I was terminated yesterday in the state of WI. I was a bartender at a bowling alley. We have this man who does karoke every night i work. he wanted his gf to be hired cuz she was losing hers. well 3 days before her bar closes my boss takes me in the office and tells me that I am being fired. I asked him why and he tells me I had written complaints about me and he got a couple in the past but got one again this week and he has to let me go. Well i asked to see them and he said that i could come back next week and he'll explain it to me. Only to find out today the karoke guys girlfriend is being hired. I was never informed about any complaints agaisnt me in the past...is it legal to fire me this way.??? and anouther thing is there anything i can do about the fact that the manager is dating a 19 year old who calls all the shots there and performs sexual favors on clock while openly admitting them to fellow employees? And does he have to uphold the 4 written complaints means termination to all employees or just when he feels like?

So confused in WI :confused:

Under the "at will" employment doctrine, your termination is legal. This means that your employer does not need "cause" to discharge you. The only exceptions are if a bonafide employment contract or CBA (union) exist. Under these circumstances, the respective agreements would prevail.

Also your former boss is not required to show you the written complaints. He may do so of his own accord; but there is no requirement mandating it. I am not condoning his behavior, just pointing out that it is not illegal.

You can always apply for unemployment. The worst that can happen is that you'll be denied benefits. If your former boss challenges UC, he'd have to "prove" probable cause for the termination. This means he'd have to divulge these written complaints or other legitimate reasons for your separation. Here's a link for more information about unemployment in Wisconsin: http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/ui/. Good luck!

Just to clarify regarding unemployment. The burden upon your employer is far greater than probable cause. Rather, the employer must prove that you were discharged due to willful and deliberate misconduct. Moreover, the employer must demonstrate that you knew or should have known that your job was in jeopardy relative to the conduct cited.

In your case, the employer would have to prove the existence of customer complaints, but the ALJ would not except a hearsaay document such as a letter as proof. Additionally, the employer must explain why these matters had not been brought to your attention until the time of your termination including, but not limited to prior discipline such as written warnings.

In short, you have an extremely strong argument you should be eligible for unemployment. However, be advised that collecting unemployment in no way signifies that your termination was unlawful. In fact, based on your post it seems rather evident that it was lawful ... unfair, but lawful.

As for the other part of your question, no there is nthing you can do about the fact that he is sleeping with a 19 year old. Distasteful as you may find it, she is legal and no law dictates who the boss may associate with or take advice from.

>>is it legal to fire me this way<<

To me it sounds like you were not treated very nice, and it would seem very unfair to be treated like that. But as others have indicated, you have not described anything that sounds to me like you were illegally fired. My condolences, but unfortunately life is not always fair, and unfair does not always equal illegal.