Wrongful Termination? Iowa

[Hawkslady]

When I was initially hired to work for a local home builder, he told me that I would be assisting him with contracts, work orders, estimating, etc., being as I have well over 14 years experience in this field. He asked me if I had any bookkeeping/accounting background or degrees in accounting. I said NO and that I've only worked with the Peachtree system for a short time (maybe a month at most) without any real formal training in the program.

Upon my employment, he & I worked closing on issues mentioned above. He already had a PT bookkeeper/accounting person entering his invoices, paying the subcontractors & payroll. Six months after my employment he fires her and gives me all the bookkeeping/accounting work to do. From that moment on I kept telling him that I was not experienced in that field and that I didn't feel comfortable doing it. He would never take the time to sit and talk to me regarding this issue, or ask someone to train me formally on it. I kept bringing it up over and over but still....he would not talk to me about it.

I not only did his bookkeeping/accounting (which includes payroll) but I was also expected to do his advertising, customer service calls, maintaining the company website, make travel arrangements for him, estimating, run errands, take messages for him, answer phones & greet guests while the RE/MAX receptionist was out to lunch or out of the office for whatever reason. (he's an agent as well and has a small one person office in a storage room because they didn't know where else to put me. 6x6 room no window) My days consisted of doing the bookkeeping/accounting because it's a full time job in itself. He would also come into my office and want me to do something else, then come back a few minutes later and want me to do something else, then come back a few minutes later and ask if I've gotten the bookkeeping/accounting stuff done yet. It's frustrating and I've told him that I'm only one person and I can only do so much at one time.

I'm also going through some personal issues and have talked to him about it at great lengths and have apologized for my attitude in the last month. One of my personal issues is that I am going through a personal bankruptcy. I also found out that he has mentioned MY personal issues to other sales agents without my knowledge but later asked if I was alright by these agents themselves. (I spoke to him in strict confidence between and employee/employer relationship. These sales agents are NOT my surpervisors, he was my only supervisor and I answered only to him) Anyway, yesterday he comes to me and says that he's letting me go because things are getting out of hand. Just a few months ago he gave me a raise and told me I was doing a great job. Just a week ago he asked me if I'd transfer to another location that he's building and which office I'd like to have and also that he'd me to get more into the real estate side, helping to input listings, answer phones, greet guests, assisting sales agents, PLUS do the regular job duties I've been performing.

Yesterday I told him that I had been trying to talk to him about this bookkeeping/accounting issue for months but he would never talk to me long enough, 5 minutes max and even then it was hit or miss. I told him that it was sad that I had to leave him post-it notes to communicate with him. His comment to me was...."well that's not going to change" I'm his ONLY office employee on his building side. Why wouldn't he take the time to talk to me about this issue? His other comment was..."if it's a full time job doing the bookkeeping then I can't afford to employ two people. I wouldn't have anything else for you to do." Uh okay....whatever! He also said that he has had complaints from subcontrators where they've called me and I am snotty to them. I don't speak to the subcontractors. He does! And he's never mentioned anything to me about complaints from anyone before.

I've been researching a little on the internet about wrongful terminations and I understand that I am an "at will" employee and he has every right to fire me on the spot without notice but I also feel that I have other grounds on this wrongful termination. Would you agree?

[Pattymd]

No, I wouldn't agree. I see no law that has been violated as regards your termination. What law do YOU think was violated?

[Hawkslady]

Patty, I just think that being my boss and knowing that I had no formal training in the bookkeeping/accounting field, which I've expressed to him repeatedly, that he would talk to me about it and help get me the training I needed in order to do what was expected of me.

I also might add that when he asked me about transferring to another office, it was a step up in the company with extra job duties. This was a week BEFORE. And at that time, there was nothing said to me about complaints from subcontractors or anything. He even praised me for doing a good job.

Also I do believe that if he would have come to me before if he wasn't happy with my performance then I wouldn't have the mental stress that I carried into my marriage. KWIM?

[mlane58]

I agree with patty. Nothing in your post remotley suggests that the employer did anything illegal. He is most likely a world class jerk and an idiot in business but he hasn't done anything illegal. You need to find a job that has a better enviroment.

[Hawkslady]

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it.

I just think he handled it all wrong and no that's not grounds for unlawfully firing me that's for sure, but I think talking with a lawyer in regards to the other issues might be at hand. As far as telling other people MY business when it was told to him in strict confidence and I was still employed with him is not right!

Thanks again!

[cbg]

Unless there is a specific law that says the employer is prohibited from firing you for the reason he did, then you do not have a wrongful termination, no matter how "wrong" it might have been.