ok i dont really know where to start so i will try to make this short and sweet. i was terminated after nine years on the job on thursday due to "excessive absenteeism". mind you i have not called off work since october of 2007.
when all of this started i was pulled into the managers office and given a paper to sign that basically said that if i called in again i was terminated. she just happened to skip the offical protocol and i was never given a verbal or written warning.
i signed it and went on about my business. i asked her SEVERAL times for a copy and was never given one. that is just how she is, will tell you what you want to hear and then never give you what you asked for.
in january (i had been off for a while due to surgery) i was called into her office again. she and her "asst" basically bereated me and accused me of refusing to discharge a patient, among other things. she used the "f" word several times screaming in my face telling me she wished she could fire me then, and that all of my co-workers hated me. i ended up in the hospital for chest pain and svt that night. i was to work the next day and i used my "personal" (safe) day for that.
after that i reported her to our hr department and had written about 14 pages in response to her one. i had had enough of her and a few others bullying ways, constant comments about me personally, heavy assignments, etc.
after that i just put it all behind me. went to work my two days and shut my mouth. after a while things seemed to be going ok......
about a month ago she told me she wanted me to do our facilitys program which had to do with extra education and things to get a pay raise, and also to be on the unit leadership committee and pain resource nurse. i really felt that things were looking up and getting better. she also wanted me to take the pccn exam also. when she approached me with this i asked her about the absenteeism issues and if they would hold me back from doing the ladder program (you cannot be in any disiplinary probation to do it). she flat at looked at me and told me NO that that was over with and i was out of that. about two weeks ago i asked her for copies of those dates that i had missed. she said again that I DIDNT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT.
well, this week i got very sick very suddenly. tonsils the size of golf balls, fever of 102. would you go to work? this was wednesday that i called off.
on thursday at 3pm i got a call from her and she said sorry to tell you this but i have to terminate you. heres the number to hr if you have any questions.
i point blank asked her why she told me i had nothing to worry about and she FLAT OUT DENIED
I was terminated for "unprofessional conduct"- this is because I had the preceptors from hell! I've decided that I am not going to even address the issue of termination. When asked why did I leave? I am going to state to pursue a position in Home Health Care -which is partially true. I did obtain a position in Home Health Care thereafter- but I didn't like it. I am also going to ask in HR- do you contact my supervisor or the HR department. I was told that, at least in the state of Florida, Hr can only state your date of hire and date of termination.
You know, you want to be honest, but unfortunately when trying to get a new job and putting food on the table for your loved ones, the saying honesty is the best policy does not apply to its best capacity.
I 'm still debating....I don't know...I have an interview on Monday and I will play it by ear.
I hope that by this time you have a new job! Good luck!
I think prospective employers should only ask if you were ever fired for just cause at previous jobs (failed drug test, gross negligence, etc.) What difference does it make if you were fired in an at-will state or if you were fired due to backstabbing coworkers, inept managers, etc?! All that means is that you didn't act fast enough to find a new job in order to resign before you were fired.
In EVERY state, employers can tell a prospective employer ANYTHING that relates to the job as long as they make a good faith effort to ensure what they say is accurate and truthful.
All states currently have immunity laws that protect employers that disseminate employee information.
Employers that stick to date of hire only do so of their own will.
I used to work as an "executive assistant" for a personnel manger, I was allowed to give her reference regarding former employees - but per law, all I was allowed to say is "Yes they worked here" I could give the dates, and I could say "yes" or "no" whether I would hire them back. They don't want former disgruntled employers running around bad mouthing former staff. The state doesn't want people on unemployment any long than they have to be.
We weren't allow to say "He was fired" we could say "no, we wouldn't hire him again - in which case it would be up to the prospective employee to tell his new boss the reason he left. That is the law in NY. It protects those people wanting to work. At least that is the was it was explained to me.
However, people probably to talk, very difficult to prove..
I used to work as an "executive assistant" for a personnel manger, I was allowed to give her reference regarding former employees - but per law, all I was allowed to say is "Yes they worked here" I could give the dates, and I could say "yes" or "no" whether I would hire them back. They don't want former disgruntled employers running around bad mouthing former staff. The state doesn't want people on unemployment any long than they have to be.
We weren't allow to say "He was fired" we could say "no, we wouldn't hire him again - in which case it would be up to the prospective employee to tell his new boss the reason he left. That is the law in NY. It protects those people wanting to work. At least that is the was it was explained to me.
