I worked with a company that had “at will employment.” Yesterday, they did fire me without notice and no messages prior to yesterday about correcting my behavior when it came to turning my camera on, participating in discussions, and retaking a failed pop quiz.
My manager contacted me yesterday, a few minutes before I clocked out. She said in a hurry, “We feel that you didn't pass the probationary period so it's best to separate ways.” I asked for more information on why I was being fired at this moment because I didn't receive any communication in all channels that said, “Hey, you need to turn your camera on, and you need to participate in class more.” She didn't say anything else other than, “I don't have all of the details so you need to call HR, and ask them,” then hung up without confirming what HR number to call/email.
She logged me out of the entire system so I wasn't able to finish my shift with the training class. No access to chats or my time card to see if they logged in the correct hours for that day. No access to work emails, either.
I did participate in my class a lot because my trainer called on me more times than the other students in the class to solve longer problem scenarios as an example for our coworkers. When they called on my name in class, I could see it in the live captions and hear them audibly call – answered it every time.
The HR lady I spoke to this morning said the opposite: “When we called your name, you weren't there, and we had to look for you.” I've never met this lady before. None of the other managers or the trainer said that either as I was at my desk except for breaks. The HR lady continued to list reasons of why I was let go, but when I asked her for more proof, she didn't give a straight answer. She only referred me to management including there was no appeals process. She got hostile pretty quick as she started to say things like, “This isn't a government agency, I don't have to tell you anything. It's all up to management, you have to talk with them.” So I asked if I could contact my previous manager, and she said, “What do you want to talk with her for?? There's nothing else!”
As for the quiz, there was one last Friday that allowed us two attempts. The first attempt I didn't pass, the second I did. My trainer didn't have issues with that, and recorded my best attempt – She said I was still allowed to continue the class.
This is what I have from the Employee Handbook that outlines the at will employment in detail.
Is there anything I could gain out of this scenario by contacting NLRB, or another agency who handles cases like these? Any other advice is appreciated as this is my first time being in a situation like this.
TL;DR – I got fired yesterday without advanced warning or disciplinary action but I live in an “at will employment” state. My company refused to provide proof that I broke their protocol, and have explicitly said they don't have to give that information out when I asked for the times and dates of when I supposedly broke the rules. I have proof that says otherwise. Is there anything I could gain out of this?