Was I Terminated Unjustifiably?

Question

I was working for a company that employs people from home to do customer service, telecommuting. When I finished with one of my calls, i placed the system's answering service on Personal time so that no more calls would come in and I could go and check out what was going on during that moment. I began to curse but did not know that the system did not release the last call although the customer was not on the phone, but randomly, there are times when certain team managers listen to the employee’s calls to monitor them. It just so happens that on that particular call I was being monitored, but I thought the system released the call, which essentially is the system's malfunction because it is supposed to release after each call. Later on, they notified my team manager, she emailed me about what happened and i replied by apologizing and explaining the situation. Then she sent instant messages to everyone letting them know that when you are on Personal Time, to ensure that the call has released and place the phone on mute because it might still be recording. She later on that day also emailed me later on that day a statement that she had copied and pasted to me via email stating where they have written under the following heading:[B][U]Egregious Call Berhavior."Swearing or obscenities before, during, or after call: Immediate Termination." and later on that day I got a call from HR that they were going to release me because of the incident.

I was not introduced to this notice/policy until after the fact, and later on when i fully read it, it is a bit confusing and vague

The information i am trying to get is if I have a case that I can take to a lawyer to get my job back and of course get my lost wages, because other than that, I was excellent. They use a scoring system in which you must maintain a 97% or above and I always achieved 100%.

Was I terminated unjustifiably? Especially since this was brought to my attention after the fact and the system did not release the call as it is supposed to, or do they have the jurisdiction over me regardless of the facts, especially since no obvious harm was done to any clients nor was it a confrontation with any other employee?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Well, I'd fire you on the principle that cursing come easily to you, so that you might slip up in the future.

Answer 2

You're done. You violated a published company policy which clearly states that the punishment for violating the policy is immediate termination. Whether you'd ever seen the policy before is irrelevant; that's like saying you were speeding because you didn't know what the speed limit was. You're going to get the ticket anyway, because you still committed the offense. And I'd be willing to bet that if you looked in your personnel folder you'd find something with your signature on it from the day you were hired stating that you had been advised of the rules and policies of the company and agreed to abide by them. If they have that one piece of paper on file - which I'm pretty sure they do - then you don't have a leg to stand on.

Move on and find a better job.

Answer 3

Do you mean was it fair ? Or do you mean was it legal.

of course it was legal, in most states in the US they don't need any reason to fire you, they can fire you for no reason what so ever.

Was it fair, sorry but althought it was an error, anyone knows you do not curse at customers, ( and honestly a very poor personal habit to have when you just hang up the phone for anyone)

But yes this could have gotten anyone fired normally since it is a commom sense issue.

Answer 4

It seems to me they had a right to fire you. Using their equipment means you follow their rules. If swearing is against the rules than you violated the rules. You knew they could be listening and should have been on your guard not to swear. If you still feel you were wrongfully terminated you can go to your state department of employment and schedule a hearing before a judge who will listen to both sides and decide the legalities of your termination.

Answer 5

Are you saying that they did not give you the companies policies in the form of an employee's manual or some other form? If they did and you did not read them your fault. If not then they really can not fire you for cause. Now if you are in an At-Will State and they did not give cause when they fired you they can do what they did.

Answer 6

It depends. Are you a contract or at-will employee? If you have a contract you had to violate the terms of the contract.

If you don't have a contract you are at will and can be fired for any reason except discrimination.

Answer 7

Unjustifiable, you have a shot with a lawyer.

Answer 8

Justified. You did not show due diligence.