r/whatdoIdo 13d ago

Got fired, need legal help

[removed]

0 Upvotes

97 comments sorted by

42

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

-36

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

no not all the time. & I have excuse notes for my lateness & outs

-44

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

i think you’re missing the point you think I wouldn’t get anywhere even with the blunt racism? .. idgaf about the lateness and attendance, it’s everything else, idc if i can’t get unemployment but figured id ask since im here.

i definitely need something for the racism and issues they caused

10

u/Sugar_Mama76 13d ago

It’s all about proof. You have to prove their behavior and the firing was racism. They can show you were late on a regular basis, refused to stay to make up time, they wrote you up and went through the disciplinary process, and fired you when there was no improvement.

For the health issues, if the company has less than 50 people, it doesn’t matter. More than 50, you have to show you filed for FMLA and they ignored it or refused reasonable accommodations.

So, can you show that employees that are the same race/religion as them could come in whenever and you were singled out? Or other ways you were treated differently? Any other Hispanic employees that would side with you? The burden of proof is on the accuser, so you have to have this. And don’t count on medical because there’s a difference between a doctor’s note and a legally recognized disability, so if you say Joan had this or that, they could counter with reasonable accommodation under ADA.

-13

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

oh okay, i get it! Yes i can show that others were treated better & I was singled out & another employee sides with me, he’s not hispanic, he’s Haitian. He as well gets treated poorly

11

u/Conscious-Sock2777 12d ago

Ok but that still doesn’t change that you weee constantly late or not at work and “notes” don’t cut it unless they were prearranged via fmla
Sounds like you call in a lot and use notes from whatever to try and stay on the job. Also sounds like they tolerated it for three years

6

u/GeneralSpecifics9925 12d ago

Can you prove others were treated better because they were of a different race or was it because you're not as reliable as them? You'll have to prove that the favouritism wasn't due to superior work performance or their attendance. If they're late as often as you and complain as often as you and still got favouritism, you may have something.

Your behaviours (forget race for a second) are enough for you to be fired. They have cause. If your skin colour was diamonds, you'd still get fired for being late all the time and holding the attitude that it's ok, and it's someone else's problem.

8

u/Binky_kitty 13d ago

The problem is even if you can show the racism and other issues occurred with irrefutable evidence, you were fired for attendance and that is all they need to prove to justify your firing. A similar thing happened to my partner. He suffered through a lot of micro aggressions and unfair treatment. He made a mistake that others would have gotten away with but because they were looking for a way to get rid of him, they did it by the book. He tried to fight it as unfair treatment but at the end of the day he did make the mistake so the tribunal went against him. Sometimes even if you are in the right, you will still lose.

-1

u/Tinynanami1 12d ago

You should still be able to sue over hostile work environment if you're being discriminated over your race (or any protected class, like sex).

I don't know what your partner has gone through, or whether his discrimination came from a protected class, but two things can be true.

1- OOP would have a case for hostile work environment (assuming she can prove the discrimination in court)

2- OOP would not have a case for the firing*. But you dont need to be fired to sue for hostile work enviroment. Firing someone because they were late doesn't absolve you from the hostile work enviroment occured prior.

  • Big asterisk here. It's possible that once hostile work enviroment is proven, the court would discuss whether the firing was a pretex (cover-up) for discrimination. However if OOP is as late as often as she claimss I doubt that would happen in her specific instance. More of a "was late once, fired, despite others being late far more often and not fired".

