A week ago, I was terminated from my role because an employee (who happened to be my direct report) called the hotline and made a false accusation against me. He claimed I made a racist statement. Throughout the investigation process, I cooperated, told the truth, and continued managing this employee to the best of my ability. When I asked HR to join during his 1:1s because I wasn't comfortable being alone with him, they declined and instructed me to keep things “business as usual.”
Looking more closely, there are tons of red flags that point to other reasons for firing me:
- Very low pay for the non-exempt employees, especially for the market
- High turnover among exempt and non-exempt employees
- Apparently “everyone on the leadership team” has been investigated for something called into the hotline
- Slowdown in business in recent months, including early building closures
- Another employee posted a few days later about being very suddenly let go or laid off
I suspect the complaint was an excuse for them to terminate me, and avoid laying me off. Now, they don't have to pay severance, and it will be difficult for me to collect unemployment since it was “for cause.”
In my next opportunity, I vow to keep a close eye on the red flags, and I refuse to manage direct reports ever again. Ruthless.