termination - loose ends/harassment?

Deusfaux

Here's the backstory for those of you who need it:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=25325947&highlight=#25325947



But I want to focus on a couple things sorta beyond the fact I was canned (cause really, they could have fired me for whatever reason they wanted to)


I have just got off the phone with the Alberta Employee Standards Office, and the woman was suggesting I am entitled to termination pay considering how long I had been there and since I didn't recieve any notice; I was canned on the spot and sent home and that was it. It would be equivalent to one average week's pay (based on the last 13 weeks).

That's something I had no idea about, for example, until I was already talking with her. This came from the fact that they had all the information they needed to fire me on the 21st, but waited over the rest of the holidays (through Boxing Day) till the 29th to use it against me, which didn't seem right.

Maybe there is something else there you guys are aware of that I could or should be doing?



Secondly, the behaviour of the managers... I dont know if that falls under some jurisdiction where I have recourse against them. Is it...

... simply a dick move by both of them and there's nothing that can be done?

... something to be taken up internally through Best Buy management? (already being worked on)

Is there some kind of standards or code employers have to follow that would have been violated by their actions?

... maybe a legal thing (probably too serious for me to get involved with)


Either way, again it doesnt seem right they could have set me up and prank called me, so I'm wondering if HA peeps know of any route to take to deal with it accordingly, or who I should talk to.

like, Better Business Bureau deals mostly with consumer/customer related incidents right - not the right people for me to talk to?


thanx!

fforde

I don't know about Canada but I know in the United States it is legal to basically lie or represent yourself as someone you are not to get certain types of information. There are limitations, but in general, it is not against the law. I think the legal term for it is pretexting. It is a 'technic' that is commonly used by private investigators here.

Goumindong

fforde wrote:

I don't know about Canada but I know in the United States it is legal to basically lie or represent yourself as someone you are not to get certain types of information. There are limitations, but in general, it is not against the law. I think the legal term for it is pretexting. It is a 'technic' that is commonly used by private investigators here.

And its usualy illegal to aquire information that would not otherwise be available using those methods.

supabeast

You got fired from a shitty retail job in a shitty manner by shitty people. This happens to someone in every town in North America on a daily basis, and it's not worth dwelling on. If you continue working in retail, it will probably happen to you again.

Stop thinking of this as some horrible thing that happened to you and see it for what it is: a cosmic reminder that you live in a big, beautiful world full of amazing opportunities, and that you're destined go out and do something that matters instead of schlepping mass-market electronics at Best Buy.

Deusfaux

er... this really isnt the be all end all focus of my life right now


but if im entitled to a weeks' pay, dude, thats several hundred dollars I need to be collecting right there that I wasn't given

you dont just brush that off - I dont know what else I could or should be looking after either

Squirminator2k

I think you're following the best course of action right now, which is following it up with Best Buy Management. Besides that I don't know what else you can do. There's no point in taking it to court because a large company like Best Buy can afford to keep the case going until you can no longer afford to keep it going, but chase it up internally and see where that gets you.

Drez

Squirminator2k wrote:

I think you're following the best course of action right now, which is following it up with Best Buy Management. Besides that I don't know what else you can do. There's no point in taking it to court because a large company like Best Buy can afford to keep the case going until you can no longer afford to keep it going, but chase it up internally and see where that gets you.

It's still a hassle for them. Threatening to "get a lawyer" helps sometimes.

Then again, it can backfire, so take that advice with a grain of salt.

RoundBoy

I believe a law was recently passed to make it illegal for someone to misrepresent themselves to gain information. In regards to the HP fiasco. But, the timeframe or US context applies to you...

Getting monitary compensation for people generally acting like a dick does not usually work, unless the action was illegal (see above)

You can't get any type of unemployment compensation if you were fired for a valid reason they can point to in an employee handbook, etc... which it seems they can.

You may have some compensation coming regarding the firing vs working over the holiday part, but that is totally at the mercy of your laws and labor board. They will be the ones to tell you how to proceed once all the facts are on the table

naporeon

As a former Geek Squad employee, I have only one thing to say to you:

1.800.MY BBY HR

It is literally your only recourse, despite what other more optimistic and/or naive people might tell you.

Proto

RoundBoy wrote:

You can't get any type of unemployment compensation if you were fired for a valid reason they can point to in an employee handbook, etc... which it seems they can.

Yeah. Look at the papers they gave you when you signed up.

If you think you were let go without cause (as determined by their policies you agreed to when you joined), look up the standards and figure out exactly how much they owe you. Then go in, talk to the manager and discuss compensation.

I can't believe you were surprised at their reaction to this. When you work for a company like that you are an easily replaceable cog who is worth zero to them. You could have worked their for ten years and they would still let you go without a second thought. Better to fire you and hire someone new then deal with what they consider a possible problem emplyoee.

