Re: failure to follow policy and procedure in a termination

More | Report Post

On 2/08/07, Terry wrote:
> On 2/07/07, Julie Reyes wrote:
>> I was terminated from a long term care facility (nursing
>> home) about 3 weeks ago. Their claim is that I falsified
>> a document, the true statement is that I did write a wrong
>> date on a discharge summary simply due to being tired ( I
>> had worked about 39 hours of overtime that week due to
>> being on call, also it would be of no benefit to me to
>> back date a document of this nature).
>> I think the reasons that I was terminated were due to the
>> fact that I had made it quite known that when my facility
>> Administrator returned from her conference I was going to
>> turn in my Director of Nursing for failing to respond to
>> my complaints of being too tired to work an additional
>> shift and that I was unsafe to care for my residents ( I
>> had already made a medication error and was having a very
>> difficult time concentrating and I let the DON know this
>> and I was still forced to work to cover call in’s).
>> When it usually takes a stick of dynamite to get our
>> company to terminate someone, I was terminated after only
>> one offense; there were no other complaints or policy and
>> procedure violations in my employee file. My company did
>> not follow our policy and procedure, which they always
>> seem to rely on for everyone else. I have contacted the
>> HR rep at corporate but have not received a phone call
>> back. All I want is the 3 weeks vacation time and my
>> termination changed to resignation, I don’t feel that this
>> is too much to ask for wimpy excuse they used to get me
>> out the door. I also feel this may have been related to
>> the fact that I had made a written request for a month
>> unpaid leave that I was planning to take when our adopted
>> baby was born. Another misstep is that they changed my
>> salary without notifying me.
>>
>> I have called many state and federal offices, but my
>> situation dosen't seem to fall into any catagory. I could
>> really use some good counsil in this matter.
>> Thank you,
>> Julie heart_mender@hotmail.com
>
> "I have called many state and federal offices, but my
> situation dosen't seem to fall into any catagory" That's
> because nothing illegal has transpired. Even if your DON
> terminated you because you were going to "turn her in" for
> having you work additional shifts, that's perfectly legal.

What state are you in? In most states an employer must pay
earned but unused vacation. Also, changing your pay without
notice would "likely" be illegal. Regarding federal
whistleblower protection, your claim may be denied because you
did not actually file a complaint. You may however have a
cause of action under "public policy".

Public policy covers values, principles and basic rules that
courts and legislatures consider to be in the best interest of
individuals and the general public.

Keep in mind that simply because no one will take your case
doesnt mean you dont have one. Use the small claims arena but
do your homework. It worked for me years ago while I was in
law school.

Please note, if you are going to blow the whistle on your
employer in the future - just blow it. Dont chat about it
because your co-workers will stab you in the back and slap
your face when you turn around. That is the reality of life.
Best of luck to you.