Hello,

I am in a pretty stressful situation right now.

I got fired from an "entry level" position at a multibillion dollar company in October of this year, along with a coworker. The reasons our boss told us were that we were taking too many breaks. This was not true, for me anyway. They based their assumptions on not using our badges to open the door each time we went out. My badge would sometimes not work, and othertimes I wouldn't have it on me. I did use it most of the time, and ALWAYS when it came to punching in or out for the beginning of my shift, lunch, and to go home. I worked a 10 hour shift, so I got 40 minutes of paid break time, broken down into four 10 minute breaks throughout the day. I was pretty shocked that I got fired, especially with no warning and no previous "behavioral problems", but accepted it and went home. After I cooled down, I called Human Resources to ask for evidence that I was abusing breaks, and explained the above break schedule, and how I feel I was wrongfully terminated. Nobody ever got back to me.

I figured it wouldn't really matter. I'm young, people get fired all the time and deal with it. I could use the downtime to further my education.

Fast forward to this week. I've been attempting to collect Unemployment Insurance (UI) for the last three weeks. My claims have all been approved, but when it comes to getting paid, I get an "error" stating that they cannot pay me right now due to an unresolved issue, and that I would be receiving paperwork in the mail to resolve the issue. I called UI because I had not received any forms. The agent I spoke with informed me of the issue. My former employer had made the claim that I was "falsifying my time card" and that was why I was terminated. I explained to the agent why they told me I was fired, and that there was no way I could have been falsifying my time cards. I also mentioned that my previous supervisor at this company had "given me permission" to take my breaks in 4x10. The "offical policy" was to take two 15 minute breaks and one 10 minute break, so I thought maybe that was why? The agent took down all of my information, and told me that my previous employer would have until Friday (today) to provide evidence for their claim.

And that leaves now. I checked the UI website to see if my claim has been updated, and it has. I am not eligible to receive UI.

I do not know what kind of evidence they provided, and since my previous employer has not returned any of my calls, I am unsure what to do. I would like for them to send me copies of everything relating to my termination, but I can't even get through to a live human being.

I can live without receiving UI. The thing I am mainly concerned with is the slander I feel this company is bringing to my name. (Especially as a young person with very limited work experience.)



I need advice on what I should do.

The people who I have spoken with about this issue have told me to try to contact Human Resources again, and if nothing gets resolved, to contact Legal. I do not know if the company has a legal department though, nor do I know how I would even bring this up. Should I hire a lawyer or is my case simple enough where I could do all of the work myself?

How can I ensure that Human Resources will send me everything in my termination file? I read another thread on this board about getting personell files subpoenaed. Can someone direct me to somewhere that would help me do this?


Thank you.


Also, I feel I should add:

While on my breaks, the same exact people were always there before I would go outside, and stayed after I returned inside. None of them were fired. Some days I would not take any breaks aside from my 30 minute unpaid lunch, which was considered mandatory unless given explicit permission by a supervisor.