[analogue SPRINKLES]

I've been laid off but never fired. I'd wouldn't take it well if I did get fired.

[Oisín]

Yup, once. From my first ever job, too (not counting a paper route).

McDonald’s. Was late for work three times within a six-month period. The third time, which caused my firing, was only two and a half minutes (the others were something like ten or fifteen minutes, if I recall correctly); but rules were rules, and I was out.

(On average, one employee was fired per month there. At 18 months’ seniority, I was one of the only people left from when the restaurant opened, actually.)

Never since then, though.

[ajprice]

Laid off first, second was a contract, third I left myself. Currently looking for a fourth, lol.

[Buckaroo]

My very first job bailing hay. I was about 14 years old.

The old farmer, myself and 2 other hired hands went around and bailed hay for several farms. When we got back to his, he left me and one other guy at the barn to stack the bails of hay. He told us to criss cross each layer to add strength. We started stacking it that way and then his wife came out and told us NOOOO. She told us to stack them all the same direction. I didn't want to argue, so we changed the pattern to fit her (wrong) suggestion.

When the farmer brought the next load up and started throwing in the bails he noticed they were stacked wrong. He yelled and asked why we didn't follow his directions. I explained that his wife told us to change directions. He wasn't happy about that, but when I asked the guy on the wagon to stop throwing down more bails, the old farmer exploded and said you don't have any right telling anyone what to do. You're fired. I was young, and was shocked. I left. His wife gave me some drink and apologized.

I wasn't telling the guy on the wagon what to do. I was trying to get him to stop throwing down bails of hay. It was just piling up.

Since then, I have never been fired. I have been layed off once, all other job changes were for advancement.

Oh by the way, that was over 30 years ago.

[centerchannel68]

Yep. Sorta. One time, I just quit going. I just didn't feel like going to work, so I didn't. 2 weeks passed and they called me and told me I was let go. I was like.... well duh, I didn't come in to work for 2 weeks, do you think I want to come back in 2.5?

[mindwaves]

Never been fired nor been laid off. I've seen some people get fired before when I worked at a small-time pizza parlor. It wasn't a pretty sight.

[Chuckit]

Nope, but I know much better peopled than myself who have been, so I won't take it too hard if I ever am.

[Gossamer]

Nope. I've only ever quit jobs due to moving, changes in school, etc.

[voth]

Fired from my first job, it was the standard first job sacking groceries/cashier. It was something of a shock since I had worked there for about a year and half.

I've been laid off/downsized twice, this was when a majority of companies were sending work overseas at a fraction of the cost. After that happened I decided it was time to seek work in other private/public sectors.

[wallinbl]

I was fired from Checker's. I put in to have prom night off about 6 weeks in advance. Was the first one in the store to request that night off. Reminded the manager once about it shortly before the schedule was to be made. Schedule came out and I was working that night. I was told I wasn't allowed to trade my shift with anyone (trading was common, but did require approval). I traded my shift anyway and was fired for it. Went to a BBQ restaurant on the same corner and got a job for $2/hr more, so it worked out well.

[Doofy]

Yep. Fired from every job I had prior to getting into the music biz. I sort of have a problem with getting up in the morning - always have had - so anything much before noon is a complete no-no (got to thinking I might have DSPS or something). Fortunately, the rock and roll biz keeps hours which suit.

[E's Lil Theorem]

Yup, my very first job. I was 14 working during the summer for some non profit org that cleaned up public parks and graffiti from public areas. They had a lot of rules about carrying tools which I could never seem to remember. I was reminded of them numerous times during my time there. Finally, towards the end of the summer, I got the boot for carrying a rake "too high". Heh, fun times

[goMac]

I don't suppose I can count a college job as being "laid off", but I worked in my University's IT department as the Mac guy. Came back Sophmore year and they weren't rehiring any student employees. So it doesn't really count. Aside from that, no firings.

