Can a person be fired over this?
My sisters boyfriend was recently fired because apparently she was in the store too much. But when she is there she will buy cds and dvds. She even bought an expensive ipod there. She also goes there to sell back cds and dvds. And when she is there she does not even stay long. Can they fire him over the fact that she was there two saturdays in a row (doing business with the store) or is it bogus?
Answers:
Without knowing more of the details, I agree that this is a pretty lame reason for firing someone. However, the employer reserves the right to terminate it's employees as it sees fit.
Depending on where this is, several states do not require an employer to have a reason for firing an employee.
bogus
That's pretty bogus if that's the only reason. She's shopping there because her boyfriend works there. By firing him, they lose an employee and a customer. The store must have another side to the firing because there's no way that's the only reason.
Does she work for that store? Was it her day off? Not enough information.
Basically the owners can fire people who work for them for whatever reason that they want to.
It's their store, they can do whatever they want!
i think its bogus..
Sounds to me like they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of him.
that is bogus, unless they said he couldn't shop there. But most employers (if you work at the store.) even offer discounts for employees. That is nuts.
tell me the rules
The question is, can they fire someoen for no reason at all? Probably they can. If she's a distraction to the other customers or the employees, then he can be fired for that reason.
Good luck,
Dana
let me say that what you said sounds harmless, but something else probably took place that they arent telling you or was picked up on security camera. theres always more than meets the eye.
Yes, they can fire him over anything.
He deserves to be fired if his GF is coming to visit... I would have given him a warning.
well if he was only paying attention to his girlfriend when she came in and ignoring customers, im sure he could get fired. but if she was in there a lot and he spent as much time with her as he did other customers, he shouldnt have gotten fired.
his girlfriend needs to give him more space at work, he needs to WORK..and she should understand that she prolly shouldnt be in there takign his attention away from the other customers...
In California as it is in most states, they can fire him for anything without reason. He is an at will employee meaning he can leave at any time or be terminated at any time. There are certain classes that have protection against wrongful termination, but boyfriend with girlfriend isn't one of them.
He should still be able to collect unemployment.
It's best to let your friends work and if you need to buy something at that particular store do it when they arn't working.
imagine her boyfriend worked in a factory and she showed up every day. Oh yeah, she sweeps up a little and maybe handles a grease gun but she does not work there.
I would like to hear the other side of the story before I make a decision. If she was in the store that much, she obviously made her self known to the boyfriend. If it did not affect his work, there would have been no problem. It was up to the boyfriend to act accordingly, and he apparently didn't.
I am going to guess, coming from an employers point of view, that the reason they are letting your friend go is not so much the fact that his girlfriend is in the store to much, but that they feel this is distracting your friend from his job. She may do great business and may not be there long, but in some way her being in the store is taking away from his work performance and that is a valid reason to let someone go.
Since it appears he was an "at will" employee (if the state follows that jurisdiction and generally people working at media stores would not be under contract), they are within their rights to fire him for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all--so long as they do not discriminate.
It doesn't matter that she buys things, the store may think her presence and relationship with the boyfriend is inappropriate. She has a right to be there, but he has no right to continue to work there.
That depends on the law in the state he lives in. I live in texas and it would be leagal here. But texas is one of the worst states when it come to workers rights.
probably more to the story. but a lot of states don't have to give a reason.
"Employed at will", which your sister's boyfriend most certainley was if he was simply working at a record store, basically means that employers can fire employees whenever they want. There are some exceptions so check out the link below.
Well it really depends on the state, if it is at will. An employer can release you for any reason, but if he wants he can always get a lawyer to fight it/sue.
I think it would depend on whether it was stopping him from doing his job. Did he talk to much too her instead of helping customers or something like that? Or do they think he gave her unauthorized discounts (employee discounts).
I think that's the only way it could be valid.
Unless the BF has a contract, "At Will" is (in most states) the law. This means that a person can be fired, at any time, and for any reason (except illegal discrimination) or without a reason.
Putting that aside, is your sister is chatting with her BF or otherwise keeping him from doing his work, then this is a perfectly good reason to fire him.
If she was simply buying stuff, then I don't see how it'd matter to the store. In fact, how would the store know (or care) that this was his GF?
Update: Based on your update, he'll need to show that he was sexually harassed (i.e., the boss came on to him, asking him out, etc.). Can't do that? Then no case.
The way you explained it there doesn't seem to be any grounds for dismissal whatsoever. However, if she was comming into the store to be with her boyfriend when he is supposed to be doing his job, even if she came in & did business with the store. If she was somehow distracting him from his duties in the store, & he was warned that she was to stay away from the store during his shift(s) then THAT might be different, now wouldn't it. So if it was more like the way I explained it, then yes I believe that a person could get fired over this.
Most employers have a probation period, usually 90 days, during which they can terminate an employee for any reason.
Yes that is a terminable offense. Having friends come in and talk to you can be distracting to business. If she was in JUST to buy something then there really isn't a problem, but if she is there to buy something and talk for a little, hang out for a while, etc ... then yeah she is potentially causing a problem. From what you said here I would not be able to determine exactly what could have caused the firing, but yes he can be fired because his friends come in to see him too much. Granted if i were in the managers shoes as long as he got his work done and the friends were not roudy and such I wouldn't care. Also probably a warning was given to not have friends come in and hang out.
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