I was out of town during the last week of September. My husband reminded his boss multiple times that he wouldn’t be able to work beyond regular hours that week since I’d be away.
He’s a hydraulic technician, and often has day jobs that are hours away. Sometimes, he leaves as early as 2 a.m. and doesn’t return home until past midnight.
Even after he made it clear he couldn’t do this, they sent him out anyway, claiming the job would be quick – but it never is. They put him on forced overtime, sending him out of town that Thursday and again on Friday. When 4:30 p.m. hit on Friday, his usual end time, he left the job site and drove three hours back home.
Then, on Saturday, while we were at a scheduled appointment, his work called and demanded he come in immediately. He told them he’d be there after the appointment ended, which he did, about two hours later. (It’s worth noting that his position isn’t an ‘on-call’ one.)
The next day, they fired him for “refusing overtime.” There was no warning, no prior conversation – just an abrupt termination.
Does this count as wrongful termination? Can they really fire him even when he gave advance notice about his obligations?
@Emory
I get that, honestly. But the amount of overtime they expect is ridiculous. And the appointment was on a Saturday, plus he’s not ‘on-call’ – so that shouldn’t even be relevant. Sometimes he’s worked 18-20 hour days, for 7-10 days straight, and at least those were scheduled in advance so we could plan. Honestly, he’s better off. That place is awful.
Is he part of a union, or does he have any formal contract (which is pretty rare in the U.S.)?
Just so you know, wrongful termination has a pretty specific meaning – usually, it means being fired due to something protected by law, like discrimination. It doesn’t cover situations where someone feels they were let go unfairly.
Having obligations outside of work, unless they’re covered by something like FMLA, isn’t protected. Also, there aren’t any laws in Mississippi requiring advance scheduling notices (sometimes called predictive scheduling).
Employers in Mississippi can fire someone over schedule issues without notice. They’re not required by law to follow a progressive discipline process or to issue warnings before termination, even if they have those policies written out somewhere.
So, to answer your question: yes, sadly, they can fire someone who had prior obligations, even if they had said it was “no problem” before.
@Sage
Thanks for the insight. No, he’s not in a union, and there’s no contract. They don’t even offer direct deposit – it’s very outdated and honestly disrespectful how they treat their staff.
Lyle said: @Sage
Thanks for the insight. No, he’s not in a union, and there’s no contract. They don’t even offer direct deposit – it’s very outdated and honestly disrespectful how they treat their staff.
That’s rough. It really sounds like a terrible setup all around.
I genuinely hope he finds a new job soon, one that better fits your family’s needs .
.