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  1. #1

    Default Wrongfully Terminated

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Ohio

    To start off, I am a single mom of two trying to make it in the factory world. I recently became employed with a staffing agency and assigned to factory work basically loading and unloading on an assembly line. It was a first shift position making 8.50 an hour.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    6,808

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    More info? Reason for termination? Though in advance, if you don't have a specific contract, you would be an "At Will" employee, meaning you can be fired anytime for any reason (except things like age, sex, race, nationality.....).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    As long as you are still employed with the temp agency, you have not been terminated. The client having you removed from that specific assignment to them is not a termination of your employment as they are not your employers.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    Sorry This is the rest of the post;

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Ohio

    To start off, I am a single mom of two trying to make it in the factory world. I recently became employed with a staffing agency and assigned to factory work basically loading and unloading on an assembly line. It was a first shift position making 8.50 an hour. It is very hard for me to work second shift due to non reliable child care. When I was hired in I told the staffing company that I could only work first shift and possibly third shift ( my kids can stay with their grandma at night ).

    The position was very physically demanding. There was a lot of lifting and the working conditions were not ideal. I worked near basically an oven in the summer months with no air conditioning and a few fans. The work days were mandatory 10 hour days. I came home covered in bruises and scratches. Sometimes I would have to ask for the proper safety equipment ( armguards ) because there were none in the area. While I waited on them I had to work without because the line does not stop. If things were not loaded properly they would fall off the line causing a safety hazard. At one point an object fell off of the line and hit my teeth. I worked very hard, I watched a lot of temps come and go because they couldn't do the work ( around 30 during the 3-4 months that I was employed ) After less than a month of work, I received a raise. I worked as hard as my male co-workers. My attendance the first month and a half was perfect. towards the fall months my kids became sick and I lost after school care for my oldest. It resulted in my having to leave work early 3 times. I also missed one full day of work due to my youngests childs daycare being closed and one half day for my oldests first day of school. I had acquired 3 points due to these incidents. When I was hired onto the temp agency I was told that termination would not be considered until I had acquired six attendance points. And even then if I was a good worker they would keep me on, they just would not hire me full time to the factory. I had never received any kind of verbal or written warning of my attendance.

    There were a couple incidents that caused friction between my supervisor and I in the ending months of my employment. I was approached by my supervisor and asked if I could work a different shift ( an earlier first shift ). I told him ideally I would like to, but that I wasn't sure if I could work it out with child care because daycares do not open early enough for those hours. He came across as if I didn't have much of a choice. I went to my onsite account manager for my temp agency and told her about the situation. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to get in trouble if I couldn't do the earlier shift. She talked to my supervisor which resulted in him coming up to me during work and yelling at me. I explained to him that I was just making sure that I wasn't going to get in trouble and that I wasn't accusing him of anything. It turned out that I could not do the earlier shift at that time, but a month later when I lost my after school childcare I was able to find a sitter for the early morning hours so I asked if I could go to this early shift now. My supervisor told me he would talk to HR and let me know. Two weeks went by and I had heard nothing so I asked my supervisor again and he told me that it wasn't up to him but it was up to the head of HR. Later that day I saw the head of HR and I asked him if it was a possibility ( because if it wasn't a possibility I needed to set up more permanent childcare for after school ). He said that it was but someone needed to be moved to my later shift before it could happen. That didn't really make any sense though because the later shift was over-staffed and the early shift under-staffed. About an hour after that conversation my supervisor again came up to me while I was in the middle of work and yelled and cussed at me about going over his head to his supervisor twice now. Which that wasn't true this was the first time I had talked to the head of HR, neither time was aimed to get him in trouble and I only asked the head of HR because my supervisor said it was up to them. I was very shaken by being yelled and cussed at and then having to resume work duties. On my break I went to HR and told them that I could not work under those conditions. They said that they have had the same problems with this supervisor before and that he would be talked to. I was asked if I wanted to write up a statement. I decided not to because I needed this job and didn't want to rock the boat any further with the supervisor. Knowing now I wish I would have and I will always write a report if something like this happens in the future.

    Anyways things were ok for 3 weeks. I got switched to the earlier shift ( which my supervisor was not happy about ). I feel that I was being given the harder jobs on the line on purpose, but I wasn't really that concerned about it, I can do the work. I just wrote it off as my supervisor being petty. If you go 4 weeks without an attendance occurance, than one point would drop off your record. I was a couple days away from my four weeks and my childs daycare called. He had a fever and a huge white sore on his tongue and he would not eat or drink and was very fussy. I had to leave work to get him. This was on a Friday. I had already committed to working on Saturday. I notified my supervisor and all he said was OK. I left to get my son and took him the the ER. It turns out that he had contracted hand foot and mouth from his daycare.