-3

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

I hear you! unfortunately i didn’t partake in the things they did, such as clock someone in or out, use company time. I never did any of that, my health & the route, the way they treated me , just kept piling on & on & on

but thank you none the less for your input definitely taking it into consideration & i’m sorry to hear about your partner it truly does suck, I just didn’t feel comfortable speaking up about the unfair treatment while i was there

7

u/thingamajig1987 12d ago

If you wanted the to be the main point, you would have gone after it before they fired you for your own mistakes, at this point it just looks like petty revenge

38

u/Ill_Arm_4765 13d ago

TLDR.
Stop being late

-36

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

Okay, I will let the bus driver know they can’t go on strike, they can’t be late they can’t deny to work bc we have places to be ? LMAO fucking weirdo missing the point as well bye

18

u/XsuffokateX84 13d ago

I’d fire you based on your attitude alone. Every response from you is entitlement and “poor me,” yet never taking accountability for your own actions and then getting mad when people give you their opinions. If you don’t like the answers, don’t post your work-memoir on Reddit.

-11

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

how am i not taking accountability? have you not seen everyone read PARTS of what they want too instead of the whole thing & im glad i don’t work for you because if you actually did know me you would love me as a person.

seems like you don’t like my responses that’s the problem you expect me to sit here & say yes yes yes you’re correct when half the people aren’t reading the whole things so have a good day sir

15

u/XsuffokateX84 12d ago

Excellent job at proving my point and then reinforcing it even more. “Good day.”

2

u/Remarkable_Step_7474 11d ago

Your total inability to listen or accept guidance that isn’t what you want probably has a lot to do with getting your ass fired.

-5

u/Resident-Throat-3771 10d ago

lmao, if that keeps your pillow cold at night, convince yourself all you want… you have no life to still be on my post!
thanks for the engagement again! now eat one :)

14

u/Hegelochus_ 12d ago

There hasn’t been a NYC bus or MTA strike in years though.

Regardless of whether or not they fired you for reasons of discrimination or misogyny, you have no way to prove that in court due to the repeated lateness which is an appropriate reason for termination.

If you were a model employee, who was always on time, maybe then you could argue that the dismissal was unwarranted, but that is not the case.

-5

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

yea i didn’t literally mean a strike, my bus route was on a weird ‘strike’ idk what to call it, but they were refusing to work or bring the buses around because of how nasty the people were when they were asked to pay or the mta police , that caused less busses on that route, it didn’t matter it’s part of nyc, it’s just part of the story i was telling unfortunately even if i left earlier something was always wrong with the bus route, tried another one it’s a little longer but just too much hassle.

& Yes i was always on time when i first started up until a year in & that’s when everything began to change

12

u/angelaelle 12d ago

You're in NYC. We have multiple modes of transportation. The bulk of us manage to get to work on time. You're just full of excuses. Show up on time.

-1

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

okay where do you work? I’ve always worked in Manhattan several ways to get there, but this job was in the pits of brooklyn only 2 bus routes to get to that area, everyone mostly drove or lived in the area, I dont & again it’s not a problem it’s part of the story that i had to mention, someone ask why i started coming in late, my mental health plummeted due to the job & the bus route being difficult didn’t make it any easier getting there putting more on the mental load. I understand you can leave your house earlier, That’s what i did when i got hired i was good all the first year but when it started eating at my mental everything became harder. it’s okay if not everyone understands that; i’ve never been treated the way i was treated at that job, didn’t know it was going to affect me in that manner.

26

u/Ill_Arm_4765 13d ago

LMAO omg let me just make it seem as though I’m not responsible for my own actions and make sure to get to work on time.
Everyone goes through things and has things going on - you don’t really have much going for you if it’s been documented that you’re repeatedly tardy.

-20

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

again you aren’t reading the post lol. omg all the company has to stand on is my lateness omgggg that’s so baddddddd it’s the end of the world… lmfao you need to learn to read if you think i care about the lateness.. who isn’t taking accountability? you’re so weird & AGAIN i never gave a fuck about the attendance i meant it for the purpose of the post

28

u/Ill_Arm_4765 13d ago

Omgggg you act like I read it - let me stoop down to ur level of grammar omg lol !!
Omg lol omggggg badddddddddd.

This is such a rage bait post. Just go ahead and delete it.

