Anything I Can Do Here? New Employer Misrepresented Workplace and Training

[imachristian13]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MARYLAND

Long story short - happy to answer questions - here's the scoop.

Upon a referral, I recently left a decent-paying PT job at a church in favor of a FT position with a well known, successful, small-scale office. During the hiring process, I was told that I would be fully trained in areas for which I had no knowledge. Also, a great deal of time was spent discussing the work environment as I did not want to enter a workplace that was dysfunctional nor one that folks did not act in a respectful tone.

It turned out that this firm put the "dis" in dysfunctional, my coworkers had mouths that were more foul than a Samuel L. Jackson movie, and my trainer informed me that she didn't have time to teach me anything at all - I'd have to learn on the fly. Because I had no fallback options - my prior job is already reset - I attempted to stick it out and cope with the hostilities. After 7 work days, I found myself in the hiring boss's office discussing MY attitude and hearing a litany of falsehoods regarding my work ethic. On the 8th Day (pun intended), I was dismissed.

None of this is about the difference in people or culture. I have no right to tell him how to run his office or anything like that. What I don't understand is why he hired me in the first place when he had to know I was a bad fit?

I do not believe I have any recourse here. I just want to make certain I'm not missing anything since none of this would have happened if he had just not have offered me the job.

THANKS!

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MARYLAND

Long story short - happy to answer questions - here's the scoop.

Upon a referral, I recently left a decent-paying PT job at a church in favor of a FT position with a well known, successful, small-scale office. During the hiring process, I was told that I would be fully trained in areas for which I had no knowledge. Also, a great deal of time was spent discussing the work environment as I did not want to enter a workplace that was dysfunctional nor one that folks did not act in a respectful tone.

It turned out that this firm put the "dis" in dysfunctional, my coworkers had mouths that were more foul than a Samuel L. Jackson movie, and my trainer informed me that she didn't have time to teach me anything at all - I'd have to learn on the fly. Because I had no fallback options - my prior job is already reset - I attempted to stick it out and cope with the hostilities. After 7 work days, I found myself in the hiring boss's office discussing MY attitude and hearing a litany of falsehoods regarding my work ethic. On the 8th Day (pun intended), I was dismissed.

None of this is about the difference in people or culture. I have no right to tell him how to run his office or anything like that. What I don't understand is why he hired me in the first place when he had to know I was a bad fit?

I do not believe I have any recourse here. I just want to make certain I'm not missing anything since none of this would have happened if he had just not have offered me the job.

THANKS!

Go with your gut.

 

[ShyCat]

What I don't understand is why he hired me in the first place when he had to know I was a bad fit?

You'd have to ask him. No one here can answer that for you.

 

[imachristian13]

You'd have to ask him. No one here can answer that for you.

Of course - and I did ask. He refused to respond. It's just so odd. Thanks!

 

[imachristian13]

Go with your gut.

Right. That's what I'm working with. Just double-checking since it puts me in such a bad place. Thanks!

 

[Chyvan]

Did you file for unemployment?

 

[commentator]

I very strongly suspect there will not be any covered wages here to set up an unemployment claim, as churches are generally exempt from paying employer payroll taxes, and this is where all her covered wages in the last two years would have to come from. But it never hurts to file the claim and find out for sure. Once you've accepted a job and discovered that it was "not a good fit" there's some chance of being approved for benefits in the private sector. But in this circumstance, with a church job part time in her background, I suspect there will be no claim to set up, and therefore, no unemployment benefits to be had.

Yes, unfortunately, in our world, it's all about the employer, and pretty much they can do anything they want to do to you. Your rights in this situation? None.
I went to church with a good many people who you would never recognize from the pew on Sunday compared to the tax paying profit making work world of the rest of the week. They were fine folks until principle met profit, and then guess what got dumped quick?

 

[imachristian13]

Did you file for unemployment?

I did not because this position would not have had any effect on the UI and my prior employer was a church.
Thank you.

