Posted on 05/10/2010 2:21:26 PM PDT by LowOiL
Today I was fired because "I wasn't a team player" and "didn't fit in". I worked for an eccentric "Christian" man in his 70's, I myself am Christian also. I will call the owner "Old Mac" for simplicity.
The place I worked as an mechanic was in a fabric mill (no more detail is needed, you know how hard the textile industry has been hit lately). The majority of the mill is illegals and some legals (from Mexico and Guatemala), with about a 30% other population of mostly white fixers and managers.
I worked a second shift and had only met "old Mac" casually before. Stories of his strange behavior ran deep but I never believed them before. Stories of how "old Mac" once saw a fellow on the loading docks lounging around and didn't like it, so he walked up to him and asked him how much he made and was answered XXX per week. Mac calculated the amount in his head, paid the fellow cash and said he was fired. The fellow took the money and left and Mac later found out he didn't even work there, he was just a delivery man.
Anyhoo... my story is one night "old Mac" came in at lunch time (we work 8 and 1/2 hours a day, 30 minutes are suppose to be lunch time and he does not pay us for it). I used to go to my truck and eat lunch in the cab in the parking lot. I would "allow" the "illegals" to go outside too since it was their lunch time too. I didn't see there was any problem, since he wasn't paying them. Old Mac came in and was furious, he did not want "little Mexico" outside his doors and that they were in the mill and he could be fined XXX amount of dollars. They were not in the mill, but they could be he reasoned. I was flabbergassed, I couldn't believe he was doing this. He often ran the air system so the illegals could run their machines during their "lunchtime" but any work they did was not time and a half pay like the law requires. Also us fixers (me and another fellow) were expected to repair the machines during our "lunchtime" and not being paid for it.
I asked "old Mac" if he owned us during the time that he was not paying us, he slowly looked at me and said I was "not being a team player" and that "it set a bad example for the Mexicans" at lunchtime and that they were NOT allowed to go outside whatsoever.
I told "Old Mac" that it was not right to keep me his "slave" during the time he was not paying me. He grumbled off and today I was told I was fired. I was handed my paycheck for the last week and told to leave. I argued that he was not "Christian" what he was doing and that I would bring up the subject to his church on Sunday.
I went to get my supplies and tools and booklets and say bye to everyone and as I left the back door I smelled tire smoke. A police officer had just tore into the parking lot and was waiting close to where I was parked. I guess "old Mac" had called the police on me. I never said a curse word, I never even called him anything more than "Sir". I was Christian about the whole affair, but I was not ran over by him like he wanted me to be.
My question fellow Christian Freepers is this... What is the precedence (protocol) for presenting my case to his church. I do not belong to his church (Baptist) but I am a fellow Baptist of a neighboring church. I have read before somewhere that I am allowed to address their church elders and then I am allowed to address the church next if that fails. I have talked to their pastor (nice fellow) and he said actually I had no Biblical right to talk to their church in that manner since I was not a member.
I seek godly knowledge from fellow freepers.
Please.
The violence of evil must be met with the violence of righteousness, justice, truth and grace.
The first issue is to make sure one is in fellowship with God through faith in Christ. Be sure to confess all known and unknown sins to God the Father through faith in Christ.
When this occurs, He is sure and just to forgive us those sins and accept us back in fellowship with Him.
Now consider this in the fellowship with your former employer. Forgiveness doesn’t imply lack of justice. This two edged sword can, however, slice both directions.
Be sure that all known and unknown sins on your behalf have been addressed and likewise, if in your senior employer’s perception he has been offended by your statements, then as a believer in fellowship, you owe him an apology facing him with it.
If it is the case that he has wronged yourself, then the preceding Scriptural references give ample guidance for appropriate action.
Um, if Mac is at all connected as the OP implies (and maybe if not), I expect that might be a good way to get sent to jail for extortion/blackmail...
I offer to you this:
James 5:1-6 [WEY]
1 Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you.
2 Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are moth-eaten;
3 your gold and your silver have become covered with rust, and the rust on them will give evidence against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded up wealth in these last days.
4 I tell you that the pay of the labourers who have gathered in your crops—pay which you are keeping back—is calling out against you; and the outcries of those who have been your reapers have entered into the ears of the Lord of the armies of Heaven.
5 Here on earth you have lived self-indulgent and profligate lives. You have stupefied yourselves with gross feeding; but a day of slaughter has come.
6 You have condemned—you have murdered— the righteous man: he offers no resistance.
Thank you One Wing.
#1....whether you quit ( under duress or lack of work) you CAN file for unemployment.
#2....If the employer says anything negative in a reference he is opening himself up to a lawsuit. Have a relative call for reference to check that they are not saying anything bad.
#3....Tell your son to go back ( after a week or so and he has calmed down) and ask for a Written reference Letter from the old boss.
I once got fired, it was so devestating I was depressed for months. However, I had gotten ahold of a career book that discussed what to do. The week after I was “fired” I went back to the boss, ( this was a hospital corporation that was expanding their outpatient offices...and I did nothing wrong).
I gave the old boss a typed letter of resignation.( Yup, I “resigned’ after I was terminated...ha).
Then I said, I need a letter now of reference typed on company stationary ( I provided the copy I wanted them to use) and then said, I will wait till your secretary types it and you sign it.
