i was suspended 7 days from work, for no reason at all, what should i do? should i get a lawyer?

Question

when i ask why i was being suspended for, they told me that the manager wanted to talk to me, and i had to wait until he comes back, because he is out of state. i work for the FLHPCOA fund raisin center.

Answer 1

Apparently there was some reason - maybe the manager is the only one who knows what it is. But doesn't sound like you have any legal case - they can suspend you, or even fire you, without giving a reason.

Answer 2

If, like most workers in the U.S., you do not have an employment contract that says otherwise, you are most likely an employee at will and may be fired, demoted, suspended, etc. for any reason or no reason, including a false, mistaken or even deliberately made up reason.

Moreover, while you may be unaware of your employer's reasons, clearly something has motivated the decision to suspend you. You may even have some idea of what it is.

Adverse employment actions (such as a suspension) are only illegal if they are done for some illegal purpose. For example, you have a brand new manager who happens to be biassed against female polynesians (or whatever race, sex, religious, national origin, or age (if over 40) group(s) you belong to). Or perhaps, they just found out that you reported them to the attorney general's office for engaging in unlawful fund raising practices. The options are limited. Most adverse employment actions are entirely lawful. For example, lets say they fired you because you hung up on prospective donor, even though you never did that. So long as they're not using this as an excuse to conceal an unlawful reason, there is nothing *legally* wrong with it.

So, should you see an attorney? Absolutely. First, the attorney will go over all sorts of potential issues with you, like whether you have been paid correctly. Things that are not on your mind, and never occurred to you to complain about, but may be unlawful all the same. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with posing all your questions to someone who is knowledgeable and getting an authoritative answer that either there has been no violation of a law, or even that there may have been some trivial violation, but that it would cost more to pay the attorney to bring suit than you could get out of the potential suit. For a nation that prides itself on being one of laws, we tend not to be very well versed in the law. See an attorney, educate yourself. (And make sure you see a plaintiff's employment attorney in your area. The law can vary from place to place, and of course you don't want to see someone who primarily does estate planning or even personal injury actions.)

Finally, you're angry and this may be hard, but try to put yourself in your employer's position. It is possible that your manager is an idiot scumbag who never liked you even though, or perhaps because, you are a significantly better fundraiser than he will ever be, and he has been looking for a reason to fire you from the first day he met you. This does happen. It is also possible that a legitimate question was raised that he felt like he needed to deal with, that he could not while he was on travel, and that you might be able to help him resolve whatever it is and carry on. Anything's possible. But in the mean time, take care of yourself through this time of uncertainty. See a lawyer, don't "get" a lawyer. And consider the possibility of moving on to another job. Which just means looking. Not voluntarily leaving the position you have before you come up with something new.

And consider not quitting, even if you believe the writing is on the wall for you. If you are comfortable in your own mind with your performance, there should be no shame in explaining an unfortunate situation to a prospective employer. Explain to them that a situation arose that was beyond your control, that based on your employer's handling of the situation you became concerned that it might result in your termination, but that you were confident in the job you did, and though it was difficult, to assure your ability to collect unemployment benefits, if necessary, you began looking for other work but did not voluntarily quit the position.

Answer 3

Agreeing with the first respondent, you don't get suspended for no reason at all. There is a reason, and perhaps the manager is the only one authorized to speak to you about it.

Seven days lost work is far from an adequate reason (financially) to engage an attorney.

Answer 4

You could, but it won't do any good.

I would start looking for another job b/c they are probably waiting for your manager to come back and tell you in person that you are terminated.

Employers don't have to give you a reason.