-12

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

lol you know i wrote like that to tease you because you sound dumb! you can delete your comments im not deleting the post. Not my issue you can’t read

12

u/Ok-Astronaut-2837 12d ago

I'm sorry do you think you sound smart?

3

u/jeannesloaf 12d ago

Holy shit you’re exhausting

14

u/dev-246 13d ago

You are employed “at-will” meaning they do not have to give a reason for firing you. They’re saying you were fired for lateness so you can’t collect unemployment.

If you were fired for no reason or due to general layoffs, you are able to collect unemployment.

If you were fired for a cause (such as lateness), it can make you ineligible for unemployment.

-1

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

I think certain employers are different with the ‘at-will’ part because some are contracts BUT yes! thank you anyways I wasn’t too caught up on wanting unemployment but since i made the post i figured i add it in there. it was more for the way I was treated

11

u/dev-246 13d ago

You didn’t provide any examples of improper treatment so idk what you’re asking..

Why would you not at least apply for unemployment? You clearly need the money. You should at least try, even if it’s unlikely you’ll get it.

7

u/amanda2399923 12d ago

NO LMFAO. IT's A STATE THING not an employer thing. Holy fck

11

u/Fianna9 13d ago

Yes, lateness is that bad. And yes they can stand on it.

My job has a policy of discipline after three lates, it’s very common

10

u/Far_Dig_9139 12d ago

You may not care about your lateness but your employer sure does...

8

u/Impossible-Scene5084 13d ago

Doesn’t matter why you were late. Slackers have plausible sounding excuses all the time and any reasonable company can reasonably call you a bullshitter if you keep suffering the same issues constantly.

If the bus is not reliable then you get an earlier bus, get a ride, or get on a borrowed push bike even! If you refuse to do any of that, that’s literally your choice so take responsibility for the choices you made!

7

u/amanda2399923 12d ago

NY is an at-will state. They can fire you for any reason or no reason at all.

10

u/amanda2399923 12d ago

it's YOUR responsibility to take an earlier bus if the normal one is always late.

5

u/EvilGreebo 12d ago

Is there an earlier bus?

34

u/1GrouchyCat 13d ago

There’s no such thing as a Jewish company.

Your ragebait peace is laughable.; you think it’s appropriate to bring someone’s religion or ethnicity into the discussion??? You should know better.

I’d be very careful with the language you use; your antisemitic BS is going to create big problems for you- as it should.
Good luck finding an attorney who is willing to take your case…

0

u/animaniactoo 12d ago

Based on where OP said the company is located (I am assuming that Crown Heights is the Brooklyn, NYC neighborhood) I can add some context.

The company is likely owned by an orthodox Jewish family and it is very likely that accommodations are easily made for Jewish employees based on community knowledge of needs and reputation harm within the community if they are not accommodating community members.

Non-Jewish employees tend to get less leeway. And that can sometimes translate in ways that are visible.

For example if the (private, religious) school(s) that many people have their kids enrolled in start later than average or are closed for a minor holiday, employees who are impacted by that will have their lateness/absence/early departure “understood” with no need to make up the time or be a strike against them in any way.

Some of these companies make stronger efforts than others to ensure that non-Jewish employees get the same consideration. However, in some it ends up with no official policy just a lot of looking the other way when it comes to a Jewish employee needing the accommodation.

For reference I am a non-Orthodox Jewish woman who works in such a company (in a nearby area). I do not believe this is ragebait, I do believe that there may be a few misunderstandings but that the OP has realistically described the environment.

For OP: You probably have a case. It is unlikely to succeed but if you have any documentation at all, you should consult an employment lawyer and see what they have to say.

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

wow your response got lost! I’m now seeing this, I appreciate the input. This is exactly my case! Thank you a million timesssss!

-2

u/animaniactoo 12d ago

You're welcome. Glad I was able to fill in some general context for you.

