Location: Florida. I was fired 1 week after informing my work I needed 2 days off for a early miscarriage. I started having a miscarriage for which I hadn’t known I was pregnant on a Tuesday, I informed my employer the following day I would need that Thursday and Friday off to address my needs physically and I would return Monday. They acted sympathetic and when Monday came it was back to business as usual. By Friday AM I wad handed termination papers. They sited reasons as following- “taking excessive breaks, misuse of company resources, spending excessive time at desk, and lying about reasons for not being in the office.” NONE if this is true. To say I was shocked and insulted was an understatement. For background story I helped them open the company, I specialize in the industry and the owners had no experience. I trained them and used my connections to get them up and running.
My title was office manager, not sure where else my job should take place but at my desk. Regardless I spent many days running errands and doing things they only trusted me to do.
I was a salary employee and generally took s 30-45 minute lunch break daily. I eould come in anywhere between 7:00am and 8:15 am and leave between 4:30pm and 5:30pm, I also worked Saturdays from home as needed. I averaged 43-45 hours a week. I worked more than initially detailed in my job offer weekly. Unlike others who regularly put in 30 hours, coming in at 6am to sleep in their truck for an hour then leaving at 3pm each day. I was the lowest paid employee and the only female, lower paid than men i was training and cleaning up after. As far as misusing company resources that is absolutely insane, i NEVER did such a thing, she then proceeded to ask me aboutv every item i was packing in my box as i was leaving, coffee mugs, headphones insisted i show her the paper i put in the box (my daughter immunization records) treated me like a thief. It was very bizarre and surprising honestly. The most baffling part is i was given a raise 3 months prior and a quarterly bonus 2 weeks prior. Never was any dissatisfaction expressed on any instance or reviews. I was the only one taking initiative in areas outside of my descibed role including warehouse tasks. The list goes on and on. As I was walking out the door a major issue happened with a vendor and she was looking at me like a puppy who’d just been hit by a car, getting upset when I said I can’t help you with this, she said well this is wrap up for your severance. I had to explain this issue happened after I was fired even if only 15 minutes. She calls me from the road 5 minutes later for help to get into the vendor portal, I told her she needs to call the vendor not me. TBH im thinking they planned the whole time for me to just train the wife to do my job. Just a theory but curious if I have a leg to stand on for the timing of everything, raise, bonus , miscarriage, termination with absolutely bogus reasons.