court appearances

[Need4Answers]

What is the name of your state?NY

I am constantly being dragged into court by my ex - I think he does this in hopes my employer will get sick of it and fire me. So far they have put up with it but I have 3 court dates this month not to mention attorney appointments as well I need to keep to prepare for this mess. It's all family court stuff that is going to be dismissed but he does this to harass me and I have to appear - is this legal reason to terminate my employment? If so, can I then sue my ex for me getting fired because of these useless court appearances? He does not work so it does not cost him any money to do this. Thanks.

 

[Beth3]

Yes, your employer can terminate you if they decide you're absent too much, even for this reason. You should discuss the situation with your attorney and see if he can petition the court regarding the abuse of the judicial system. As to sueing your ex if you are discharged, I seriously doubt it. Besides if it doesn't work then presumably he doesn't have any $, unless he's a trust fund baby. What good would sueing him do?

Sadly you're not the first ex to be put through this. Your attorney should be talking to the judge about your ex's abuse of the legal system and filing for all these hearings just to harass you.

What you need to do is keep your supervisor in the loop as to what's going on (without sharing too much of the personal mess with him/her) and do everything you can to keep up on your job responsibilities. You should also try to schedule your attorney appointments after work hours if at all possible, or at least at times that will inconvenience your employer as little as possible. If you otherwise have good attendance and job performance and your supervisor is convinced you're doing everything you can to minimize your absences from work, chances are your employer will be willing to work with you on this.