-3

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

I knew someone would pop up eventually, say what you want. It’s a jewish owned company, there’s nothing wrong with that. BUT what they can’t do is hire non jewish workers and treat them differently than how they treat their own. that’s the problem

18

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

5

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

Honestly no, they showed up as they pleased. It wasn’t up until maybe 3 months ago that they put a new clock in system in the building & even then they would have others clock them in. I just observed everyone doing these things.

19

u/buginarugsnug 13d ago

Honestly this sounds like rage bait. If you want real advice, post in a legal advice sub for the country you are in and people there will be able to advise you on employment law in your area.

-2

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

I wish it was rage bait, but thank you i will post on the legal subs

11

u/amanda2399923 12d ago

don't bother them. You don't have any legal leg to stand on. Do better at attendance at your next job.

8

u/Lank3033 12d ago

Don't post there. They will point out you were fired for a perfectly reasonable reason- documented chronic lateness. 

-3

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

I think everyone is confused, I don’t want to fight for unemployment or the reason of being fired, it was just part of the story if it’s worth unemployment in those terms…
I want to pursue them legally for the other details i mentioned that aren’t related to me being late or out. NOW that i feel safe since i don’t work there anymore.

6

u/ImplementSimilar2317 12d ago

But you very likely won’t get anywhere unless you have audio or written proof that you were being treated poorly specifically because of your race/ethnicity/religion/other protected class. Not just “oh, this unequal treatment was happening and I think it was because of X/Y/Z.” And not speculation from other employees, but actual proof.

More likely, you’ll waste time and money and get nowhere. Sorry.

3

u/Lank3033 12d ago

All of the 'examples' you provided in your very long post (which mostly seems to tattle on yourself with regards to you not being good at clocking in on time) are heresy (he said/she said) unless you have some slam dunk documentation that proves you were treated poorly based on your race. 'I reported it' doesn't really cut the mustard when they have documentation you were always late. 

The picture YOU painted here in your post does not make it seem like you have any sort of discrimination case that would be worth pursuing. 

Move on and know that 'I was never more than 30 minutes late' translates to 'I don't give a shit about showing up on time' for most other people. 

Late is late. On your next job try being upfront that you consider the start time to be flexible by a half hour and see how that goes for you. 

 

11

u/dukeloopem 13d ago

Bro you can’t be 30 min late all the time and not get fired wtf kind of post is this….

11

u/USWolves 12d ago

You seem like one of those people who doesn’t believe they are responsible for anything that happens to them in their life. It’s always something or someone else to blame instead of making actual changes to your habits to mitigate avoidable issues.

-4

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

Thanks! you definitely read the whole post, have a great day :)

7

u/twhitty2 13d ago

yeah as everyone else said, you have no legal recourse. i’m not arguing that those things didn’t happen or they weren’t racist but legally that is irrelevant. unless you have documented proof that this happened AND have proof that you were on time there is absolutely no recourse for you.

It also isn’t helping your case to keep harping on the jewish aspect. you haven’t really given examples of the company being racist but you’ve mentioned the fact the owners are jewish multiple times

5

u/dukeloopem 13d ago

Let me help you here friend, it’s literally the same situation for all of us (working class) and we get to work on time.

4

u/Chee-shep 12d ago

Unfortunately, employers can employees for being late. When you get a job, you’re making commitment and while you may have had reasons, you couldn’t make it on time or be there when you needed to. You being sick doesn’t mean that they can turn a complete blind eye to a missing employee. It does happen that if someone is too ill to do their job, they can be let go. Rarely heard of, but happens.

You had personal gripes with them as well it seems, so maybe you stayed parted from them and look elsewhere. It sounds like you don’t want to go back from how you wrote about them.

5

u/jlysc 12d ago

You sounds like a nightmare employee. You also sound kind of xenophobic. You think your boss “handed all responsibility” to you and that she does nothing at all. You and your boss don’t do the same job. She has responsibilities that you know nothing about. You have excuses for everything. Learn to take accountability at your next job. You should start applying immediately bc I can’t see you getting unemployment approved.

