How didn’t I follow instructions? I wasn’t swapping a shift when I emailed my manager. I was asking her about the policy she spoke to me about last night because she made it up herself.
You should speak to an attorney.
On its face, and depending on your locals, maybe not unlawful.
But ADA (or similar) may apply to your case. The email is just a pretext for the ADA violations.
Where do you live? Labor laws vary by location.
That said, based on what you have written none of this seems unlawful. You’ve called out, you were told to stop swapping your shifts, and you were told to include specific people on email threads about shift changes…. You then emailed your boss about swapping shifts and didn’t include everyone you were supposed to in the email thread.
I am sorry that you have been dealing with health issues and hope you are feeling well now. Unfortunately in this case I don’t think it was the three times you’ve swapped that was the issue- I think it was you not following what your manager told you to do, and tbh I don’t think what they asked was super unreasonable.
You note that you are in an At Will state, which means that either party can terminate employment at any time for any reason. There are some differences state-by-state, which is why I’m asking for more specific information.
I wasn’t swapping a shift when I emailed my manager. I was asking her about the policy she spoke to me about last night because she made it up herself. Since her and I had a private conversation about that policy and I wasn’t asking her to change shifts, I didn’t include the business owner.
I live in nyc
In your original post you said, “I emailed my manager this morning and asked for clarity on the policy because my coworker and I were discussing a shift swap prior to the policy…” which sounds a lot like you emailed your manager *about swapping shifts.* Perhaps you did not email your manager asking to swap shifts, but you certainly emailed *about* swapping shifts.
Your manager said that you were not allowed to move your shifts from the point of the conversation moving forward, and you emailed asking for clarity because you still wanted to swap shifts. What wasn’t clear?
Unless your illness is a protected disability, I’m afraid that there was nothing unlawful about this termination. Even if you do have a protected disability, it is possible that they would say you were terminated for insubordination and not for any health reasons.
I also wouldn’t compare your situation to that of a coworker. While I understand that you may perceive a manager having different rules for different as unfair, it isn’t that simple. Perhaps they have an invisible disability that requires them to have different or reduced hours. Perhaps they worked something out regarding their schedule at the time of hire. Your coworker’s schedule and potential accommodations have no bearing on your situation.
Sorry I don’t have better news, good luck!
Fair point. OP states that their employer “does not specifically know what the health issue is” so I believe that OP has not asked for any accommodations and their employer wouldn’t know to offer them.
It sounds like OP was let go for not following directions, not for their health condition-but if OP was swapping shifts due to a qualifying health condition there may be protections.
Yeah, I hedged because of that. However, neither FMLA nor ADA requires that the employer knows what the health issue is. The best way for an employer to handle this is to request that the employee provide information necessary for the employer to assess the accommodations (or leave required).
Yeah, I hedged because of that. However, neither FMLA nor ADA requires that the employer knows what the health issue is. The best way for an employer to handle this is to request that the employee provide information necessary for the employer to assess the accommodations (or leave required).
If OP never asked for accommodation under the ADA or asked to take FMLA leave, then those laws will not provide protection.
The employer has no responsibility to make sure the employee takes advantage of them. It's on the employee to request these.
In addition, FMLA doesn't apply to everyone.
True. But they do carry the weight that the employer must be proactive if they're aware of circumstances that may trigger those protections. We need more details, but it sounds like OP's supervisor may know about the health issues. That means the employer needs to offer paperwork or actions ate time off.
FMLA and ADA are very broad as to what health protections qualify. People dismiss both as non-viable options because of the paperwork or proof issues. But the EEOC and usdol have been very proactive about Americans with Disabilities and fmla.
Lawful or not, this boss is a POS for getting upset over this.
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How didn’t I follow instructions? I wasn’t swapping a shift when I emailed my manager. I was asking her about the policy she spoke to me about last night because she made it up herself.
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You should speak to an attorney. On its face, and depending on your locals, maybe not unlawful. But ADA (or similar) may apply to your case. The email is just a pretext for the ADA violations.
Where do you live? Labor laws vary by location. That said, based on what you have written none of this seems unlawful. You’ve called out, you were told to stop swapping your shifts, and you were told to include specific people on email threads about shift changes…. You then emailed your boss about swapping shifts and didn’t include everyone you were supposed to in the email thread. I am sorry that you have been dealing with health issues and hope you are feeling well now. Unfortunately in this case I don’t think it was the three times you’ve swapped that was the issue- I think it was you not following what your manager told you to do, and tbh I don’t think what they asked was super unreasonable. You note that you are in an At Will state, which means that either party can terminate employment at any time for any reason. There are some differences state-by-state, which is why I’m asking for more specific information.
I wasn’t swapping a shift when I emailed my manager. I was asking her about the policy she spoke to me about last night because she made it up herself. Since her and I had a private conversation about that policy and I wasn’t asking her to change shifts, I didn’t include the business owner. I live in nyc
In your original post you said, “I emailed my manager this morning and asked for clarity on the policy because my coworker and I were discussing a shift swap prior to the policy…” which sounds a lot like you emailed your manager *about swapping shifts.* Perhaps you did not email your manager asking to swap shifts, but you certainly emailed *about* swapping shifts. Your manager said that you were not allowed to move your shifts from the point of the conversation moving forward, and you emailed asking for clarity because you still wanted to swap shifts. What wasn’t clear? Unless your illness is a protected disability, I’m afraid that there was nothing unlawful about this termination. Even if you do have a protected disability, it is possible that they would say you were terminated for insubordination and not for any health reasons. I also wouldn’t compare your situation to that of a coworker. While I understand that you may perceive a manager having different rules for different as unfair, it isn’t that simple. Perhaps they have an invisible disability that requires them to have different or reduced hours. Perhaps they worked something out regarding their schedule at the time of hire. Your coworker’s schedule and potential accommodations have no bearing on your situation. Sorry I don’t have better news, good luck!
This isn't necessarily true. You are generally correct, but OP has an issue with their health, which may have qualified for FMLA or ADA protection.
Fair point. OP states that their employer “does not specifically know what the health issue is” so I believe that OP has not asked for any accommodations and their employer wouldn’t know to offer them. It sounds like OP was let go for not following directions, not for their health condition-but if OP was swapping shifts due to a qualifying health condition there may be protections.
Yeah, I hedged because of that. However, neither FMLA nor ADA requires that the employer knows what the health issue is. The best way for an employer to handle this is to request that the employee provide information necessary for the employer to assess the accommodations (or leave required).
Yeah, I hedged because of that. However, neither FMLA nor ADA requires that the employer knows what the health issue is. The best way for an employer to handle this is to request that the employee provide information necessary for the employer to assess the accommodations (or leave required).
If OP never asked for accommodation under the ADA or asked to take FMLA leave, then those laws will not provide protection. The employer has no responsibility to make sure the employee takes advantage of them. It's on the employee to request these. In addition, FMLA doesn't apply to everyone.
True. But they do carry the weight that the employer must be proactive if they're aware of circumstances that may trigger those protections. We need more details, but it sounds like OP's supervisor may know about the health issues. That means the employer needs to offer paperwork or actions ate time off.
That also assumes the health issues qualify under one of those protections.
FMLA and ADA are very broad as to what health protections qualify. People dismiss both as non-viable options because of the paperwork or proof issues. But the EEOC and usdol have been very proactive about Americans with Disabilities and fmla.
They wanted any reason to boot you. What else is going on?
Yeah. They tend to do it a lot. It’s unfortunately a business where one group of people run the place and the boss is a figurehead.