In January of this year I was fired from my job at a restaurant. The day I was fired I was being yelled at by the manager on duty for not being able to stir a pan of eggs and make the orders I had on the board at the same time. I have been yelled and cussed at by this manager multiple times, I needed to cool off or I was going to say something I would regret so I took my apron off and went outside. I was literally just standing right outside the door (I even left my purse inside indicating that I was not walking out) when the owner pulled up on his truck, saw me, greeted me, and said nothing else. I went back in to finish my shift because I just needed to cool down for a few minutes and was not intending to quit (it should also be noted that I have always been allowed to take breaks whenever I wanted without letting the manager know as long as I was back soon, the only non-abusive part of the job.) I finished my shift like normal, clocked out, and began gathering my things. My manger was hovering over me and watching me while I was getting ready to leave and I could tell he wanted to speak to me. I assumed he would ask for my side of the story. I went outside and he stopped me. He told me that “it just isn’t working out” and that he would be terminating my employment. I said okay and left. That was it. In all the time that I had worked there I was never given a verbal or written warning for anything and no one ever implied they were unhappy with my work, it was simply just “it isn’t working out.”
I have been waiting to hear something from unemployment for 8 weeks (it’s as stressful as you can imagine not having any income for that long) and received a letter today from them. My employer lied in order to disqualify me from receiving benefits. I am going to work on getting an appeal but in the mean time I would really appreciate any advice or anecdotes from anyone who has been in this same situation. I am going to outline the lies that my employer fed unemployment.
1. You stated that your employer discharged you however we have received information that you walked off the job after a argument with your employer. Why were you so upset with your manager on duty?
Like I said before I walked off and stood outside the door. I never said I was quitting, I never left the property, and I even left my purse inside. I was upset because I was being yelled at (by a manager who frequently yelled and cussed at me) for not being able to stir two dozen eggs at the same time that I was making egg plates and omelettes for customers. It wasn’t even an argument because I didn’t really say anything, I went outside to cool off so it wouldn’t devolve into arguing.
2. According to our information you were separated from your manager and other coworkers to calm down, once you calmed down that you stated this was your last shift. What date was this on?
This is just a blatant lie. I wasn’t separated from my manager and other coworkers, I separated myself from the situation because when the manager is the one being hostile there is no one else to mediate the situation or separate people. I never said it was going to be my last shift. I fully expected to be back on Monday the next week. While I was cooling off I even texted my mom and asked who I would talk to about fixing the hostile work environment since there is no HR. Why would I do this if it was apparently going to be my last shift? I also have texts after that telling my mom I had straight up gotten fired and what had happened.
3. The warnings you had received on conduct, tardiness, absenteeism or carelessness that resulted in food contamination were this given to you in writing or verbal? If so who spoke to you about these concerns?
I never ever received a warning for anything. No one ever said anything about my conduct, no one ever said anything when I was late, no one ever said anything about me missing work (I only missed maybe two days and always called in at least a few hours ahead of time), and no one ever said anything about me being careless and “contaminating” food. This restaurant had food contamination problems but it was because they would do stuff like drop onions on the floor, wipe them off on their shirt, and then proceed to use them anyway. They would let flies swim in the egg wash and they would not tell me how to make a new batch or switch it out. It was a disgusting place but not because of me. The only thing they could be onto here was that I was late quite frequently, but so was multiple other people and no one ever received any sort of warning or reprimand. Not oral or written, nothing. They made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal to them and it wasn’t until they decided they didn’t like me anymore and wanted to fire me.
I would love to hear any thoughts, advice, anecdotes, anything that will help me navigate this situation. I am in New Mexico if that makes any difference.