I made a big mistake

[jul-els]

About 3 mos. ago, I accepted a job offer in a field I knew nothing about. The reason why being times are tight, I've been unemployed too long, and they offered me complete on the job training. The field I entered into was one of a pest control technician. Unfortunately, this company seemed very shady from the get go. The training consisted of nothing more than how to talk to the customer in order to convince them you know what you're doing at their home and any training pertaining to the actual job at hand was very scant.

 

Because of my lack of training and being sent out into the field ill prepared, I accidentally sprayed pesticide on a customer's herbs. The customer saw this and asked me if I knew what I had done. I had to tell him I didn't. He told me not to worry, it wasn't a big deal, and that he would just pull them up and plant new ones. I did not notify my supervisor of this as the customer told me it was not an issue and that I shouldn't worry about it. He did not apprear to be the least bit upset or angry about it, so I thought it was resolved. A week and a half later I was called into the office and shown a letter written by this customer explaining what I had done and threatening to sue the company. I was placed on suspension immediately pending the outcome of the issue. Later that week I was terminated.

 

I have since come to find out that I was not legally even supposed to be out in the field without supervision until I had attained my license, which I had been scheduled to go test for the day after the suspension. It was a sweatshop, working us 10 to 12 hour days, 6 days a week, out in the sun with no restroom and no time to go find one. No time to stop for lunch many times either even though the physical nature of the work dictated the need to eat. I took the job because I wasn't getting any other solid offers and I thought it would be a chance to learn something new. Boy, did I think wrong. I guess the question is, does anyone know if I would have any legal recourse for wrongful termination? It was an at-will employment. Not that I'd want to have anything else to do with this company, I'm just glad to have them out of my life. Being unemployed is almost better than working for such an unethical company, and I'm glad it didn't work out. It's obvious to me after being there for 3 months thath they care nothing for their employees or their customers. Only profits. Just seeing if anyone here might have any knowledge in this area. Thanks.

[CatsMeeoow]

Well - mark it up to lesson learned....

 

There isn't much you can do unless you are being denied some benefits to unemployment - then of course you can make your case that you were terminated due to their own lack of training you to be doing the job they hired you for.

 

I think next time you'll be a bit more careful about what you agree to do and certainly speak up if you are not properly trained.

 

Hope you've been able to secure better employment.

[jul-els]

Yeah, I should have spoken up. They would always threaten us about how we could be fired so often that I felt better just keeping my mouth shut. In the long run I think it's for the best though. Although I enjoyed the work itself, it really was an abysmal company to work for.

[catfeeder]

Having only been employed for 3 months, it's likely that you weren't eligible for unemployment anyway. Did you have any weeks of work during the three quarters prior to the one in which you were terminated? Might help to speak to the unemployment office to learn about this. However, the company is on the hook for the outcome with the customer, not you. That's where the legalities of sending out an unqualified technician come in, and you're not personally responsible for that. The most you'll likely hear about this is a call to be a witness for the customer. The company isn't responsible for any damages to you unless you were injured on the job and can demo the healthcare documentation and worker's comp claim to prove it.

[jul-els]

Having only been employed for 3 months, it's likely that you weren't eligible for unemployment anyway. Did you have any weeks of work during the three quarters prior to the one in which you were terminated? Might help to speak to the unemployment office to learn about this. However, the company is on the hook for the outcome with the customer, not you. That's where the legalities of sending out an unqualified technician come in, and you're not personally responsible for that. The most you'll likely hear about this is a call to be a witness for the customer. The company isn't responsible for any damages to you unless you were injured on the job and can demo the healthcare documentation and worker's comp claim to prove it.

 

Thanks, catfeeder. Actually, I got the answer back from UI today and they did award me benefits. But the really good news is I don't need them now. My old job (the one before this nightmare) called me back on the same day and it turns out things are picking up for them. They've offered me 20 hours a week at my old pay rate as an independent contractor for an indefinite period of time. Yes! That's enough for me to survive on for now. All I have to do is find another part time job and I'm set. Maybe in the meantime they might get busy enough to take me back on as a full time employee. That would be nice. We'll see, but for now things are looking up.

[catfeeder]

Thanks, catfeeder. Actually, I got the answer back from UI today and they did award me benefits. But the really good news is I don't need them now. My old job called me back on the same day and it turns out things are picking up for them. They've offered me 20 hours a week at my old pay rate as an independent contractor for an indefinite period of time. Yes! That's enough for me to survive on for now. All I have to do is find another part time job and I'm set. Maybe in the meantime my old company might get busy enough to take me back on as a full time employee. That would be nice. We'll see, but for now things are looking up.

 

That's great news, Ju-els. Don't cancel your claim yet. Since the work is part time, report that to UIS and you can still collect your unemployment--you just need to report your earnings each week. This will have UIS tack on an extra few dollars, then they'll deduct the amount you earn from the check for that week. But you don't 'lose' that money, they move it to the end of your claim. So instead of collecting, say, 26 'full' weeks, you can collect (not sure) probably 52 'partial' weeks.

 

If you end up working full time, you can close the claim. It still remains active and available to you. So if you lose the work again you can reopen the same claim and start drawing from it again. This claim can be your safety net for some extra money until your full time work is stable again.

 

Congrats to you, and head high for being industrious and willing to try new things.

[chitown9]

That's great! I am very happy for you