can you get fired over the phone because of car troubles?

Have you been late before? Do you have a history

of running late? You cannot take them to court. You can be fired now thru e-mail, text message, letter, in person. Times have changed! You needed another job anyway:)

It depends on the state that you work in...There are a few other factors as well. The first thing is how many times have you been late or called in sick in the past., And when you called in what excuses have you given. Also certain states have an At Will employment clause, this states that the company or employee may terminate employment at any time for any reason or no reason. You may want to check with someone like the EDD (Employment Development) to see what the law says in your state. However in most states you can file for unemployment if you were terminated. Also your Boss may have been blowing off steam, arrange a meeting with Him and your Human Resources person to find out the specifics or if the situation can be remedied.

Basically, yes you could.

Not really enough information posted though. Unionized company? Work for a small business owner? Different laws for different situations.

Best advice is to call a lawyer for a free consultation.

I'm a General Manager for a Company, and no, we cannot fire someone over the phone like that.

There would be major ramifications.

Sounds like you are just too much to deal with. I'm sure you were late all the time because people don't get fired for being late once. I would have fired you too. You can sue him if you want to spend a bunch of money and lose.

Where do you live? If you live in the US in a Right to Work state they can fire you at any time for any reason.

It does seem a little extreme to me. Have you been late/absent before?

You could sue, but for what you would spend in legal fees it would most likely not be worth your trouble.

Talk to the department of labor.

Unless there is a chronic history of being late, you may have a case for improper job termination

boy that sucks. most states allow an employer to fire for any or even no reason, so no court. Do file for unemployment though and if they deny you, appeal it. That could easily be won. Good luck

well if it was a one time thing, your boss has no right to fire you, but if you are habitually late and have excuses constantly, even if this time was a legitimate cause, then he would have a right to fire you based on your latenesses.

Nope.

I'm guessing that this wasn't the first time you had been late.

somehow I think there is a rest of the story that you didn't tell