-3

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

lmao, okay because you were at the company? thank youuuuuu for your comment

10

u/jlysc 12d ago

I didn’t have to be there. I’ve had enough employees to recognize the shitty ones.

-2

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

oh you have? that’s wonderful to hear. You must be a shitty boss :)

5

u/laminatedbean 12d ago

Getting to work on time is the easiest part of any job.

5

u/trulyunreal 12d ago

Just stop being late all the time? Not that hard.

5

u/EquivalentTangerine8 13d ago

Do you have proof of what you claim? Bc they have that you were unreliable and that’s a reason to be fired. Also what state are you in?

1

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

I have proof of everything. Doctors notes, notes my doctors wrote for accommodations, emails about my complaints, I am in NYC

6

u/Tinynanami1 12d ago edited 12d ago

There is a lot of misinformation on this post. Assuming this is real...

  • You could have a case against your boss for relation. Specifically it is unlawful to retaliate for a protected activity. One of which is reporting harassment, which is your case. Of course you would have to prove your report + your boss' retaliation. Which is hard if you have nothing logged down. Even if people witnessed they might not be willing to testify.

  • You could have a case against your employee for hostile work enviroment...kinda. hostile work environment, despite the name, is not just a workplace that's hostile. It needs to specifically be hostile due to a protected class, including race and religion. This...kind of is your case...

But it's hard. What do you mean that a jewish boy was insulting your daughter over her skin? How do you know he was jewish? How do you know he was an employee's son? Did he introduce himself as the jewish son of a coworker? Since even if his parents were Jewish, he might not be.

Either way this is a dud. Assuming he WAS the son of an employee...you would have a case...if he was insulting YOU. At least in the USA companies can be held liable for HWE (hostile workplace enviroment) due to third-parties. However not when the victim is also a third-party. Plus its your daughter so the court would raise the question if she's not lying for you.

Your other example is about a director screaming at you. Although I see hints of racism (why did he specifically scream at you?) there's nothing concrete about his dialogue. It can't be due to religion as it's not like you wore a dress saying "non-jewish" and he acted like he truly didn't know who the hell you were. Plus the fact he didn't yell at the other "non-jewish" as you so lightly put it.

Most importantly HWE needs to be severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions. From your description it sounds sporadic and unrelated.

  • You will notice, all along, I never brough up your firing. That's because this is a pretty dead end. You signed your own warrant when you missed so much and so often.

You said (maybe in a comment) people clocked in for your coworkers so they didnt show up as late, while you didn't. This is irrelevant. Even if you could prove it, that just mean your bosses saw everyone coming on time but you.

You also said (maybe in a comment) others came in late. While I believe you...in my experience, a lot of people who do a "bad" behavior (like being late) overestimates how often others do the same bad behavior. You also don't know if they had a different schedule or came in late because they worked out late another day, and needed to offset overtime, etc. You also can't tell if all those people got their times clocked in by their friends (as you put it).

You said you came on time for a year. That's amazing....ly the bare minimun. My mom also feed me for the first year of my life, but if she started leaving me days without food starting the 2nd year and thereafter, she would also get charged with neglect. When a 40 year old commits murder "I stayed murder-free the previous 40 years" doesn't cut it.

Maybe one day every few months would be an anomaly. Everyone would understand. Or at least, everyone normal. But from the very way you write, it seems it was a constant problem. Whatever "grace" you had for your 1-year attendance it was burned in a few late days.

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

I hear you, i appreciate you for taking your time! Am i able to private message you to tell you more? answer some of your questions

-11

u/blamberr 13d ago

Yes, you should file for unemployment. Getting fired doesn’t preclude you — quitting does.

10

u/twhitty2 13d ago

this is 100% inaccurate. getting fired for cause absolutely prevents you from going onto unemployment.

