Well folks, a lot of you whom have been paying attention may have noticed that I’ve been on a lot more recently then I have been these past few years since I came out here to Hawai’i. The reason for this is because I was not working since January 31st, and not from reasons of my own happening. Yes the economy was bad, but McDonald’s was not doing lay-offs due to business. For McDonald’s, business has been very good, so no need to lay-off it’s workers, especially it’s Managers. For my unemployment, its stems down to wrongful termination, a termination that has brought my family much undo stress.
In August of ’08, we had a new hire that had moved from LA, and his parents being military as the reason for the move. He was a typical punk, who at first seemed to be a good and hard worker, till he got used to things. Before he started slacking at work, he hinted to those that worked there, mainly the employees, that he dealt pot, and was an avid smoker of it. He did confess it to me as I could tell when he was stoned at work. He also confessed that he was smoking it on property, and we are located on Pearl Harbor Naval base. He was smoking it in the walk-in freezer. I joked about it briefly to him about obtaining some, and immediately told him that I won’t tolerate use of any drug, especially marijuana on base, and on store premises. I stated to him that I did not care if he did it at home, just as long as he did not come to work stoned, nor bring it to work.
During the shifts working with him, there was no exchange of pot between me and him, nor did any offer for any, henceforth nothing come of it. It was during this time without my knowledge during one of my shifts; he had some marijuana on his possession and was rolling a joint within the crew room. One of my other crew members had taken a picture of him with a large nugget of it. The picture clearly showed him, his uniform, his location, and the nugget which he was showing to the camera.
It was also during this time that this crew member was giving attitudes to all the Managers during his shifts, and causing work difficulty for everyone. He was also purposely disrupting work when he wanted to get sent home because he did not want to work. On some days, he was a very good employee and worked hard and helped everyone out, and those were rare times once he started slacking. In October, it was the last straw for his inadequate behavior.
One night in October, he was late coming back from his break, and he had brought a chair from the crew room, and was using it while he was in the grill area for his work station. The chair in the grill-area is a major safety hazard, and one I will not tolerate. I stated to him to take the chair back to the crew room, and he refused multiple times. I even gave him a five-minute time limit to remove the chair. When I came back, he was still sitting on it and stated to me, “It’s been five minutes.” I gave him the write-up for his behavior and stated to him to clock out and go home. He scribbled on the write-up and wrapped a cooked hamburger patty within it before tossing it to me.
He left the chair in the grill area as he went and changed his clothes. He then went to the back of the store where the stockroom is, currently being worked on by two of my other crew members who were busy putting away our delivery stock. He stayed back there for an hour, even with me stating to him to leave the premises. He did not answer, forcing me to call the base police on him to remove him from premises, especially since he was not on the clock and still in the work area which is not allowed. When the police arrived, he had left a moment before cause he saw the cops coming. When I grabbed the chair from the grill area, I had noticed that there some damage to some of our containers with utensils sticking out of them. I asked the other crew member that was back there who did it, and they stated that it was the one that I sent home. He also stated that the other crew member stated that they were going to do all that so they would get sent home because they did not want to work.
A couple days later he had wrote a statement to our Store Manager, stating that he did not know why he was in trouble, and that I was always on his case when he is innocent of everything. He also stated that I was asking him on a daily basis if he had some marijuana that I could get from him. My Store Manager asked me about it, and I told her about the conversation a couple months prior, and that I never asked him nor brought it up ever since. I also stated to her about his confessing to me about his using it on property, and my response to that. She also asked if anything came of it, from my brief moment of asking for some, and I stated to her, “No.” She was content with that and stated that since I took care of it back then, and nothing came of it, I was not in trouble. She talked to HR of McDonald’s and they had him removed from schedule, and since he did not sign any of his write-ups, they could not fire him. He did eventually quit a week later. Nothing more came up about this crew member since then, till later.
On January 31st, I got ready for work and came on down to get ready for my shift. My Store Manager was there and she stated to me that she had to talk to me. She took me in the office and stated to me that she is having to place me on Administrative Leave pending an investigation. She stated to me that she had received three statements from three different crew members accusing me of using marijuana while at the store. One stated that they saw me do it, and two stated they thought they smelled it on me. She asked me if any of that was true, and I stated to her that I have not smoked in years, especially since I have my family to support, and that I would not do anything like that to jeopardize my job and my company’s reputation and status. I also stated to her that I will take a drug test as well to prove my innocence. She told me to write a statement in my defense and to turn it in to her on Monday. I did write my defense statement, and my wife gave it to her on Monday for I was not allowed in the store per our GM. I was also not drug tested per my request.
