Fired for charging EV at work!

[RonDawg]

It sounds like you're much better off not working for that company. I don't think you have any discrimination case, because it has nothing to do with age, gender, race, or (arguably!) religion. I would move on; you got training and probably got paid for it.

On your way out, I might mention they're firing you over $2.50 in electricity a day.

Thanks for your support. I worked there almost 2 months. It was just a temp job but still I should have been there until my contract ended at the end of October. I thought it was much less than $2.50 considering commercial electric rates are much less than residential.

Correlation does not imply Causation , I think is the take away. It might seem like the reason, but as others have mentioned, firing someone because you told that employee it was ok to charge but later decided not to would have lead to police being involved, theft charges, etc. I think you are better off not working for a business that likes to drop people without reason (I am sure there is a reason, probably related to money, is always the root of any business internal workings).

Lots of people get fired after being accused of theft, but police don't get involved. You honestly think a company CEO is going to waste much of a day sitting around in court waiting to testify over the loss of $2.50 worth of anything? That assumes the prosecutor (and possibly the cops) are even going to bother with it.

It would have to be rather severe for a workplace to want to bother with calling the cops.

 

[RonDawg]

As a temp, your job security is slightly less than zero. They may have had another reason, but used this as a convenient excuse.

When all is said and done, according to Florida law, it is a right to work state; which means that if you do not belong to some sort of organized labor unit (Union), they can dismiss you at any time, for any or NO reason.

Quoted for truth. Yeah it could be because you "stole" their electricity. It could also be that you don't play well with others, or weren't doing your job to their satisfaction.

 

[Flyct]

When all is said and done, according to Florida law, it is a right to work state; which means that if you do not belong to some sort of organized labor unit (Union), they can dismiss you at any time, for any or NO reason.

YEP! Right to work a State.

As a manager in Florida I've never legally needed a reason to fire anyone, I've fired a few but all with good reason of course.

Unless there is discrimination involved a terminated employee doesn't have a leg to stand on.

As a temp you have even less rights. Our temps were hired through an agency. If I had an issue with a temp I just called the agency and told them I no longer needed that employee.

 

[user 10599]

It wouldn't be the charging. You had permission and when they asked you to stop you did. As others noted, there was another reason - could be no fault of your own, just their budget situation changed. You mentioned a contract through October. That is possibly why they aren't being honest and need to blame you for the dismissal so they aren't the ones breaching contract. If this is just to get out of a contract provision and save them some dough, then it does constitute fraud on their part. But you will never be able to prove it. So as others mentioned, you are better off getting out of that environment. Some companies are just plain bad places and best avoided at all cost. It will hurt in the short term, but you will be better off elsewhere.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

As a temp, your job security is slightly less than zero. They may have had another reason, but used this as a convenient excuse.

this is my suspicion as well

 

[Bob]

It could be that one employee complained and that made it's way up to someone important, who was forced to act by office politics. It could be anything else. We could speculate so many different stories. You'll probably never know the full story.

However, it is obvious that they aren't the kind of place that you would want to work. I hope you have better luck with the next job.

Bob

 

[JeffnReno]

It could be that one employee complained and that made it's way up to someone important, who was forced to act by office politics. It could be anything else. We could speculate so many different stories. You'll probably never know the full story.

However, it is obvious that they aren't the kind of place that you would want to work. I hope you have better luck with the next job.

Bob

This is the most likely reason. Someone driving a gas hog probably resented a temp driving an EV and using company electricity in their face was viewed as a benefit they themselves didn't have. It's always easier to take the simplest approach to solving such whining by tenured employees and that is to make the temp gone. No more problem. I've seen it many times and in even more discriminatory cases. Once I saw a female temp that was being harassed sexually, get fired "for other reasons" when she complained because it was easier than bringing charges against a career employee. Is it right? No way! Does it happen all the time? Always has and always will. There was no doubt in her mind about the real reason she was fired but without them admitting it, she had no case. Even if the EEO laws were expanded to include discrimination against EV owners, it would be a hard case to prove.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

What is the name of the business?

I'll bet these people would love your story.

http://www.wftv.com/news/take-action/286689824

How that would impact your future employment prospects is another matter.

 

[Stanton]

Wow: I'm amazed how threads like these suddenly take on a life of their own!