Was I wrongfully terminated?

[rhinman]

This is my story..
I worked in maintenence at a mobile home park where I currently live.
We had a company picnic in August on a Saturday afternoon,which was a no work day.
There was some beer at the party consumed. My boss asked me to drive the company "golf cart"
around the park to pick up a few things. Other people that I work with used it as well that day.
On monday morning of that week we were both called into the office and fired.
A month and a half later she hires the other guy back to work and not me. Is this legal?

Now this week she says she "might have some work for me"
Is this legal also?
Wouldnt she have to get permission from the owner of the park to hire people back after they told her in
the first place to fire us?

I am confused.

[sunlover]

Yes its legal. What would be unlawful about it?

You are entitled to know the reason why you were fired. There is a typical form letter ex-employees use that requests this information. The employer must respond within a certain time-frame, citing the cause of termination. Keep in mind that employers make up all kinds or plausible reasons for firing people to keep their own unemployment and lawsuit liability down, so don't expect the truth. But at least you'll have some written form of reason.

Apply for unemployment now. Do not bother with the woman telling you she may have work for you. Wash your hands of the people who are at your former employ.

It's not illegal that they fired you, but it must not be for discriminatory purposes.

Were you ever told why you were fired?

[sunlover]

Read "at will" your employer does "not" have to give you a reason for termination

It depends on what state the OP resides in. I know Maine has adopted the following policy, and apparently, it's in effect in WA too. Read on...

A regulation adopted by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries requires former employers, within 10 workdays of a written request by a former employee who has been discharged, to provide the employee with a written statement setting forth the reason(s) for the discharge.
1
Send a letter to your former employer asking for the reason(s) you were discharged
To obtain a written explanation identifying the reason(s) why you were discharged, you must provide your former employer with a written request. Although not specifically required by the regulation, sending a certified return-receipt letter to the former employer is a good idea for purposes of documenting that it was received by the former employer.
2
Your former employer's obligations
According to the L&I regulation, the former employer must furnish a signed written statement setting forth the reason(s) and effective date of the discharge within 10 working days of the former employee's written request.

Hope this helps a bit.

yikes, sounds communist to me

[sunlover]

Here are some sites that might have answers as well

www.thelaw.com

Originally Posted by Unregistered yikes, sounds communist to me

What sounds communist?

I think it's human nature that any employee would like a fair explanation as to why they were fired. It does affect future employment, and it also helps the employee know what to work on in the future so they do not repeat the same mistakes in the future.

If employers could fire randomly for no reason, and not have to cite one, there would be no Equal Opportunity Employment laws. Let's say, for example, a man is fired because he's gay. But the employer doesn't give an explanation. That employer just got away with anti-discrimination violation.