For three weeks I stayed at home, doing house-work and running errands with my wife, and no word as to how the investigation was going. It was also during this time that the crew member who took the marijuana photo of the previous crew member brought to my attention about the photo that they took. I had them take a copy of it to our Store Manager because it was evidence that could have been used to have the trouble-crew member fired to begin with, and that if they were one of the people whose statements were taken, it would be evidence against them. Our Store Manager stated that the photo could not be used due to that the crew member was no longer employed by them, especially so long ago.
For three weeks, neither my Store Manager nor I received any news or word from Corporate Office about the investigation. On February 17th, I was called by my Store Manager stating that our GM wanted to finally see me on the 20th. It was finally a ray of hope that I could get back to work for I know there was nothing they could fire me for, for I did not do any marijuana nor break any company rules. Well that is when things went from bad to worse. Our GM arrived and got strait to the point:
“Steven, you were placed on Administrative Leave due to you being accused of the use of marijuana on store property and base. We launched an investigation and have determined that your actions are deemed inappropriate for a Manager and you are being released from your employment with McDonald’s.”
I, after a moment of shocked silence by both me and my Store Manager, asked, “What actions were they?”
“The action that has been deemed inappropriate was your conversation with a crew member about marijuana in August. This action alone has put into jeopardy the contract that McDonald’s has with the government, and therefore we can not have you work for us any longer.”
I was almost in tears at this point and talking to him about how sorry I did feel, and I know that what I had said back then was wrong and that I accept responsibility for what I did. Our GM replied, “Accepting responsibility for what you did is to also accept termination.” I did not agree with that, and I stated, “I accept responsibility for what I said, but I do not accept my termination on that brief and casual conversation from six months ago.”
This went on for a little while, with me asking to keep my job and promised not to do that mistake ever again, asking for one more chance. He refused. It took about a half-hour before he suggested I call our District Manager and ask her about an appeal. I thank him for his time and went to the car to tell my wife the bad news. Me and my wife were very pissed at this, and could not believe that they fired me for using my first amendment right, which was not endangering anyone or the company period.
I shortly a week later finally got a hold of our District Manager, a week of constant calling, and she told me to write an appeal statement and to add anything they might of missed during their investigation, and to turn it into HR. I did write another statement and took it strait to Corporate Office and had it delivered to our HR. It was a week later which I finally received a call by the head of HR and told that their decision for my termination stands. I asked her how I can be fired for just a brief and casual conversation that was only joking and especially when nothing happened.
Her reply, “Steven what you said is like if you walked into an airport and stated that you had a bomb. Even if you were joking, you would be arrested for it.”
HOW THE FUCK IS MY BRIEFLY ASKING FOR MARIJUANA IN A JOKING MANNER COMPARABLE TO JOKING ABOUT A BOMB IN AN AIRPORT!!!!!!!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!
Since I was wrongfully terminated from McDonald’s, I was filling out many applications and calling almost every single lawyer on the island to help me out. I did not receive any call-backs from any lawyer, especially the ones that handle wrong termination cases. I also received no calls from places willing to hire me, and I did not put on my applications, “Fired from McDonald’s.” I only put, “Personal Reasons.”
I did go into the unemployment office for help, and after they did their own investigation, they had deemed that my termination from McDonald’s was fully and completely wrong, especially since they terminated me for a reason that was not part of the investigation, and that I also did not have any prior disciplinary actions upon me for any reason. As part of my unemployment benefits, I had to continue filling out applications which I had no problem with.
All this time, my family is facing financial difficulty and having a hard time paying our bills, especially our mortgage. It has been very rough during these past three, almost four months. It is hard, but we’re making it through barely, and I still have good hopes that something will come our way and help us turn this around.
While me, my wife, and our oldest daughter was at the mall again to eat and for me to drop off more applications and resumes, I filled out an application for Carl’s Jr. and turned it in. With good news, the owner called me the next day and requested an interview with the intention to hire me as a Manager for their store. I went to the interview on Saturday and met the co-owner of the restaurant. She liked the interview with me and stated to me that her and her partner were looking for someone who can run the store for them, and that she felt that I would be the perfect one for this job. She gave me a day to talk it over with my wife and told me to call her on Sunday with my answer.
After me and my wife talked it over, I called the owner back and told her to schedule me for the second interview with her partner. She called me back a minute later and told me that her partner would meet me at 3pm that same day. The second interview with him went very well and he was very pleased with me. He stated to me that he and his partner were going to talk it over and decide, and let me know within the next couple days as to what they decide. Well very good news indeed for this morning they called me and gave me their decision that I am now their employee, and going to be trained to be their Store Manager.
I will be starting my job and three month training/probation period on May 18th, after they get back from their business trip to the mainland. Here’s the thing as well, I was waiting to be trained for Assistant Store Manager for three years, a position that I was told that I was going to be trained for. Well McDonald’s loss, and my new employer’s gain, and I will finally have the position that I’ve been working so hard for and wanting.
