Legal Question in Employment Law in Tennessee

fired, no reason, others knew about it wont pay salary

OK, I was fired, no reason given, but was told I made delivery guys mad and they called and compalined on me.I called them and they denied it. They called human resorce mgr.she said oh will did not matter.Also my asst.mgr knew i was being fired,so i asked about it and They made me fire HER..Then one week later I was terminated..No reason..No pay it has been 7 days and they will not send my pay to me.My boss has called me and told me he did not care if I got my money or not.Also they have made me a nervous wreck cant sleep, even before I got terminated always worried about my job and making sure I did not make anyone mad but then the receptionist at company did not like me so she lied on me to HR mgr. and then this is when it all came about...I constantly worked with things Real estate contracts had to get people to sign and i was a resturant MGR. not sales (realty) alot of stress, underage drinking approved by owner and so on...HELP HELP...Can u ask an employee to do TOO much??? I need help...THey are trying to keep me from drawing unemployement, they said WE will fight it..I can prove my claims...They CAN NOT!!! what do I do???


Asked on 4/05/04, 6:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James R. Becker, Jr. Becker Law Firm

Re: fired, no reason, others knew about it wont pay salary

Your email contains a number of issues that to resolve in any detail you will need to consult with a lawyer. However, as to your pay, it is unlawful for your employer not to pay you for time that you have worked. They can withhold the pay until the next regular payday (provided that it is not more than 14 days after your termination), but cannot just refuse to pay you.

Generally, Tennessee is an employment at-will state. This means that an employer can demand what they will of an employee, provided that it is not discriminatory or retaliatory. The employee's recourse is to quit. If the employer has no reason for terminating you, you should be able to draw unemployment compensation ("UC"). UC is available for employees who are not discharge for work related misconduct or who do not quit. The burden is on the employer to prove either of these issues and the facts are to be construed in a light most favorable to the employee.

If you have additional questions, require further clarification or would like to consult with us on your employment issues, you can contact us at [email protected].

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Answered on 4/06/04, 2:24 pm


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