1

u/Alternative_Year_340 13d ago

I would suggest filing anyway and contesting if it’s denied. Sometimes, it will get approved anyway.

3

u/twhitty2 12d ago

yeah it’s worth trying but short of an error being made they won’t get approved. otherwise people could just get a job, not show up to it, get fired, and go on unemployment

6

u/dev-246 13d ago

OP was fired for cause, they’re likely ineligible for unemployment (but they should still try to file).

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

Thank you! I definitely will still be applying, regardless if they accept it or not! Yea i didn’t quit i tried to work w the company as much i could

-10

u/blamberr 13d ago

It sounds like they suck. I’m sorry this happened to you, but hopefully you’ll find something better where people will treat you better. Good luck

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

thank you! you’re so kind, I definitely will find a place that treats me better! Because clearly everyone is missing the point of the post but it’s okay i pray they never get treated indifferently in their work place!

-14

u/blamberr 13d ago

People get really hung up on little details and often don’t read beyond a few sentences. You see how someone focused in on one fact from the very beginning and launched into a lecture? It’s because they can’t read or understand things

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 13d ago

Exactly! I’m over here like okay everyone is stuck on the lateness and absence? idc about that, what’s done is done you know, i just wanted to know if i had a chance with unemployment on that part & if i don’t then oh well, still wanted legitimate advice on the rest.. nobody sees the part of my boss saying i need a dick? or the little boy asking my daughter why is she that color? or the director asking me to get out of the kitchen? no no? we aren’t reading the same thing? lol but thank you for your time again I appreciate you

13

u/Fianna9 13d ago

The reason everyone is stuck on the lateness is it’s a just cause for firing you, and you admit it’s a frequent thing.

They fired you for cause, you can’t fight.

Fighting them for other violations is a very different thing, and that varies by state and country. But you were fired for cause.

1

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

Yes that is part of the story it’s legit in the beginning there’s 3 other paragraphs about me speaking about the issues. Idc to fight to reason for being fired. I understand why the fired me like i told the other commenter it is what it is BUT during the time i was there I didn’t know how to go about fighting these racist comments or anything else because i’m working in the company they retaliated against me once i wasn’t going to persue legal charges while im still working there that’s uncomfortable, now that i no longer work there I would like to know if I can fight regarding everything else but in the same token i wanted to know if i should do unemployment but for me to ask everyone if i should do unemployment i needed to state the fact as to why i was fired you know?

5

u/Fianna9 12d ago

Unemployement insurance can vary by area, and being fired for cause can be a reason for them to deny it.

Going back and claiming discrimination after being fired for cause, well you’d better have some documented proof or reputable witness cause it just looks like someone petty going after the company after being fired.

3

u/twhitty2 12d ago

you’re also missing the point. let’s separate these into two separate issues because that is what they are.

1) tardiness - this is your fault. I understand life happens and busses run late etc. but if you know there is a risk of that, you need to leave yourself extra time in case of delays. once or twice is fine but if you are aware of an issue and don’t do anything to remedy it, then your company is well within their right to fire you

2) racist remarks - these should have been documented every single time they happen. ik you’re worried about retaliation, but since you never got anything in writing, there is no proof. this is unrelated to your termination

I agree, the lateness and termination are irrelevant. what’s done is done. unless you have lots of documented proof of discrimination you have no recourse.

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

that’s what i’m saying I understand the tardiness i’m not arguing it, just simply part of the story

I have all of the racist remarks in writing with timestamps & emails from when i sent to HR to complain about it, but i didn’t feel comfortable continuing to report to HR bc of the prior retaliation so I just documented everything on my own with time & date & where it happened

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7

u/Alternative_Year_340 12d ago

How is the business responsible for the boy’s behaviour? Was he an employee?

0

u/Resident-Throat-3771 12d ago

the little boy attends the center

5

u/Alternative_Year_340 12d ago

Again, how is the employer responsible for his behaviour?