Drez

RoundBoy wrote:

I believe a law was recently passed to make it illegal for someone to misrepresent themselves to gain information. In regards to the HP fiasco. But, the timeframe or US context applies to you...

Getting monitary compensation for people generally acting like a dick does not usually work, unless the action was illegal (see above)

You can't get any type of unemployment compensation if you were fired for a valid reason they can point to in an employee handbook, etc... which it seems they can.

You may have some compensation coming regarding the firing vs working over the holiday part, but that is totally at the mercy of your laws and labor board. They will be the ones to tell you how to proceed once all the facts are on the table

FYI, that's not necessarily true about unemployment - it's a misconception that you had to have been downsized to collect unemployment. It depends largely on what state you are in. New York State is very liberal with it, for instance. I was fired for a "valid" reason recently (was not "laid off," but actually fired), and have been collecting unemployment for months.

Drez

Proto wrote:

RoundBoy wrote:

You can't get any type of unemployment compensation if you were fired for a valid reason they can point to in an employee handbook, etc... which it seems they can.

Yeah. Look at the papers they gave you when you signed up.

If you think you were let go without cause (as determined by their policies you agreed to when you joined), look up the standards and figure out exactly how much they owe you. Then go in, talk to the manager and discuss compensation.

I can't believe you were surprised at their reaction to this. When you work for a company like that you are an easily replaceable cog who is worth zero to them. You could have worked their for ten years and they would still let you go without a second thought. Better to fire you and hire someone new then deal with what they consider a possible problem emplyoee.

Again, not necessarily true. If you mean "unemployment compensation" as far as the company directly paying the OP, then you have a point, but "unemployment compensation" usually refers to going to the labor board and collecting unemployment insurance from the state, in which case your statement is not correct.

Doc

Proto wrote:

I can't believe you were surprised at their reaction to this.

For real. He was fired for cause, not laid off. That might limit his unemployment benefits a bit, not sure how it works in canada.

RoundBoy

Drez wrote:

Proto wrote:

RoundBoy wrote:

You can't get any type of unemployment compensation if you were fired for a valid reason they can point to in an employee handbook, etc... which it seems they can.

Yeah. Look at the papers they gave you when you signed up.

If you think you were let go without cause (as determined by their policies you agreed to when you joined), look up the standards and figure out exactly how much they owe you. Then go in, talk to the manager and discuss compensation.

I can't believe you were surprised at their reaction to this. When you work for a company like that you are an easily replaceable cog who is worth zero to them. You could have worked their for ten years and they would still let you go without a second thought. Better to fire you and hire someone new then deal with what they consider a possible problem emplyoee.

Again, not necessarily true. If you mean "unemployment compensation" as far as the company directly paying the OP, then you have a point, but "unemployment compensation" usually refers to going to the labor board and collecting unemployment insurance from the state, in which case your statement is not correct.

I understand your reasoning.. "unemployment compensation" isn't really the right description to use here. Sure you can get monies for getting wrongfully fired... but what I think it comes down to is that BB might relate this to theft, and nobody gets anything for getting fired for thievery.
Plus, is the OP in Canada?? I have really no idea the law there as opposed to the supposed 'good' labor laws in NY, vs the 'bad' laws in FL for instance.

Ruckus

I think the only thing in Canada that limits the amount of EI you can collect is if you were fired from the job for something illegal (like stealing, or assault against another employee).

In this case, Deusfaux didn't do anything illegal, he merely tried to resell a piece of legally aquired hardware for very little profit by advertising on BB property. Essentially the only comparative would be the aformentioned "Ya you could buy a computer here but I'll sell you one later for less" shady whispering thing.

Except in this case it was a PS3, which BB had no hope in hell of providing enough supply for the demand. And it took place outside the store, after closing, yet on company property (the advertising).

So the only points in best buy's favor are:
-You're an employee, it's a conflict of interest to sell a potential customer of Best Buy hardware available (I use this term loosely) at Best Buy.
-You advertised a private sale on Best Buy Property

Points agains:
-It was after hours, and not directly in the store
-The actual transaction (Money for PS3) was not going to occur on Best Buy property at all
-They essentially/apparently misrepresented themselves in an attempt to "trap" you
-Other than this one transgression, your record was spotless (I am to understand)
-Sony fucked up and there's not nearly enough PS3's for demand anyway
-Everytime I go into an EB the PS3 demo machine is frozen. Seriously. I think those plastic cases they put them in don't have enough airflow or something.
-Oh wait that last one was agains Sony/PS3/EBgames.