Well folks, sorry that this was so long, but it has been long wanting to come out and now I can finally post it now that it has been confirmed that I am employed once more to support my family. Laterz.
In August of ’08, we had a new hire that had moved from LA, and his parents being military as the reason for the move. He was a typical punk, who at first seemed to be a good and hard worker, till he got used to things. Before he started slacking at work, he hinted to those that worked there, mainly the employees, that he dealt pot, and was an avid smoker of it. He did confess it to me as I could tell when he was stoned at work. He also confessed that he was smoking it on property, and we are located on Pearl Harbor Naval base. He was smoking it in the walk-in freezer. I joked about it briefly to him about obtaining some, and immediately told him that I won’t tolerate use of any drug, especially marijuana on base, and on store premises. I stated to him that I did not care if he did it at home, just as long as he did not come to work stoned, nor bring it to work.
During the shifts working with him, there was no exchange of pot between me and him, nor did any offer for any, henceforth nothing come of it. It was during this time without my knowledge during one of my shifts; he had some marijuana on his possession and was rolling a joint within the crew room. One of my other crew members had taken a picture of him with a large nugget of it. The picture clearly showed him, his uniform, his location, and the nugget which he was showing to the camera.
It was also during this time that this crew member was giving attitudes to all the Managers during his shifts, and causing work difficulty for everyone. He was also purposely disrupting work when he wanted to get sent home because he did not want to work. On some days, he was a very good employee and worked hard and helped everyone out, and those were rare times once he started slacking. In October, it was the last straw for his inadequate behavior.
One night in October, he was late coming back from his break, and he had brought a chair from the crew room, and was using it while he was in the grill area for his work station. The chair in the grill-area is a major safety hazard, and one I will not tolerate. I stated to him to take the chair back to the crew room, and he refused multiple times. I even gave him a five-minute time limit to remove the chair. When I came back, he was still sitting on it and stated to me, “It’s been five minutes.” I gave him the write-up for his behavior and stated to him to clock out and go home. He scribbled on the write-up and wrapped a cooked hamburger patty within it before tossing it to me.
He left the chair in the grill area as he went and changed his clothes. He then went to the back of the store where the stockroom is, currently being worked on by two of my other crew members who were busy putting away our delivery stock. He stayed back there for an hour, even with me stating to him to leave the premises. He did not answer, forcing me to call the base police on him to remove him from premises, especially since he was not on the clock and still in the work area which is not allowed. When the police arrived, he had left a moment before cause he saw the cops coming. When I grabbed the chair from the grill area, I had noticed that there some damage to some of our containers with utensils sticking out of them. I asked the other crew member that was back there who did it, and they stated that it was the one that I sent home. He also stated that the other crew member stated that they were going to do all that so they would get sent home because they did not want to work.
A couple days later he had wrote a statement to our Store Manager, stating that he did not know why he was in trouble, and that I was always on his case when he is innocent of everything. He also stated that I was asking him on a daily basis if he had some marijuana that I could get from him. My Store Manager asked me about it, and I told her about the conversation a couple months prior, and that I never asked him nor brought it up ever since. I also stated to her about his confessing to me about his using it on property, and my response to that. She also asked if anything came of it, from my brief moment of asking for some, and I stated to her, “No.” She was content with that and stated that since I took care of it back then, and nothing came of it, I was not in trouble. She talked to HR of McDonald’s and they had him removed from schedule, and since he did not sign any of his write-ups, they could not fire him. He did eventually quit a week later. Nothing more came up about this crew member since then, till later.
On January 31st, I got ready for work and came on down to get ready for my shift. My Store Manager was there and she stated to me that she had to talk to me. She took me in the office and stated to me that she is having to place me on Administrative Leave pending an investigation. She stated to me that she had received three statements from three different crew members accusing me of using marijuana while at the store. One stated that they saw me do it, and two stated they thought they smelled it on me. She asked me if any of that was true, and I stated to her that I have not smoked in years, especially since I have my family to support, and that I would not do anything like that to jeopardize my job and my company’s reputation and status. I also stated to her that I will take a drug test as well to prove my innocence. She told me to write a statement in my defense and to turn it in to her on Monday. I did write my defense statement, and my wife gave it to her on Monday for I was not allowed in the store per our GM. I was also not drug tested per my request.
For three weeks I stayed at home, doing house-work and running errands with my wife, and no word as to how the investigation was going. It was also during this time that the crew member who took the marijuana photo of the previous crew member brought to my attention about the photo that they took. I had them take a copy of it to our Store Manager because it was evidence that could have been used to have the trouble-crew member fired to begin with, and that if they were one of the people whose statements were taken, it would be evidence against them. Our Store Manager stated that the photo could not be used due to that the crew member was no longer employed by them, especially so long ago.