They were always mad at me because I had the habit of not closing tickets after I completed fixing someone's computer. I still don't always go in and close tickets in my current tech support job, but it's not as big a deal. Most tech support calls from the sites I handle go back to me anyhow, so I don't need to go into the log to look up history because I remember it on my own. But I try and be good and keep the tickets up to date as often as possible.

Besides, I know too much about Macs for them to fire me.

[Paco500]

I technically got fired once. I put in my two weeks notice and the owner flipped and told me to get my s**t and get the f**k out. So I had resigned, but has planned on being there another 2 weeks.

[Peter]

never been fired, never lost a job.
am jealous of Doofy though :/

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Peter 

am jealous of Doofy though :/

Don't be. Keeping weird hours has its disadvantages.

[rickey939]

No.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I've been laid off but never fired. I'd wouldn't take it well if I did get fired.

Ah crap.. I should have voted no. Got 6 of us got "fired" and I came back 3 months later.

[IceEnclosure]

I've been fired a couple of times as well. Most recently was my last job. Within weeks ex-co-workers were calling me saying the General Manager was asking everyone to ask me to come back. Everyone likes me, and it was dull and boring without me. I told them to tell him to kiss off.

I have a problem with mornings as well.

[macroy]

Fired once after I indicated that I was looking. Evidently, my manger was fine with that since she needed someone there. However, HR wasn't and said to let me go.
Also laid off once during the dot com era (actually, that led to the job I was fired from... I was so anxious to get back to work, I got a job that didn't really fit).

In any case, being fired wasn't all that bad. They provided a good severance package, and I was able to collect unemployment on top of that. I learned to take my time looking after that.

[osiris]

I was laid off twice, and loved every minute of it on both occasions. The Summer of George comes to mind...

[ghporter]

I have never been fired from any job. I have quit a few though. And once, in the military, I asked to be relieved from a job because I didn't have the training and experience to do it (after proving this to myself and the people who put me there in the first place).

[Thorzdad]

I've been "released" from jobs twice.

I say "released" because "fired" implies some sort of disciplinary action, while "laid-off" is actually a term used primarily by factories to describe the temporary idling of the workforce due to things like seasonal downturns, re-tooling, etc. It implies that the workforce will be brought back in the near future.

In both cases of my being released, it was due to my position in the company being eliminated. Both times sucked completely, as they came without warning late on a Friday afternoon. If you're hard at work and your supervisor and/or HR person comes to you around 3:30 or so and asks if they can meet with you for a couple of minutes...you're outta there.

The first time it happened, I had to leave the building immediately. I couldn't even go back to my office to get my coat. They had to send someone to get it for me (it had my car keys in it). I had to make arrangements to come back on a weekend to get my personal stuff.

The second time, they let me pack my stuff before I left. But they sure stood over me like buzzards, making sure I didn't so much as say a word to my co-workers sitting nearby, wondering WTF happened.

When you're let go for no reason other than financial, it really stings. Makes you wonder why you worked so hard in the first place. Certainly sends the message that hard work doesn't mean dick.

[vexborg]

Yeah, from my very first real job as an librarian.

One Monday morning I was called down to the managers office, he wasn't ion, by the local HR person was, and was told that the library were to be closed due to lack of customers...
So I could just go and make a backup of my personal stuff and then I might as well go home...

What really pissed me off, was that 3 months later (just after the summer holidays), the library was re-opened! So I think the management just didn't like me?

Oh well...

[Oisín]

Reading this thread, I’m quite amazed at how it seems anyone can seemingly just be fired at the whim of some supervisor in the States. I would have thought, considering how Americans always describe their own country as a ‘court-happy’ nation (you touch me, I’ll sue the pants off of you), that employers would be somewhat more careful that they have a legitimate reason to fire someone before just sacking his ass.