Proto

Drez wrote:

Proto wrote:

RoundBoy wrote:

You can't get any type of unemployment compensation if you were fired for a valid reason they can point to in an employee handbook, etc... which it seems they can.

Yeah. Look at the papers they gave you when you signed up.

If you think you were let go without cause (as determined by their policies you agreed to when you joined), look up the standards and figure out exactly how much they owe you. Then go in, talk to the manager and discuss compensation.

I can't believe you were surprised at their reaction to this. When you work for a company like that you are an easily replaceable cog who is worth zero to them. You could have worked their for ten years and they would still let you go without a second thought. Better to fire you and hire someone new then deal with what they consider a possible problem emplyoee.

Again, not necessarily true. If you mean "unemployment compensation" as far as the company directly paying the OP, then you have a point, but "unemployment compensation" usually refers to going to the labor board and collecting unemployment insurance from the state, in which case your statement is not correct.

Sorry, I was talking about BB owing him money for (possibly) firing him without cause.

Draco_Auric

Since the OP is in Alberta this situation would pretty much fall under the Alberta Employment Standards Code. Under the code people are entitled to notice or termination pay after three months of employment. However there are some situations where this does not apply. For example they can fire you if they have "just cause" which your situation might fall under, since you did post an advertisement on store property without permission.

With that said you say that you've talked to the Employee Standards Office, and they think you are entitled to your week of termination pay. Since they are the arbiters of these situations their opinion is probably better then mine. Assuming that you told them the full story when you spoke with one of there councillors, the next step would be to talk to your bosses again, and if they still say they are giving you nothing you can file a complaint with the Employee Standards Office.

Doc

Ruckus wrote:

I think the only thing in Canada that limits the amount of EI you can collect is if you were fired from the job for something illegal (like stealing, or assault against another employee).

In this case, Deusfaux didn't do anything illegal, he merely tried to resell a piece of legally aquired hardware for very little profit by advertising on BB property. Essentially the only comparative would be the aformentioned "Ya you could buy a computer here but I'll sell you one later for less" shady whispering thing.

Except in this case it was a PS3, which BB had no hope in hell of providing enough supply for the demand. And it took place outside the store, after closing, yet on company property (the advertising).

So the only points in best buy's favor are:
-You're an employee, it's a conflict of interest to sell a potential customer of Best Buy hardware available (I use this term loosely) at Best Buy.
-You advertised a private sale on Best Buy Property

Points agains:
-It was after hours, and not directly in the store
-The actual transaction (Money for PS3) was not going to occur on Best Buy property at all
-They essentially/apparently misrepresented themselves in an attempt to "trap" you
-Other than this one transgression, your record was spotless (I am to understand)
-Sony fucked up and there's not nearly enough PS3's for demand anyway
-Everytime I go into an EB the PS3 demo machine is frozen. Seriously. I think those plastic cases they put them in don't have enough airflow or something.
-Oh wait that last one was agains Sony/PS3/EBgames.

They didn't "trap" anyone; that would suggest that they talked him into selling/advertising it. They wanted to know if it was an employee who was using Best Buy resources/property for personal business. Every company I've worked at has that on the list of stuff that's really bad to do.

Ruckus

Doc wrote:

Ruckus wrote:

I think the only thing in Canada that limits the amount of EI you can collect is if you were fired from the job for something illegal (like stealing, or assault against another employee).

In this case, Deusfaux didn't do anything illegal, he merely tried to resell a piece of legally aquired hardware for very little profit by advertising on BB property. Essentially the only comparative would be the aformentioned "Ya you could buy a computer here but I'll sell you one later for less" shady whispering thing.

Except in this case it was a PS3, which BB had no hope in hell of providing enough supply for the demand. And it took place outside the store, after closing, yet on company property (the advertising).

So the only points in best buy's favor are:
-You're an employee, it's a conflict of interest to sell a potential customer of Best Buy hardware available (I use this term loosely) at Best Buy.
-You advertised a private sale on Best Buy Property

Points agains:
-It was after hours, and not directly in the store
-The actual transaction (Money for PS3) was not going to occur on Best Buy property at all
-They essentially/apparently misrepresented themselves in an attempt to "trap" you
-Other than this one transgression, your record was spotless (I am to understand)
-Sony fucked up and there's not nearly enough PS3's for demand anyway
-Everytime I go into an EB the PS3 demo machine is frozen. Seriously. I think those plastic cases they put them in don't have enough airflow or something.
-Oh wait that last one was agains Sony/PS3/EBgames.

They didn't "trap" anyone; that would suggest that they talked him into selling/advertising it. They wanted to know if it was an employee who was using Best Buy resources/property for personal business. Every company I've worked at has that on the list of stuff that's really bad to do.

I was refering to the "buyers" calling to buy the PS3 and then the inventory manager shows up.