The title is the gist of it. My partner arrived at work today, and before he even clocked in he was cornered by his location supervisor and was told he was being terminated and that if he didn't leave immediately, the cops would be called. Super aggressive and super random for 7am. Instead of leaving, he immediately called HR where he was told by the only HR rep that works for the whole state that he had “numerous write-ups” over the past few months for being aggressive and belligerent, slamming the front door (which is EXTREMELY heavy and always slams no matter how gentle you try to be), and cursing at patrons. He was also informed that he was “coached” numerous times on how to “be a better employee,” but ultimately “failed to correct” himself.
My partner immediately denied all this, and informed the only HR rep that works for the whole state that he was never presented a write up or even given a verbal warning of any kind. He also told the rep that he had never been coached on anything. HR basically told my partner that he was mistaken, and that he does have numerous write ups on his file. My partner asked to see them, and was told that they “can't disclose that information or answer any questions at this time” but that it would be in his exit letter. Then HR instructed him to leave immediately and hung up on him. Big surprise, when he got his exit letter via email a couple hours later, all it said was his effective termination date and that the PTO day he used last week was null and void. Nothing about any write-ups or disciplinary actions taken against him.
We think this is retaliation for an HR complaint that my partner made last month, since there is no trail of disciplinary action against him like they claim – or if there is, it's weird that they're refusing to disclose it – and my partner got 2 promotions in the last 6 months**.** If he was truly such an issue, why would they chose him for TWO promotions in the same time frame where he was supposedly acting up and needing to be being coached? It just doesn't make any sense. The complaint my partner had made was not against the supervisor of his location tha cornered him (although she had recently been very hostile and condescending towards him in recent weeks), but it was made towards 2 “higher-ups” in the company for racial discrimination and creating a hostile work environment. This complaint was never followed up on by the only HR rep that works for the whole state, even after my partner tried to follow up numerous times on his end.
Retaliation seems fitting, as a long-time employee at my partner's location was fired two months ago, just one week after she reported sexual harassment by the son of a “higher-up” (different higher-up than the 2 my partner opened a complaint against) during a company get-together. When she made the complaint to the only HR rep that works for the whole state, her claims were diminished and heavily questioned. And then she was fired the following week for “not being a good fit.”
We're looking into legal action, but we know that may be difficult because we're in NYC, which is “At Will.” Anybody have any advice?
Edit: spelling