Podunk Company

[Showard]

During the recent hurricane Rita my employler Walter Stokes of W.A.S. Marine abandond us on our boat with hardly any food in a mandatory evacuation zone. Not only did we nearly loose our lives but to add insult to injury he fired me and one of my fellow workers for leaving ,on our day to get off, to go to our stranded famillies. Now he chooses to lie to the unemployment offices to further hinder our recovery of this hurricane. Me and the gentlman that were fired both lost our homes in Port Arthur Tx. Now we also have no job and no place to live. We both worked for this man from 5 to 9 years and this is the thanks we get for so many years of faithfull employment. Does this sound right to you?

[Beth3]

No, it doesn't sound right at all but it doesn't appear that anything illegal has taken place either.

[Texas709]

There very well may be something illegal here. The Texas Labor Code contains an obscure prohibition against employment discrimination based on participation in an emergency evacuation. (Section 22 of TLC). Check with the Civil Rights Division of Texas Workforce Commission.

It may come down to a credibility determination as to reason, but that's nothing new.