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Laid Off After Being Involved in an Accident Caused by Another Driver

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  • 01-13-2017, 12:10 PM
    Concernedman
    Laid Off After Being Involved in an Accident Caused by Another Driver
    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Illinois

    Just a couple quick questions.

    I drive a truck overnights for a living. About 4 months ago I was involved in an accident with a drunk driver, who also had drugs in his system. Sadly, that driver passed away. My employer put me on paid leave until everything got worked out since they are afraid of lawsuits. Since there was a fatality involved, and no witnesses other than me, it became a criminal investigation. Long story short, I've been cleared as my involvement was non-preventable. I had to give up phone records, etc to prove I was not distracted.

    However, my company has kept me on paid leave for 4 months, and now they just laid me off. The investigator originally told my company that firing me was illegal at the time it happened. What would he know though?
    Was I wrongfully terminated? And when can I apply for unemployment benefits? I've never collected unemployment before.
  • 01-13-2017, 12:15 PM
    free9man
    Re: Was This Wrongful Termination
    I don't see anything wrongful but I'll leave that to more learned HR minds.

    You should go ahead and open an UI claim now.
  • 01-13-2017, 12:17 PM
    cbg
    Re: Was This Wrongful Termination
    I have to admit, I'm not seeing a wrongful term or anything illegal either. On what basis did the investigator think it was?
  • 01-13-2017, 12:33 PM
    Concernedman
    Re: Was This Wrongful Termination
    The investigator told them that it was discriminatory to fire someone over an investigation, when no evidence existed that put me as having any wrongdoing in the case. And I could take them to civil court over wrongful termination. What happened was 2 weeks after it happened, they said that they were gonna lay me off. I panicked and called the investigator asking him why everything was taking so long. He stated that there was gonna be a new district attorney in December after the November elections, and the case was put on the back burners. I told him that they were gonna lay me off and he got upset and asked for the direct number to the big boss. And he told me exactly what he told them. Then no more talk of lay off, and paychecks every Friday for 3 months
  • 01-13-2017, 01:09 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: Was This Wrongful Termination
    I also don't see anything wrongful about the termination. I suspect that the investigator might have been wrong even back then but if your employer bought his story and kept you on the payroll this long, count your blessings.

    Here's a brief summary of wrongful termination in Illinois:

    http://www.wrongfulterminationlaws.c.../illinois.htm#

    Call the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the nearest EEOC Field Office and see if anybody there can shed any light on the issue.

    If you aren't satisfied with those places, google wrongful termination lawyer and see what a lawyer can tell you.

    Meantime, file for UI ASAP so you don't lose any benefits.
  • 01-13-2017, 01:09 PM
    cbg
    Re: Was This Wrongful Termination
    I'm sorry, but the investigator is wrong.
  • 01-13-2017, 01:23 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Laid Off After Being Involved in an Accident Caused by Another Driver
    Police investigators know their jobs — investigating crimes. Most do not know much, if anything, about the details of employment law, especially as it applies to private (i.e. nongovernment) jobs. It may well be that for his civil service government job such a termination would be wrongful because civil service jobs tend to have different rules than those that apply in the private sector. But I think he got it wrong here.

    A private employer does not need a good reason (what is called in the law good cause) to fire you in all but one state, and that one state is not Illinois. When the employer is not a government agency, then the employer may legally fire you for any reason (or no reason at all) except for a few reasons prohibited by law. The prohibited reasons include firing you because:
    • of your race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, or genetic test information under federal law (some states/localities add a few more categories like sexual orientation);
    • you make certain kinds of reports about the employer to the government or in limited circumstances to specified persons in the employing company itself (known as whistle-blower protection laws);
    • you participate in union organizing activities;
    • you use a right or benefit the law guarantees you (e.g. using leave under FMLA);
    • you filed a bankruptcy petition;
    • your pay was garnished by a single creditor; and
    • you took time off work to attend jury duty (in most states).


    The exact list of prohibited reasons will vary by state.

    You were in an accident and the police cleared you of any criminal wrongdoing. But you and your employer could still be sued over the accident and if you had been negligent the plaintiff (presumably the other driver’s estate) could win a judgment for the damages suffered as a result. The standards for criminal prosecution and civil liability are quite different. So, even though the police cleared you that is not necessarily the end of any legal issues out of the accident. Your employer is free to terminate you over this accident even though no criminal charges were filed and even if you were not negligent in causing the accident. Your employer can do that because the employer may terminate you for any reason at all except for those few reasons like those listed above that the law says cannot be a basis for termination. Feel free to consult an IL attorney who litigates wrongful termination cases to be sure there isn’t something here for which you may sue your employer, but be prepared for the very likely possibility that you will hear that there is no case here.

    You certainly may apply for unemployment benefits and should do so promptly. You only get UI benefits for the weeks after you apply; so once terminated you don’t to delay applying for benefits.
  • 01-14-2017, 04:18 PM
    Concernedman
    Re: Laid Off After Being Involved in an Accident Caused by Another Driver
    I appreciate the replies. Thank you everyone. My company told me today that they didn't terminate me. But, instead they put me on a "temporary" layoff. My company is terrible at communication. But I'm still eligible for unemployment, and they told me to file a claim immediately. The owner of the company is still deciding on what to do with me, but he doesn't want to pay me for not working anymore.
  • 01-14-2017, 06:25 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: Laid Off After Being Involved in an Accident Caused by Another Driver
    Quote:

    Quoting Concernedman
    View Post
    I appreciate the replies. Thank you everyone. My company told me today that they didn't terminate me. But, instead they put me on a "temporary" layoff. My company is terrible at communication. But I'm still eligible for unemployment, and they told me to file a claim immediately. The owner of the company is still deciding on what to do with me, but he doesn't want to pay me for not working anymore.

    In my dictionary, a layoff without pay is a termination.

    File for unemployment NOW.

    Start looking for another job.

    If the owner of the company hasn't decided to put you back to work by now, assume that he won't and act accordingly.

    To have continued eligibility for unemployment compensation you have to show that you are actively looking for work and haven't turned down suitable employment.
  • 01-14-2017, 07:35 PM
    ChristieG
    Re: Laid Off After Being Involved in an Accident Caused by Another Driver
    And in mine, a layoff is a termination in which there is at least a reasonable chance that the employee will be recalled. Every time employment ends, that is a termination; even a quit is a voluntary termination.

    I don't disagree that the poster here should be applying for unemployment and looking for new work, but it's not the pay status that determines a layoff vs. a firing; it's the chance of recall.
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