I was fired for whistle blowing, and, of course, that is illegal, so I was fired for "performance" and have no disciplinary action in my file stating so. I was never told why, exactly, I was fired, and I have no termination paperwork.
Now, no one will hire me. I have been on interviews and when I call to check on status, my calls are ignored. I am getting unemployment, but, I would like a job. I do work for a staffing agency but the hours aren't consistent.
What can I say to get hired since I was terminated and the interviewer wants to know why? I can't say too much about what I reported to the state, but I will say the facility was given an IJ tag because of my complaint. And, I did go up my chain of command with my concerns before I called the state.....and my concerns were ignored, and suggestions ignored. And, of course, budget constraints cited rather than patient safety.
I know the budget is important, too, but, come on. Patient safety should be first, no matter what. Unfortunately, I opened my mouth and got fired for it. Trust me, I learned my lesson, I will never do that again! I will keep my mouth shut and I'll just have to learn to play the game. If I can get another job.
I would just say that our philosophy regarding patient care didn't match.
I walked out on a job - had given my two weeks notice that morning, but the shift went so terribly that I told them at the end of it that I would not be back. When I went on interviews and told the interviewers that my philophy of good patient care and their philosophy of good patient care didn't match, they figured I left because it was a crappy place to work (of course they knew the facility's poor reputation). I did not have a problem getting a new job.
I would also suggest that you have someone call your former place of employment and ask for a reference. I believe all they are supposed to tell anyone that calls is if you did work there and the dates you were employed. I am not sure if they can say if you are or are not eligible for rehire.
I have also been a whistleblower and have never regretted it. I sleep very well at night knowing I did the right thing.
What is that supposed to tell me? They know they screwed up so they are trying to backpedal and prevent a lawsuit? The corporation has been in trouble before for wrongfully terminating a whistle blower. Yes, it does stink. I have applied for every job I can with no luck.
You need to see an employment attorney. Only you can decide if you want to pursue litigation. We have no idea what the employer will or will not do or what will or will not happen. All we can tell you is that we can not offer legal advice. It is obvious to all that these yahoos stepped on it, but that does not mean you will prevail with no effort on your part.
You need to see an employment attorney. Only you can decide if you want to pursue litigation. We have no idea what the employer will or will not do or what will or will not happen. All we can tell you is that we can not offer legal advice. It is obvious to all that these yahoos stepped on it, but that does not mean you will prevail with no effort on your part.
Thanks. I needed more clarification on your previous reply. Of course they want to avoid a wrongful termination lawsuit. I was one word short of asked to come back, so yeah, makes sense. I am absolutely going to pursue litigation. I just don't know what to say to prospective employers.
Since you will be seeing a lawyer about all this you should ask them about what to say to future employers. If you were illegally terminated than that will change what you would say. I would collect the unemployment and see this through a little farther. I went to a lawyer for a similar problem and they were very helpful. And I now have no problems getting other jobs
Sounds like "retailation" to me. If this happened recently I would ask for a document stating exactly WHY you were fired. The "State" purpose is to protect the public, they arn't there for you. In my opinion (after you get a copy of your employment records, and in some states by law they have to give you a copy) I would go online and pull up the information about the EEOC. Federal law clearly frowns on retailtory actions. If the EEOC agrees with you ahd you have some evidence to support it, then you can sue the hospital. FLTNRSE2
I am not an employment attny obviously, but from what I have read in the past about whistleblowing protection is, to be protected it has to be determined the company has been guilty of wrongdoing. Otherwise disgruntled employees could bombard the govt with false claims to disrupt company operations with no fear of being terminated.
Sounds like "retailation" to me. If this happened recently I would ask for a document stating exactly WHY you were fired. The "State" purpose is to protect the public, they arn't there for you. In my opinion (after you get a copy of your employment records, and in some states by law they have to give you a copy) I would go online and pull up the information about the EEOC. Federal law clearly frowns on retailtory actions. If the EEOC agrees with you ahd you have some evidence to support it, then you can sue the hospital. FLTNRSE2
I have filed a complaint with EEOC and OSHA. OSHA here in my state has a whistle blower division and they are investigating now, but I haven't received any followup yet.
I read on a website last night that I can go and request copies of my file, and I will do that, after I talk to the lawyer. I will also call EEOC Monday and see what the status is of that, too.
I am not an employment attny obviously, but from what I have read in the past about whistleblowing protection is, to be protected it has to be determined the company has been guilty of wrongdoing. Otherwise disgruntled employees could bombard the govt with false claims to disrupt company operations with no fear of being terminated.
Of course. But I also know the company didn't follow their own policy leading "up to" termination. I asked for an explanation and the admin said the DON was on vacation (again,) and it was her decision to terminate me. He just happened to be the one to tell me I was fired (over the phone) when I called to find out why my pay check wasn't deposited and why management was telling floor nurses I had been fired. (I only worked 2 days a week.)
What you have described is all too common in nursing. The nurse who recognizes and reports a serious problem is labeled a problem and terminated. They want to discredit you any way that they can.
Start a notebook, save everything and document meticulously.
Find an employment attorney at least a hundred miles away who can practice in your state. Local employment attorneys are part of a good old boys club and they will protect the corporations best interest, not yours, but they can be very convincing about pretending to want to help you.
If your attorney agrees, you need to report this to your state board of nursing, this will protect you from false allegations from your employer. Yes they will go to that extreme to retaliate. The BON might decide to send undercover investigators to the facility.
Don't post another word about this situation here or anywhere else. Delete this thread if you can.
I suggest that you do NOT consider returning to work for this facility. It is all too easy to "set a nurse up" and cause the nurse to lose his/her license.
It is appropriate to say that "politics" were involved or that the position was simply "not a good fit."
It would seem that since you are receiving unemployment, it could be construed that you were "laid off."
It is not my intention to discourage you, though you should be aware that wrongful termination suits are quite difficult to win, no matter how valid the grounds. The wheels of justice turn very very slow.
Sometimes folks become so identified with their victim status and with pursuing "justice" that their life gets bogged down and they forget who they really are.
I suggest you look into the wrongful termination legal action, but don't become invested in it. Move on with your life.
I hope that you really don't mean what you wrote at the end of your original post about keeping your mouth shut and learning your lesson. Administration can cut corners and short staff and not provide necessary treatment to the degree that the safety and well-being of staff and patients are egregiously jeopardized. Please don't turn a blind eye to that if you come across it. By remaining silent and failing to advocate for patient safety and well-being, a nurse is complicit with management and administration in creating unsafe care situations.
wyogypsy, RN
197 Posts
I would just say that our philosophy regarding patient care didn't match.
I walked out on a job - had given my two weeks notice that morning, but the shift went so terribly that I told them at the end of it that I would not be back. When I went on interviews and told the interviewers that my philophy of good patient care and their philosophy of good patient care didn't match, they figured I left because it was a crappy place to work (of course they knew the facility's poor reputation). I did not have a problem getting a new job.
I would also suggest that you have someone call your former place of employment and ask for a reference. I believe all they are supposed to tell anyone that calls is if you did work there and the dates you were employed. I am not sure if they can say if you are or are not eligible for rehire.
I have also been a whistleblower and have never regretted it. I sleep very well at night knowing I did the right thing.