For three weeks, neither my Store Manager nor I received any news or word from Corporate Office about the investigation. On February 17th, I was called by my Store Manager stating that our GM wanted to finally see me on the 20th. It was finally a ray of hope that I could get back to work for I know there was nothing they could fire me for, for I did not do any marijuana nor break any company rules. Well that is when things went from bad to worse. Our GM arrived and got strait to the point:
“Steven, you were placed on Administrative Leave due to you being accused of the use of marijuana on store property and base. We launched an investigation and have determined that your actions are deemed inappropriate for a Manager and you are being released from your employment with McDonald’s.”
I, after a moment of shocked silence by both me and my Store Manager, asked, “What actions were they?”
“The action that has been deemed inappropriate was your conversation with a crew member about marijuana in August. This action alone has put into jeopardy the contract that McDonald’s has with the government, and therefore we can not have you work for us any longer.”
I was almost in tears at this point and talking to him about how sorry I did feel, and I know that what I had said back then was wrong and that I accept responsibility for what I did. Our GM replied, “Accepting responsibility for what you did is to also accept termination.” I did not agree with that, and I stated, “I accept responsibility for what I said, but I do not accept my termination on that brief and casual conversation from six months ago.”
This went on for a little while, with me asking to keep my job and promised not to do that mistake ever again, asking for one more chance. He refused. It took about a half-hour before he suggested I call our District Manager and ask her about an appeal. I thank him for his time and went to the car to tell my wife the bad news. Me and my wife were very pissed at this, and could not believe that they fired me for using my first amendment right, which was not endangering anyone or the company period.
I shortly a week later finally got a hold of our District Manager, a week of constant calling, and she told me to write an appeal statement and to add anything they might of missed during their investigation, and to turn it into HR. I did write another statement and took it strait to Corporate Office and had it delivered to our HR. It was a week later which I finally received a call by the head of HR and told that their decision for my termination stands. I asked her how I can be fired for just a brief and casual conversation that was only joking and especially when nothing happened.
Her reply, “Steven what you said is like if you walked into an airport and stated that you had a bomb. Even if you were joking, you would be arrested for it.”
HOW THE FUCK IS MY BRIEFLY ASKING FOR MARIJUANA IN A JOKING MANNER COMPARABLE TO JOKING ABOUT A BOMB IN AN AIRPORT!!!!!!!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!
Since I was wrongfully terminated from McDonald’s, I was filling out many applications and calling almost every single lawyer on the island to help me out. I did not receive any call-backs from any lawyer, especially the ones that handle wrong termination cases. I also received no calls from places willing to hire me, and I did not put on my applications, “Fired from McDonald’s.” I only put, “Personal Reasons.”
I did go into the unemployment office for help, and after they did their own investigation, they had deemed that my termination from McDonald’s was fully and completely wrong, especially since they terminated me for a reason that was not part of the investigation, and that I also did not have any prior disciplinary actions upon me for any reason. As part of my unemployment benefits, I had to continue filling out applications which I had no problem with.
All this time, my family is facing financial difficulty and having a hard time paying our bills, especially our mortgage. It has been very rough during these past three, almost four months. It is hard, but we’re making it through barely, and I still have good hopes that something will come our way and help us turn this around.
While me, my wife, and our oldest daughter was at the mall again to eat and for me to drop off more applications and resumes, I filled out an application for Carl’s Jr. and turned it in. With good news, the owner called me the next day and requested an interview with the intention to hire me as a Manager for their store. I went to the interview on Saturday and met the co-owner of the restaurant. She liked the interview with me and stated to me that her and her partner were looking for someone who can run the store for them, and that she felt that I would be the perfect one for this job. She gave me a day to talk it over with my wife and told me to call her on Sunday with my answer.
After me and my wife talked it over, I called the owner back and told her to schedule me for the second interview with her partner. She called me back a minute later and told me that her partner would meet me at 3pm that same day. The second interview with him went very well and he was very pleased with me. He stated to me that he and his partner were going to talk it over and decide, and let me know within the next couple days as to what they decide. Well very good news indeed for this morning they called me and gave me their decision that I am now their employee, and going to be trained to be their Store Manager.
I will be starting my job and three month training/probation period on May 18th, after they get back from their business trip to the mainland. Here’s the thing as well, I was waiting to be trained for Assistant Store Manager for three years, a position that I was told that I was going to be trained for. Well McDonald’s loss, and my new employer’s gain, and I will finally have the position that I’ve been working so hard for and wanting.
Well folks, sorry that this was so long, but it has been long wanting to come out and now I can finally post it now that it has been confirmed that I am employed once more to support my family. Laterz.
That is where it becomes my advantage.