Wrongfully terminated
Good Morning my name is Christopher Joseph and I am reaching out to you because I was wrongfully terminated this morning for an incident that was inaccurate the steps that was taken was unjustified I been working with Lowe’s over 17 years and I have never threaten anyone with power equipment in my whole life I am a first responder and was on the Safety Committee and a power equipment trainer so I always practice safety first I was a Overnight support manager at store 1988 at Lowe’s until this morning I’m a god fearing man so I treat people with respect but me being a manager I have taken so much disrespect from coworkers but always kept it professional well one night I asked one of the unloaders that unloads the truck to pull out pallets from the truck the night before and he got aggressive with me so I did as I was told by upper management to let him no if he didn’t want to do his job to clock out and go home and come back in the morning and talk to management and it was 2 guys standing in the back and saw the whole incident which one was never asked for his statement and they collected statements from other people that wasn’t even in receiving they also checked the cameras and couldn’t find anything showing me threatening him on power equipment which he falsely lied on his statement and said I tried to run him over in which I stopped and the guy approached me so I’m reaching out to you to see if I was was in the right instead of having any legal actions being taken plus I can’t believe that they would do this during the time I just lost a family member and grieving so could you imagine all the pain I am going through now knowing I been wrongfully terminated so many people told me I have a case and that I should sue them but tell me what you think I should do.
So sorry to hear you had to experience the negative consequences of that incident after all those years of loyal service Chris Joseph . Unexpected terminations are always difficult to process so your reasons for seeking out legal recourse is certainly understandable.
I'm not a lawyer but I'll share some things that I've learned in this community that might be helpful for you.
The At-Will Employment laws practiced in most states allows employers to dismissed employees for any reason without having to establish a cause or reason for termination as long as the reason is "not legal".
Illegal reasons are those defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC like discrimination and disability for example. Now that doesn't mean your particular experience is not covered. There might be an area of opportunity to show unjust cause but you're going to need a legal professional to explore those areas and clearly define those opportunities.
Check your city and state webpages for a legal aid or call some employment lawyers in your town to set up a consultation. Many offer free consults and don't charge until they agree to take on your case; sometimes even not until after the settlement. Be prepared to be in it for the long hall though because these cases can take years to settle.
In the meantime, give yourself some time to process all that's happened and find a way to release any resentment, anger, and frustrations you may be harboring before you embark on a new job search journey. 'Built up negative thought and emotions have a way of unconsciously manifesting themselves during interviews.
Juan Alvarez Jr. is a community member with an extensive background in Human Resource Management and Equal Opportunity Compliance. I'll tag him on this message and ask if he has any feedback, suggestions, or advice he can share with you.
Don't let this unfortunate incident stump your career growth or keep you from moving forward. Update your resume, build up a list of references, and get yourself into the job hunt. There are much better and greater opportunities for you on the horizon Chris Joseph , Stay Encouraged!