 

[imachristian13]

I very strongly suspect there will not be any covered wages here to set up an unemployment claim, as churches are generally exempt from paying employer payroll taxes, and this is where all her covered wages in the last two years would have to come from. But it never hurts to file the claim and find out for sure. Once you've accepted a job and discovered that it was "not a good fit" there's some chance of being approved for benefits in the private sector. But in this circumstance, with a church job part time in her background, I suspect there will be no claim to set up, and therefore, no unemployment benefits to be had.

Yes, unfortunately, in our world, it's all about the employer, and pretty much they can do anything they want to do to you. Your rights in this situation? None.
I went to church with a good many people who you would never recognize from the pew on Sunday compared to the tax paying profit making work world of the rest of the week. They were fine folks until principle met profit, and then guess what got dumped quick?

Thanks...I thought this was the case - and I have been in the same scenarios as you describe before - just makes no sense for them to hire a guy who might as well have held out a Bible during the interview.

 

[Zigner]

Thanks...I thought this was the case - and I have been in the same scenarios as you describe before - just makes no sense for them to hire a guy who might as well have held out a Bible during the interview.

You would prefer that they choose NOT to hire you because you are Christian?

 

[eerelations]

I think OP means that because he was very open about being a Christian they should have known he wouldn't be a good fit in their rough-and-tumble environment...and therefore not hired him because he wouldn't be a good fit, not because he was Christian.

Which I disagree with. I have worked in several pretty rough-and-tumble environments (tech start-ups run by cowboys, low-end minimum wage manufacturing etc.) where there were numerous very religious employees who just did their jobs and ignored the surrounding rough-and-tumble. Based on these experiences I wouldn't automatically assume that every Christian who walked through the interview room door wouldn't be a good fit.

(I did have one situation with a Muslim candidate for a job at a company whose employee population was about 40% gay, but it was him that asked me if we employed gays, and when I said yes he immediately withdrew his application, explaining that his religion wouldn't allow him to work there. So it was the candidate not the prospective employer that made that rejection decision.)

 

[imachristian13]

You would prefer that they choose NOT to hire you because you are Christian?

I chose my words poorly in how I stated that (re: the Bible). My preference for them not to have offered me employment was not been because of my Faith - it was because I made it so clear that I did not want to work in the type of environment that they actually provide.

 

[imachristian13]

I think OP means that because he was very open about being a Christian they should have known he wouldn't be a good fit in their rough-and-tumble environment...and therefore not hired him because he wouldn't be a good fit, not because he was Christian.

Which I disagree with. I have worked in several pretty rough-and-tumble environments (tech start-ups run by cowboys, low-end minimum wage manufacturing etc.) where there were numerous very religious employees who just did their jobs and ignored the surrounding rough-and-tumble. Based on these experiences I wouldn't automatically assume that every Christian who walked through the interview room door wouldn't be a good fit.

(I did have one situation with a Muslim candidate for a job at a company whose employee population was about 40% gay, but it was him that asked me if we employed gays, and when I said yes he immediately withdrew his application, explaining that his religion wouldn't allow him to work there. So it was the candidate not the prospective employer that made that rejection decision.)

Like I said in my other reply, I chose my words poorly there. I made it clear throughout the interview process that I was not interested in working in an environment like theirs turned out to be.
I have worked in several of these environments in the past as well - and ignored what I needed to ignore. That is what I was doing in this case. The reason I am not with the firm anymore is because they refused to train me and then the trainer told the owner that I was not following her instructions (there were none, I kid you not).

None of this is so much about my Faith, really. I just didn't get why he even bothered to hire me when he knew that I didn't want to work in a place like his from my statements during the interview process. His advertisement said "we offer a competitive salary, and a professional and supportive working environment." The interview process made it look like that his firm operated in this fashion. So, I quit my lesser-paying position and joined his firm based upon his statements and presentation. THAT is what frustrates me.

Thanks for the chat.