However, people probably to talk, very difficult to prove..
IMHO :twocents:
We already had a thread where I posted the laws concerning this. It's somewhere around here.
So, in the interest of brevity...
Most states have immunity laws. About 4 or 5 have no laws providing immunity.
HOWEVER...
Employers ARE allowed to say anything and while an employee, or anyone for that matter, is allowed to sue for any reason the employer is NOT liable unless provide knowingly false information.
The 'rule' you are talking about Babs is simply employer policy.
It's NEVER a good idea to assume the law is what your employer tells you. Even my HR manager insisted it was the law, until I printed out the law and brought it to her.
...
Not my opinion...
The only states that don't currently have Employee Reference immunity laws are Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington. MAy be out of date as I found a Washington law on the books. Source website must not be updated.
Employers most likely will try to do everything to protect themselves from civil suits. While they would be protected by having say only the HR manager pass on information and make sure it is all factual, it is FAR EASIER for them to simply limit themselves to verifying dates of employment.
Not sure what state we are talking here BUT nonetheless. Employers CAN give out this information and despite what you think, MANY do.
I haven't bothered to look up the other states. Reading State Statutes at 3 in the morning isn't my idea of fun... Maybe tomorrow.
In oct 2005 after 7 years with a great boss (I NEVER SAID NO TO A REQUEST)she needed to reduce her budget. I was her only part time nurse, I got the ax, (this was the same week my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer)no warning, no ceremony. I held my head high and moved on. The next job was a new facility, 3 full timers got hired, then 3 part timers (me included), after 2 months the admissions were low, the 3 part timers had their status changed to perdiem, (is this even legal?) I went home called a friend, had another PT job within days, was happy, held my head high, proud of how well I was handling all this stress (also caring for ill mother in my home). Then new job , hosp went into bankruptcy. I went home and like you ,had chest pain, sob, to ER with parox VT,bigemeny, multifocal PVC,s and MobitzII, ended up with a dual chamber ICD and multiple cardiac meds (thankfully no heart disease).
After a few months I called a friend, she hired me perdiem. My mother got alot sicker, required complex home care, almost died twice but pulled thru by some miracle (most of her intestines were removed,then massive PE), I had to cancel shifts, then I got meningitis. You may have guessed it, even though I was prdiem (AND HOSPITALIZED) she fired me.
My mother died on Dec 15, in my home. I feel blessed to have been her nurse. All the bad things can't outweigh the fact that a nurse works from the heart. Every day we get the honor of touching another life. Being fired a thousand times can never take that away from you. You're a nurse by nature, not because of a job. I was honest at every interview I've been on since and was offered every job but one.
Good luck to you, I KNOW you're going to come out of this stronger!!
After I was terminated, I went to seek legal advise from a very reputable labor law firm here in the state of Florida. By the way...a 1 hour consult cost me $500 that I could really use..OUCH! Anyway folks, the attorney informed me that in HR the only info. they give is the hire date and termination date (meaning end of employment relationship-not being fired). Now if they call my manager, yes, the manager can say anything he/she wants. However, I stated on the application that I did not want them to contact my manager. If I am asked for the reason, I will simply state that this is the way the company prefers it. Which is true. I was told managers don't want to be continuously answering calls for references, they have bigger eggs to fry during the day on a floor. Since I posted this, I placed a call to my prior manager and left a message that I was greatful she gave me the opportunity to work for her. Without admitting fault, I did tell her that I learned a great deal from the experience (which believe me, I did!) and that I am a better person and nurse today because of the experience. I also stated that by faith I will give her name as a reference because I don't believe she is mean hearted and while she may not sing praises about me, she will say what she has always said to me...you've got potential. I hope that will turn out according to God's will.
You guys are awesome- the great community of nurses that I have found on this website is very precious.
People who are continually "out" for one reason or another are an employer's nightmare. Thanks to the federal government, it's next to impossible to get rid of someone who continually abuses the attendance policy. I work with people who actually know th exact date when they can safely be "out" another shift and as soon as that date passes, they call in sick. So, if you got fired for calling in, you earned it. Learn from this experience. Find a new job and don't call in sick.
Hi StreetRN! I couldn't agree with you more. People who are always "out" are an employer's nightmare as well as a nightmare to their fellow nurses since it places more stress on their schedule. I don't know if you were adressing my particular post, but I was not terminated for absenteeism. I was terminated because I didn't take "crap" from preceptors from hell. I think the person originating this thread was absent alot but certainly had very valid reasons. Youj'll have to go back to the beginning of this thread.
