Suspended due to personal conflict with employer

[hisham1]

I was suspended for a week by my boss because of a disagreement we had. He was upset because I walked away from him so he threatened that he would suspend me the following week of work. He keep insisting on the fact that I'm bad with the customer but about a month ago I received a letter from one of our clients describing me as the reason he would use our services again. In my bosses own hand writing on the letter it say " Keep up the good work H you make us look good". I went to speak to my boss on the Monday of my suspension and he wouldn't step into the office to speak to me and I also spoke to our city manager about the issue the day before and he told me he would take care of things. I tried calling the city manager after my boss refused to speak to me and completely ignored telling me why he suspended me other than saying I was bad with guests. I handed him my keys and I told him I'm not going to work for him anymore but I will still be working for the company. I work in a parking company in case that makes things a little clearer. Now I have a copy of the letter and I also don't have any official reports of any problems with guests so what should I do? City manager ignores my calls and texts and I am going to work at a different property this weekend for two days. I would like to know what my options are and what am I supposed to do to protect my self? I don't care about collecting unemployment but it would be nice, or working at my old property because the boss is always yelling at me and not respecting me.

 

[esteele]

Unfortunately, based on what you posted, you do not have many good options. I presume you are not a unionized employee or otherwise have employment contract protection. As an at-will employee, your employer can suspend even if the underlying rationale is bogus or nonsensical. Indeed, your employer can fire you for any reason as long as said reason is not an unlawful one (e.g., race discrimination).

If you are fired for failing to return to work, your chances of obtaining unemployment are dicey, at best. You will almost certainly be denied benefits initially because your employer will allege you abandoned your job. On appeal, you can argue that (1) your job performance was solid; and (2) your supervisor yelled at you constantly. I cannot say with any certainly that these circumstances will carry the day for you on your unemployment appeal.