and is one of the best people on my staff. When I probed my superiors for a little more information into their decision to terminate her employment, they told me it was because she was getting " long in the tooth. "
As a manager, this is what your expected dialogue replies should be:
Boss: I want you to fire her because she is getting long in the tooth. You: What exactly are you referring to? She is a fantastic worker and a great person. She's been with us for 35 years. What specific issues are there about her?
Boss: I want you to fire her because she is getting long in the tooth. You: I hope you realize that this would open us to an age discrimination, since there is nothing in her performance history that would support a termination.
Boss: I want you to fire her because she is getting long in the tooth. You: Are you eliminating her position? Does she not have a skill set you want? Can we train her? Are we downsizing?
That's how you handle it. If for whatever reason you didn't do that, you need to do that now. If you don't or come up with an excuse that you won't have a follow-up, that is why it is difficult for people here to take your situation seriously. If you can't ask those kinds of questions out of fear of losing your own job, then you don't deserve to be in that role and should look for another job immediately or ask to step down from your current position.
So I have a long time report who I get along with very well. She is a fantastic worker, a great person, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I have been instructed to make separate her from employment with the company.
This came as a total shock to me, since she gets glowing reviews, she has been with the company over 35 years, and is one of the best people on my staff. When I probed my superiors for a little more information into their decision to terminate her employment, they told me it was because she was getting " long in the tooth. "
I know this is completely unethical, I am personally very hurt by this, because she does not deserve this, but I can not go against the current here and lose my job, I am a single working mother and need this job.
So Im torn, do I anonymously let the employee know, even though I have no proof, or do I just terminate her as told too and put this poor woman in financial harm?
I think that people are responding to your post the way they are because there is a history of someone making up and posting weird work/employment stories in this section of CD. Unless English is not your first
language, the post is written strangely. Instructed to make separate from her job- why not say fire? Long in the tooth or old? What are the other factors that influenced the decision- could it be that your assessment of her skills is off because you like her and feel sympathy for her situation? Any office with a strong HR department knows that you can't directly fire a person because they are 'old' (at least they won't go on record saying that is the reason for fear of being sued). They will let you go for poor job performance, downsizing, etc. What are some of the other reasons that she is being let go?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
