How to report employer who fires people in illegal ways?

Question

My employer has recently changed managers, and the new manager is on a power trip. He hired way too many staff, to a point of being overstaffed by double our size, so in order to fix that he is "firing" original staff that has been there. He is firing pretty much everyone that recently earned a raise for being there over a year, and is coming up with fake excuses.

Instead of directly firing people, he is "suspending" them. He doesn't give us a length of time, and excuses are literally anything he can come up. Recently my girlfriend was suspended because "he heard someone read she posted something bad on Facebook" but provided no proof or examples as to what she said. She was suspended for 3 weeks so far, and now is taken off the schedule entirely. She was doing her job correctly, kept to herself, and wasn't causing trouble. Ever since she has been gone our guests (customers) have shown concern because she was such a great worker.

This happened to 3 people so far and once being removed from the schedule, they all filed for unemployment. When they did that, it was denied because our employer is saying "they resigned" from the job, when they didn't at all. We report this to the manager and he makes up excuses as to them resigning for "not caring about the job."

We were fed up with this so we took it to our companies HR which will do absolutely nothing. She simply says "what they say is true no matter what."

So I'm asking is their a government office or someone we can go to, to report all of them? It's worth noting we've caught them all doing illegal things in other areas too...... I'm fearing for my job since we have bills to pay and can't collect unemployment until they wise up and admit we are fired, but instead I'll just be thrown on indefinite suspension....

michr · Accepted Answer

where are you?
laws vary greatly based on location (city, state, province, country)......

if you are in the US; NOTHING in this post is illegal or even suggest anything illegal was done.
if/when unemployment is denied the employee appeals it and the employer MUST prove that they had cause to terminate or prove an employee quit, the state does NOT just take the employers word for it.

IF as you claim others have been denied unemployment it is because there are more details that you have left out 
OR 
they had not worked enough in the base year to even qualify for unemployment.

if you have proof of illegal employment practices you contact the state's department of labor and present the proof, just because something is unfair or you THINK it is illegal does NOT mean that it actually is illegal.

Simpson G. · Answer

You don't have to wait until the employer "wises up" to collect unemployment. You can appeal a decision. In the appeal, suspended parties provide copies of suspension letters, e-mails, texts, or voice mails. They need to document exactly what was said and when to present that to the unemployment people.

Everything else is pretty legal, unless you are protected by a contract or a union.

BBG · Answer

It is perfectly legal to fire the people who have been there the longest/make the most money and keep the workers who make less money.

Talk to the unemployment office.  In my state an employer cannot prove you resigned unless you signed a letter of resignation or failed to clock in for the shifts you were scheduled.

? · Answer

It is not illegal to fire people who make the most money. It is not illegal to suspend them indefinitely. They don't even need a reason to do it. They literally can fire you because they don't like your car. No proof needed.

Absolutely nothing you have mentioned is illegal in any way.

Richard · Answer

If you were in the UK you would have a case for "constructive dismissal" and could form a group action. The threat of that would wake most HR depts up.

Casey Y · Answer

I wouldn't say those practices are illegal on the face, you (or rather your girlfriend) can contact an attorney if you think so.

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How to report employer who fires people in illegal ways?

6 Answers