Quite a few of the firings in this thread would never have worked here—the firee (great word) would have been reinstated in an instant by the proper authorities.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

Reading this thread, I’m quite amazed at how it seems anyone can seemingly just be fired at the whim of some supervisor in the States. I would have thought, considering how Americans always describe their own country as a ‘court-happy’ nation (you touch me, I’ll sue the pants off of you), that employers would be somewhat more careful that they have a legitimate reason to fire someone before just sacking his ass.

Quite a few of the firings in this thread would never have worked here—the firee (great word) would have been reinstated in an instant by the proper authorities.

Unless you are an hourly worker (i.e. the typical manufacturing job) there are very few labor laws that apply to you, other than the usual workplace-safety laws. And even hourly workers have very little protection unless they are covered by a union.
Many states in the US have adopted "right-to-work" rules. What these rules basically do is weaken unions (as if they needed any help with that) and free employers to legally hire and fire at will without cause or fear of legal issues.

[Saetre]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

Quite a few of the firings in this thread would never have worked here—the firee (great word) would have been reinstated in an instant by the proper authorities.

That doesn't sound healthy to me. As a business owner I'd be most unhappy if big brother forced me to rehire someone. How could it know better than I what's good for my business?

On topic: Long ago my dad fired me from my job at his printing company for letting my buddies use company resources for a school project. He had to rehire me soon after because the place was falling apart without me. That, and he realized the whole problem was simply caused by miscommunication.

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

In both cases of my being released, it was due to my position in the company being eliminated. Both times sucked completely, as they came without warning late on a Friday afternoon. If you're hard at work and your supervisor and/or HR person comes to you around 3:30 or so and asks if they can meet with you for a couple of minutes...you're outta there.

The first time it happened, I had to leave the building immediately. I couldn't even go back to my office to get my coat. They had to send someone to get it for me (it had my car keys in it). I had to make arrangements to come back on a weekend to get my personal stuff.

The second time, they let me pack my stuff before I left. But they sure stood over me like buzzards, making sure I didn't so much as say a word to my co-workers sitting nearby, wondering WTF happened.

When you're let go for no reason other than financial, it really stings. Makes you wonder why you worked so hard in the first place. Certainly sends the message that hard work doesn't mean dick.

Um, if your position was being "eliminated," I doubt they would have forced you to leave without taking your coat and coming back on the weekend to get your stuff. You were fired, plain and simple. Your position wasn't "eliminated," you were.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Person Man 

Um, if your position was being "eliminated," I doubt they would have forced you to leave without taking your coat and coming back on the weekend to get your stuff. You were fired, plain and simple. Your position wasn't "eliminated," you were.

Um, no.
That's how that particular place handled all dismissals. They don't want you to potentially have any chance to speak with any other employees once you got the axe. They were a fairly paranoid bunch of executives.
The position was eliminated. It remains eliminated even today (i.e. they never hired anyone to do the work I was doing, nor did anyone there take over my duties.) Plus, the extremely generous size of the severance certainly says it wasn't some "bad employee" firing.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by Saetre 

That doesn't sound healthy to me. As a business owner I'd be most unhappy if big brother forced me to rehire someone. How could it know better than I what's good for my business?

On topic: Long ago my dad fired me from my job at his printing company for letting my buddies use company resources for a school project. He had to rehire me soon after because the place was falling apart without me. That, and he realized the whole problem was simply caused by miscommunication.

Basically, they don’t care much what’s in the best interest of your business. If your boss doesn’t have a valid reason for firing you, he doesn’t have the right to fire you, either. Please note, of course, that if your boss can document that you don’t do your work well or are counter-productive to the business as a whole, that’s a valid reason (though there are certain ‘excepted’ situations, such as pregnancy: it’s illegal to fire someone for getting pregnant here, though it’s an obvious liability to the company, economically. Another case is macroy’s up there: they’re not allowed to fire you just because they find out you’re exploring other job possibilities).

