Employee handbook question?

[Pennywise1]

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

I was recently fired by my employer, a governmental agency. We were non Union. In our employee handbook it states that the employee will be given notice in writing of the reasons for dismissal and shall have the right to ask for a hearing before the board members. Does my employer have to abide by the employee handbook and provide me with the reasons in writing why I was terminated? I called the HR department and they referred me to the employers Attorney. I placed a call twice to the attorney but never received a call back.

 

[Pennywise1]

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

I was recently fired by my employer, a governmental agency. We were non Union. In our employee handbook it states that the employee will be given notice in writing of the reasons for dismissal and shall have the right to ask for a hearing before the board members. Does my employer have to abide by the employee handbook and provide me with the reasons in writing why I was terminated? I called the HR department and they referred me to the employers Attorney. I placed a call twice to the attorney but never received a call back.

Hmm. I probably should've searched Google or this forum before asking my question, a quick search revealed that an employee handbook doesn't mean squat.

 

[commentator]

What you need to do to start this ball rolling is to file immediately for unemployment benefits. State exactly what you were told when you were terminated. You do not have to have paperwork of any kind from your employer to get your unemployment claim filed. At this point, the agency will contact the workplace and ask for the reason why you were terminated.

There will be an initial decision made as to whether or not the agency had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you. Then either party can appeal their decision, and there would be a hearing. This will spell out, in most cases, exactly what they say is the reason for termination.

Answer in short, though, is no, not really. The employer does not have to follow their own handbook. But you really have some idea why you were fired, don't you? You're just wanting to hear what they say, so you'll have something to deny, somebody to argue with. I have rarely met anybody who was just fired and DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE why this happened to them. And I have seen many many people fired.

Stop worrying about getting such a copy, having such a meeting, calling their attorney, and go forward with your unemployment. If they do not have a union, and there is no valid EEOC violation or something like that, unemployment will be your only recourse anyhow, and even if there is more, that's the first place to begin on.

 

[Pennywise1]

What you need to do to start this ball rolling is to file immediately for unemployment benefits. State exactly what you were told when you were terminated. You do not have to have paperwork of any kind from your employer to get your unemployment claim filed. At this point, the agency will contact the workplace and ask for the reason why you were terminated.

There will be an initial decision made as to whether or not the agency had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you. Then either party can appeal their decision, and there would be a hearing. This will spell out, in most cases, exactly what they say is the reason for termination.

Answer in short, though, is no, not really. The employer does not have to follow their own handbook. But you really have some idea why you were fired, don't you? You're just wanting to hear what they say, so you'll have something to deny, somebody to argue with. I have rarely met anybody who was just fired and DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE why this happened to them. And I have seen many many people fired.

Stop worrying about getting such a copy, having such a meeting, calling their attorney, and go forward with your unemployment. If they do not have a union, and there is no valid EEOC violation or something like that, unemployment will be your only recourse anyhow, and even if there is more, that's the first place to begin on.

Thank you for you informative response. I have already filed for unemployment but was denied. I was also verbally given the reason why I was fired.

I apologize for limiting the information in my question. I'm not really sure how much information I should post relating to my situation as there will most likely be either a lawsuit or EEOC complaint filed. Obviously my next step is to retain a lawyer.

 

[Pennywise1]

Thank you for you informative response. I have already filed for unemployment but was denied.

I didn't earn enough money based on the quarters in which I was applying for benefits.

 

[PaulMass]

Hmm. I probably should've searched Google or this forum before asking my question, a quick search revealed that an employee handbook doesn't mean squat.

There are due process issues when you're talking about a government agency.

See that lawyer.

 

[cbg]

You have to have a right to sue letter from the EEOC before you can file a lawsuit. You can't go straight to court.

You can tell us this much. On what basis do you think the EEOC would be appropriate? I'm not saying you're wrong; I'm asking for clarification.

I accept PM's if you would be more comfortable that way.

 

[commentator]

I'd also like to point out that if you had not worked at the job long enough to have enough quarters in the unemployment system to draw benefits, it is possible you were a probationary employee, and if so, all bets are off as far as any civil service requirements or protections of your employment through governmental regulations.

 

[Pennywise1]

So I signed an attorney client agreement earlier this week. It stated that "I must not discuss my case with any person or through any form of electronic media. The attorneys for the company will most likely demand the production of any email or text messages you send or receive that relate to your case"

With the above in mind I haven't abondoned my original question but believe that it's wise not to post anything related to my case.

Once again I appreciate all of the responses that I received.