[AprilB]

Or being able to provide food? (as in paying for it... )

Today I was let off. My employment was an odd situation that I've posted about heavily in various places about my strange disfunctional kitchen. Frankly I'm not all that surprised. I tried as hard as I could to get it on its' feet but my boss's heart just wasn't into it.

What I'm wondering is:
Today I was flat out told my boss is hanging it up.

As a little history, over time I'd somehow become the toe in the door for her SIL to try to get rid of the breakfast half of the restaurant . He never wanted it, it's always been very clear. There's ton of backstabbing tongue wagging about my cooking which I am NOT HAPPY ABOUT as an excuse to close the AM shift. Let me be perfectly clear, the kitchen is a horror. It's dirty, I've made suggestions, complained, I have to make eggs in scratched pans over grills meant for meat. oil drips off of the vents, there is oily, clingy soot on the bottom of all the pans, uneven heating, no place to make any decent hash browns, making pancakes on a little electric grill that fits 2...plus I'm the only B-fast cook. I personally think I've done pretty well considering and brought it to much better than when I came in a month ago.

However, apparently they have some serious family business issues (SIL and MIL in a business venture...not pretty) and he, the primary leasee of the building, has chosen me as the excuse to shut her down.

She's tired of the continuous arguments and in the interest of her family has backed down. (They were ready to just pack off back to England a couple of days ago)

In any event, I've never really run into getting laid off. I'm scratching my head about unemployment until I can find a decent place (is there one?) but the main thing is don't they have to give me more than a "don't come in any more"?

Any ideas...? I'm in Nevada.

Thanks

April

[Jim]

April,
First off, sorry for the unfortunate timing of this unpleasantness. There will be other jobs, so take a little bit of time to clear your head.
As for unemployment, your first action Monday morning will be to call your Department of Labor to inquire about the laws in your state. The regulations vary from state to state. I would bet that you may even be able to find some information about your particular situation online. That said, be sure you have as much information documented as possible. When did you start? What was your rate? How often were you paid? Where you ever formally (written-up) counseled? What were the terms of your termination? Etc... These are questions that will likely be asked, so be ready to state your case. Again, the guidelines vary from state to state, but I would guess that since you were terminated, unless it was for gross incompetence, theft, etc, you should qualify, but don't take my word for it.
Best of luck to you and keep us posted. You are about to go through a rough spot, so I leave you with this...
When one door closes, one door opens.

[phatch]

Nevada is a right to work and at will state. That usually, but not always, means that neither you nor your employer is required to give notice.

It's professional courtesy to do so, but not legally required.

I don't know of a state that requires severance packages either, especially for hourly employees which I assume you were.

As to whether you can collect unemployment, that's an equation I know nothing about. If you were fired for cause, you probably can't collect without a court battle. And it seems your employers will claim cause in letting you go.

But if you want real and reliable info, you have to hire an attorney.

Phil

[AprilB]

No, It wasn't cause. I'm pretty hard a'd about my love of cooking. BUT the SIL was trying to find a way to ruin what my boss was trying to do and he used me. (I am NOT HAPPY)

It was a family issue. Odd situation. The restaurant was here 15 years ago. My Boss's SIL bought it a couple of years back and then had to close down and then move (problems with the owners of the place they were in). They re-opened last July and opened the breakfast gig a couple of months ago. Which was my part. I found that the prior cook that lasted 2 weeks and have since found she had some very valid issues. I was told she made GREAT eggs BUT took forever. I found that you have to operate with grills that most of the little jets don't work because the lunch/dinner people (read: the SIL) don't clean them plus they aren't burners that heat evenly because they're linear jets...not round? So I've been dealing with THAT...grills that leave the equivalent of motor oil/soot like goo on the bottoms of anything that touches it and then migrates everywhere (so I've been having to scrub my hands between almost every order)

Let me be perfectly clear: none of them know ANYthing about the restaurant business. Nada. Zip. SIL wants to be a real estate agent. <and it shows> My boss on the other hand shows a genuine interest and sincerity in trying to make it work but the SIL absolutely doesn't want the breakfast thing (even though my boss invested half in the current place) and has been trying to undermine it from the get go.

Apparently the Daughter <married to the SIL> convinced my boss to come from England to be with her and their grandkids et all. Their Visa requires the business thing. (not sure how that one works)

In a nutshell SIL is a chauvanistic abusive pommy male (the guy from H***s kitchen is his idol). He is abrasive, yells at everyone (except me because I'm not his underling) He snaps at his mom in law (my boss) and FIL...yeah, he's a pommy p*.

She had said the other day that she couldn't take the family tension about it any more.

Then she decided to keep trying to give it a go and here we are again a couple of days later.

April

[phatch]

I wasn't implying your were bad at the job.

Rather that the ex employer is required to pay some amount into JobService for you to recieve unemployment. By claiming you were fired for cause, they don't have to pay and you don't receive unemployment.

Leading to my comment that it might take a court fight to collect unemployment. My friend is HR for a hospital locally and she routinely goes to court with fired nurses, doctors and such to deny them unemployment payment.

The requirement to pay into unemployment for ex employees is what leads to many severance packages. By paying the severance, a company can be exempted from some or even all of the unemployment payments and paperwork.

Phil