When a boss fires a girl for being unwilling to have sex with him, he’s out of bounds, and the girl can and should be reinstated (if she wants to work for the boss again). When a boss fires someone for going out with the woman that used to be his girlfriend, same thing. When a boss fires someone who’s not doing a good job, he’s within his rights, and the firee doesn’t stand much chance of getting the job back.

There are just some of the firings in this thread that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny, according to what constitutes a valid reason here. wallinbl, for instance, would have had a good case against his boss, I’d say. Same with Paco500: he can’t be fired for quitting. If a future prospective employer calls the company to check up on the referral, the old boss could then say Paco was fired, which wouldn’t really be true, since he actually chose to leave on his own initiative.

Also, I’m not sure what exactly the rules are in the States, but there’s no way it would be legal for a company to refuse someone the right to go back and fetch their own personal belongings after being laid off. That’s plain old stealing, that is (even if he does get it back later).

[Salty]

I was fired from the ice cream shop I worked at as my first job. The couple that owned it were probably the worst people to own an ice cream shop ever. They were like, pure evil. People who own ice cream shops are supposed to be jovial and happy. They were like mean and cut throat. They even accused me of stealing which was just insane, I was the most honest employee they ever had. I wouldn't even do something as basic as make a small cone or something for myself without paying. Heck, I barely took breaks...
Bastards.

[Calimus]

Employment in the US is "at will" meaning that an employer does not need a reason to fire you. They do not have to give a reason for firing you, or can just make something up, though in most cases things are handled a bit more formally, and there are exceptions to this rule.

At-will employment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Eug]

My sis' wishes she could have fired one specific employee at her workplace. This employee was completely incompetent, but was extremely well protected, so my sis' couldn't fire her. The union there was particularly impenetrable, so this one employee would simply get turfed to another department after the current department got sick of her.

The sad part is that competent people with less seniority would be laid off because of this one particular useless person.

[PB2K]

An employer tried to fire me once, but didn't have the guts to do so. So what they tried was lure me into a trap, by leaving small amounts of money all over the company.
Honest man I am i collected everything and put it in the counter. Then suddenly they confronted me with the missing money, which I showed them to be safe in their own counter. They apologized but I didn't buy it. They were a really stupid couple and I was happy leaving their shitty place.

[ort888]

I got laid off/fired when I was 15. I was a permanent employee, but I got let go with all of the temporary employees after Xmas/ (I was working at a toy store).

A company I was working for folded and I was laid off with about 10 other people (in a company of 15).

Other then that, it's always been me leaving on my own terms.

[sek929]

I stopped showing up for Home Depot in '03, but I was also working my normal carpentry job at the time so it didn't really matter.

It was the weekend of July 4th, and the 4th was on a Friday. They had scheduled me for 6AM Saturday morning. Doofy can't do mornings, well I officially never work weekends, never. On top of being a part-timer and working 38 HR weeks telling people where the screws are I had several incompetent managers.

So I just stopped going, meh. In three months I got my last check for 90 bucks mailed to me.

So I guess I fired myself

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Calimus 

Employment in the US is "at will" meaning that an employer does not need a reason to fire you.

That's true, but many states have laws that abridge this kind of freedom.

[Monique]

One of those was after working 3 years for the same company, then I was told that I had to do 3 jobs in one for the same money. I asked for a raise then told no, then I asked for people to help me with my work load. The reason the witch gave me was I did not fit in with the company.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Monique 

One of those was after working 3 years for the same company, then I was told that I had to do 3 jobs in one for the same money. I asked for a raise then told no, then I asked for people to help me with my work load. The reason the witch gave me was I did not fit in with the company.

You're better off. Seriously.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

You're better off. Seriously.

I agree with Chuck. The company was using you, Monique, and when you complained that you needed help for your unreasonable work load, they figured that they could no longer abuse you. Even "nice" people who run companies get to be bad when management comes into play, and sometimes even more because they can't just come out and say "I don't want to pay you for the work of three different people that you're doing." Best to work for an impersonal company that at least doesn't try to lie to you or "be your friend."