Twenty minutes later i walked out with my glowing reference letter!
Over two years later, I learned what the real reason was they let me go, they were having money problems. ... and then a new CEO took over, they had changed the company’s name and there I was filling out new employment paperwork
for an even BETTER job...IN MY OLD OFFICE! HA. With my old picture on the wall! As I finished my personnel paperwork, I turned to the HR person and said, “Nice picture there.” HA!
Your son’s boss is a bully. Your son can move on or stand up to the bully. Bullies usually back down when that happens.
How to stand up? Well, there’s nothing official that says he’s fired, right? Show up for the next shift. If he doesn’t get paid, file a complaint with the Labor Board. Also tell the boss, “If you give me a false bad referrence, I’ll sue you and this company into the ground for defamation.” (Threatening suit for something that is justified isn’t blackmail - hence the key term “false.”) If the boss has a boss, go to him.
Or your son could just move on. Might be the better route. Gotta pick your fights in this world...
Report him for hiring illegal aliens, that idiot needs to be put out of business.
Good points, but those friends might not really be friends. If he’s anything like the OP says, he probably has a lot of enemies, too.
If the tide turned on him, there’s a good chance he’d get toasted by “friends” and enemies alike.
I’ve seen some fairly well connected “too big for their britches” scumbags go down that way. Once someone had the guts to take the first bite out of their hides, it became a feeding frenzy...
You’re welcome. Something else that struck me [after I posted the section from James] was this:
“I argued that he was not ‘Christian’ what he was doing and that I would bring up the subject to his church on Sunday.”
Contrary to what others have said about it being a bad idea to go to his church, I would suggest that you do go and make a case against the man. [Better to follow through with threats than be a liar, no?] Remember the following:
Proverbs 28:1 — The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Matthew 5:37 — But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
1 Corinthians 6:3 — Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
Shake the dust off your boots and move on.
God Bless
That is absolutely right. Even if an employee is horrible the employer can have their pants sued off for giving a negative reference. Tell your son to buck up. He is not wrong and he can fight it if he wants to. I don't think the unemployment office will side with the employer either if he fights that.
Over the years, I’ve seen alot of abuses. My bro..move on. When the Lord closes a door he’ll open another one. It might not be in YOUR timing, but another will open. In the meantime get your unemployment if you can, apply for food stamps, energy assistance etc. You are exactly who these programs were created to help. There is no shame in it. Do what you have to do.
Do a Jobs search right here on FR. There are numerous job threads with listings on sites such as Monster.com and simplyhired.com.
I check them routinely for my unemployed friends. Many here have taken up handyman chores locally. They make more money painting someone’s house and cleaning gutters than they did at their lost jobs.
Your church is a source of help. Spread the word about your needing work.
Prayers up for you from all of us. Keep the faith. Let the Lord handle your life. Believe me, the Lord will be far harder on your former employer than you could ever be. I’ve seen “vengence is mine, says the Lord” work out in real life, and it’s not pretty.,
Keep your heart towards Him. Hugs.
“Above all my brethern, be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”
Please explain 1 Corinthians 6:1-3, which says:
If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
Starting his own business is an excellent idea. In theory you should never burn your bridges, but he is past that point. The last two companies that laid me off due to the economy are using my freelance service. I have ten other companies doing the same.
I make more and am my own boss. No stress and other than deadlines. I never get yelled at by the boss and if something goes wrong I know who to blame.
I was leaning toward reporting the jerk, but what is that going to really solve? He should forgive, forget and move on with his life. If he gets buried in negatives things it will just drag him down.
Is it evil to fight evil? No. It is evil to stand up and fight for your family's welfare? No. It is evil to want justice? No
There is a time for everything under the sun. To be silent and to speak up. If speaking up with the truth is evil, then I am certainly out of the loop. My problem is whether (as some have pointed out) I am acting out in revenge or in Biblical truths in the manner that grievances should be administered among Christians.
I know what you’re saying about confronting “your brother” at church council.
The question is..is he your brother? The way he treats his help tells me he is a CINO, not your brother. This stricture applies to real Christians who have fallen in some way, but their hearts are basically right towards God. You’ve said nothing about this man that would indicate this to be true of him.
Pray about it. Let the Lord decide if this is the time for this rule to apply. I don’t think it is.
Again, move on. Pray mightily and let Him direct your path.
Labor board or whatever it is called in your state- report off the clock work and other violations and if it can be proven you and other employees will get backpay.
ICE to report illegal workers- each one has a job that needs to go to a citizen.
Leave the church out of it- eventually he will have a lot of explaining to do for the way he treats folks. I hope I am not in line behind him at the Pearly Gates. It could take a while.
Are you perhaps just waiting for someone to give you some advice that you agree with? Or are you actually looking for guidance?
In some states, like Texas, the boss can fire you for any reason, good, bad or indifferent, as long as he doesn’t violate federal law in age, gender, religious or ethnic discrimination.
So you probably have no recourse and your job sounded more like your problem than your future.
So forget him. Report his illegals if you want, but forget him and move on.
If the company went out of business due to lack of work, then your son is not at fault.
I would tell him to go and apply anyway, and I would tell the folks at the umemployment office EXACTLY what was said to him.
I would NOT let this go!
Fair enough question. Both I would guess would be my answer. I think any sane person would answer the same as I have.
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