    I went to work Saturday as I agreed to. Sunday afternoon I received a phone call from the onsite account manager stating that due to my attendance and "cutbacks" that I was terminated. She said nothing about another position with the staffing company only that I could get my check from the office the following Friday.

    I filed for unemployment right away so that I could start receiving it as soon as possible. Being a single mom with no child support, I live paycheck to paycheck almost. That Friday when I got my check my account manager asked if I would be interested in a position at another factory down the road. I told her that if it was first shift and wasn't too much further away that I would. I need to work so I figured I didn't have much choice but to take it. I was actually very relieved. At least I could earn a paycheck while looking for something closer. She said she would call me the next week to start.

    I ended up getting approved for unemployment and I didn't hear back from the staffing company for two weeks. When I did get a call from the account manager she asked if I was available for second shift. The account manager knew that I cant do second shift, I knew them personally. They were aware that it is very hard for me to do that shift. Not only is it hard to get a sitter, but my oldest child has special needs that require me to be there when they are not in school. The company was very aware that I could not do second shift. And I know that in the almost two months that I was terminated they have had first shift positions available that they haven't offered to me. I believe that they offered me the position on purpose so that my unemployment would end, and so that they wouldn't be obligated to pay it. The job they "offered" me was less pay, less hours, and farther away in addition to being a shift that is not possible.
    Even if I could have found temporary childcare, it would not have been worth the drive and wear and tear on my car. Right now I was saving up to buy new tires for my car. I had gotten the front ones replaced but had not saved enough for the back. I don't even know if my car could make the drive every day before I had enough to get the tires replaced.

    My unemployment has ended because of this. I am in the process of appealing it based on it being a farther drive for me, but I do not know if it will get approved. I know right now at the factory that I was assigned at there are several temps that are over 3 points and some that even have 8 and 9 points. In fact the Monday before the Friday that I had to leave early one of my male co-workers missed a half day due to having to go to court for driving under the influence. He had 7 points prior to missing the half day and he is still employed.

    I know that the laws are very specific, I just wanted to see if anyone had any legal advice for me. If I don't get my unemployment back is there anything in this situation that would make a case against the staffing company or factory I was assigned to ? I have interviews set up for jobs that are closer to where I live, and am not as concerned about money as I am by the fact that I just feel very wronged.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    1,360

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    Quote Quoting Factory female
    View Post
    I am in the process of appealing it based on it being a farther drive for me, but I do not know if it will get approved.
    Don't confine your appeal to just the distance. You can also use the lower pay, less hours and the 2nd shift issue (presumably because it's substantially less favorable than prevailing for the locality). Also, if you have childcare for 1st and 3rd shift, you can bring up that 2nd shift childcare isn't practical for you because of the cost vs remuneration. You aren't required to be available 365x24x7. Only that your availability exposes you to a substantial field of employment.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    It does not appear there is anything illegal here. Unfortunately, having kids you cannot afford to support is difficult. Kudos' for trying. I suggest you check out Ohiomeansjobs.com the ODJFS web site for employment. Also go to your local One Stop and talk to a counselor. They sometimes have active jobs they can "come off" for special situations temporarily. It appears you now have a marketable skill even if it is limited.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    Oh I have checked and applied to lots of jobs listed on ohiomeansjobs. Been to One Stop also. Thanks for the suggestions. I have a lot of experience, two years of College and am currently in school. My ex-husband was in the military so unfortunately being a stay at home mom and military wife for the past 5 years means that I had to start all over again. I am not worried about a job, I know I will find one. I just have been treated very unfairly ( though not in the legal definition ) and I don't want to just stand there and take it, if there is something that I can do about it. Thank you for your reply.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    6,808

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    Try Craigslist.com also - just with caution. If it's paying a ridiculous amount, or seems too good to be true - it is.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    Thank you for the replies and suggestions!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Wrongfully Terminated

    I finally made it through that very long post of mostly irrelevant information, and nothing you have posted suggests that you were wrongfully terminated. If the fact that you initially were awarded unemployment is what makes you think that your termination was unlawful, please note that the vast majority of people collecting unemployment were legally terminated. Collecting benefits does not a wrongful termination make. Unless a specific law states that an employer may not terminate you for the reason they did, your termination was not wrongful.

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