[Cadaver]

Never fired (knock on wood) or laid off.
I'm currently a partner in my group, so it would be very difficult for me to get fired unless I simply stopped producing any work whatsoever.

[memento]

fired. first job. Worked at an Auto Auction as second shift security. Took a 76 Vette out for a spin. Turn out it had a transmission leak and they had steam cleaned it so that they could work on it the next day. 3rd shift guy ratted me out. He was a loser though. I was 19, he was like 30.

[bstone]

Originally Posted by Salty 

I was fired from the ice cream shop I worked at as my first job. The couple that owned it were probably the worst people to own an ice cream shop ever. They were like, pure evil. People who own ice cream shops are supposed to be jovial and happy. They were like mean and cut throat. They even accused me of stealing which was just insane, I was the most honest employee they ever had. I wouldn't even do something as basic as make a small cone or something for myself without paying. Heck, I barely took breaks...
Bastards.

I got fired from a Ben & Jerries in 1996 because I wouldn't work on Friday nights or Saturdays. That is the Jewish Sabbath and I am an Orthodox Jew. I told them this before I was hired and they said no problem. A few months into it they changed their mind and fired me. I got a lawyer and all, but in the end nothing ever happened. I wrote a letter to Ben and Jerry but never, ever got a response. Now B&J is owned by ConAgra. Real hippies. Right.

[aristotles]

Never been fired or officially laid off. I was working on contract about 8 years ago when the person I was working with killed himself. That basically made it impossible to continue with the contract but I was not really let go officially.

[OB1]

Originally Posted by Saetre 

That doesn't sound healthy to me. As a business owner I'd be most unhappy if big brother forced me to rehire someone. How could it know better than I what's good for my business?

It's important we have some employment laws that protect the employee... Suppose you uproot your entire family, move hundreds, even thousands, of miles, buy a new house, new schools for your kids etc... Only to have someone take a dislike to your face and fire you inside the first week?

[Calimus]

Originally Posted by OB1 

It's important we have some employment laws that protect the employee... Suppose you uproot your entire family, move hundreds, even thousands, of miles, buy a new house, new schools for your kids etc... Only to have someone take a dislike to your face and fire you inside the first week?

You'de be stupid to move for a job like that without signing some sort of contract beforehand which guaranteed things like a trial period before they could let you go.

[Powerbook]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

I've been "released" from jobs twice.

[...]
The first time it happened, I had to leave the building immediately. I couldn't even go back to my office to get my coat. They had to send someone to get it for me (it had my car keys in it). I had to make arrangements to come back on a weekend to get my personal stuff.

The second time, they let me pack my stuff before I left. But they sure stood over me like buzzards, making sure I didn't so much as say a word to my co-workers sitting nearby, wondering WTF happened.

WTF??? And what is the point of doing this? Raising (haha) the morale?

PB.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Calimus 

You'de be stupid to move for a job like that without signing some sort of contract beforehand which guaranteed things like a trial period before they could let you go.

Do you have any idea how few jobs are out there that would actually allow such bargaining? You have families these days doing just such cross-country moves for freaking factory jobs. You don't get to make such deals for those jobs.

[Cadaver]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

Do you have any idea how few jobs are out there that would actually allow such bargaining? You have families these days doing just such cross-country moves for freaking factory jobs. You don't get to make such deals for those jobs.

I did. I moved my family 650 miles for a better job (the job I have currently). I had a one year contract with them so at least I couldn't get canned in the first week. I was more concerned about me liking the job than worried about them liking me.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Cadaver 

I did. I moved my family 650 miles for a better job (the job I have currently). I had a one year contract with them so at least I couldn't get canned in the first week. I was more concerned about me liking the job than worried about them liking me.

I congratulate you.
The fact remains that many, many people don't have that option open to them when taking new jobs. I'm talking mostly blue-collar jobs, but quite a few white-collar jobs are the same way these days. It's very much a take-it-or-leave-it world.