At any rate, thanks for your input but thank goodness it doesn't apply to me or the originator of this thread.
In oct 2005 after 7 years with a great boss (I NEVER SAID NO TO A REQUEST)she needed to reduce her budget. I was her only part time nurse, I got the ax, (this was the same week my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer)no warning, no ceremony. I held my head high and moved on. The next job was a new facility, 3 full timers got hired, then 3 part timers (me included), after 2 months the admissions were low, the 3 part timers had their status changed to perdiem, (is this even legal?) I went home called a friend, had another PT job within days, was happy, held my head high, proud of how well I was handling all this stress (also caring for ill mother in my home). Then new job , hosp went into bankruptcy. I went home and like you ,had chest pain, sob, to ER with parox VT,bigemeny, multifocal PVC,s and MobitzII, ended up with a dual chamber ICD and multiple cardiac meds (thankfully no heart disease).
After a few months I called a friend, she hired me perdiem. My mother got alot sicker, required complex home care, almost died twice but pulled thru by some miracle (most of her intestines were removed,then massive PE), I had to cancel shifts, then I got meningitis. You may have guessed it, even though I was prdiem (AND HOSPITALIZED) she fired me.
My mother died on Dec 15, in my home. I feel blessed to have been her nurse. All the bad things can't outweigh the fact that a nurse works from the heart. Every day we get the honor of touching another life. Being fired a thousand times can never take that away from you. You're a nurse by nature, not because of a job. I was honest at every interview I've been on since and was offered every job but one.
Good luck to you, I KNOW you're going to come out of this stronger!!
Koshel, please accept my condolences, I would have done exactly the same thing. My mother means everything to me. With regard to nursing, it is DEFINITELY not about the money. At least not for me! Best wishes.
i would just like to say in regard to your situation that i am sorry and i have been in the same boat. i was recently terminated from a supervisor position because nurses who i supervised created lies and of course the don believed them. then again, the don is one who can't stick to one story and plays the rn's against each other. however, in lieu of your situation, please do not be down on your self. for some reason, nurses like to make it hard for each other and i think the whole absenteeism excuse is that, an excuse. if a company wants to keep a good nurse, they will do anything to do just that keep them happy. when one door closes another opens and please just hang in there. i am sure that you have plenty of great experience to land a job that you really enjoy and that you won't mind going to everyday. i know it bites being fired, but take it as a learning experience and move on. there are places that do appreciate a great nurse!!
:yeah:amen to this sentiment!! i too, was placed in this in your horrible situation back in august of this year. but you know what, it truly was a blessing; i worked at that dr's office for 9 years, constantly saying how i wanted to go back to school one day to become a lpn or a rn. by firing me in august 2008, they unwittingly allowed me to pursue my dream-i am currently enrolled at the pennsylvania institute of technology's (media, pa campus) lpn program; class orientation is the week of december 15, 2008 & classes start january 5, 2009 ( they'll end december 2009). so, my hat's off to my former employers-they did me a favor & increased my earning potential a lot faster than if they hadn't let me go! woo hoo!!:yeah:
Unfortunately, I side with the employer in this type of situation.
Yes, you have valid reasons for why you missed. I'm not saying that you shouldn't help out your family members. However, the employer needs a worker who will be there when she/he is scheduled. It is not their fault that you are having family problems, they still need people to work their shifts.
I'm not sure what you should have done differently, but I also think the employer did the right thing. Think of all the nurses left working short-handed because you had to call in all those times. How would you feel if on the other side of it?
good luck to you on your future employment endeavors, and I hope things get better with your mother.
:twocents:
GoNightingale, BSN, RN
127 Posts
I was terminated for "unprofessional conduct"- this is because I had the preceptors from hell! I've decided that I am not going to even address the issue of termination. When asked why did I leave? I am going to state to pursue a position in Home Health Care -which is partially true. I did obtain a position in Home Health Care thereafter- but I didn't like it. I am also going to ask in HR- do you contact my supervisor or the HR department. I was told that, at least in the state of Florida, Hr can only state your date of hire and date of termination.
You know, you want to be honest, but unfortunately when trying to get a new job and putting food on the table for your loved ones, the saying honesty is the best policy does not apply to its best capacity.
I 'm still debating....I don't know...I have an interview on Monday and I will play it by ear.
I hope that by this time you have a new job! Good luck!