A good friend of mine was terminated from his job very recently. He had been having trouble with a superior who he worked with but who was not his manager or in his direct line of reporting. The person was always harrassing him by yelling at him for being to slow. This person was new to the company, having joined just after the first of the year and my friend had received excellent feedback and reviews from his Manager and customers during the nearly 3 years prior to that time. Just before leaving on a planned vacation for 1 week, he asked to speak to this person in private as he was again being harrassed and asked why he was acting that way and what problems did he have with him. He got no specific response in terms of anything he could do differently.
When he came back from vacation (our families were together) he went in to a Boston hospital for scheduled back surgery for a herniated disk. This was all worked out with his employer in advance. Less than 3 weeks after departing for vac./surgery, he called to discuss when he would be returning. He was told not to bother because his "position had been filled". In talking to his direct boss and others higher in the org, most started saying there must be a misunderstanding and then not taking his calls.
He has applied for unemployment (don't know if he qualifies) but I think what was done to him was not only nasty but illegal. But he has no money to consult with a lawyer about it. Do you have any thoughts on the situation and how he might proceed? By the way, this is one of the nicest person you could ever meet and it had to take a lot to get him to confront his harrasser. Any help you can give will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave
Fired at-will employee
Sorry about your friend, but to maintain a cause of action under federal or state law, an at will employee (assuming he was not a contract or union employee) must show that there was some illegal or discriminatory component to the termination. For example, was there some racial component? Did the employer fill your friend's job in violation of the Massachusetts Family Medical Leave Act. Without that type of underlying issue, at-will employees do not have a lot of recourse when fired. Your friend might try contacting the Attorney General's Fair Labor Hotline at 617-727-3465 to see if they have any additional thoughts on the situation.