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CAN
THEY DO THAT ??
EMPLOYMENT
Janet
T. Mills, Esq.
Wright
& Mills, P.A.
MY
BOSS JUST FIRED ME JUST BECAUSE SHE
DOESN'T LIKE ME. SHE CAN'T DO THAT CAN
SHE?
Yes
she can!
Under
Maine law a person does not have a right
to keep a job unless there is an
employment contract setting out the rights
of the parties. Usually there is no
written employment contract. A person is
simply hired for a particular job and can
be terminated at will without any reason
whatsoever.
Under
Maine law, if you are let go from a job,
you do have the right to demand the
reasons in writing. You should make this
request in writing, and the employer then
has fifteen days to respond.
You
also have the right to read and copy your
own personnel file, if there is one. You
should make this request in writing, and
the employer has ten days to respond. The
file should include your application for
employment, any evaluations, compensation
and benefits records, and any complaints
or commendations.
You
have the right to file for unemployment
compensation if you were laid off or if
you were fired but not for "just cause."
If your former employer claims you were
fired for a legitimate reason and the
employer disputes your right to
unemployment benefits, you can still have
a hearing at the unemployment office and
ask them to find that your firing was not
for just cause.
If
you have a good reason to believe that you
were fired basically because of your race,
color, sex, religion, age, ancestry or
physical or mental disability, then you
may have been unlawfully discriminated
against. You may seek help from the Maine
Human Rights Commission at 624-6050. They
will take your written complaint and
investigate to see if there are reasonable
grounds to believe you were unlawfully
discriminated against.
Bottom
line, however, -- in Maine you do not have
a right to keep a job unless you have a
union contract or other written contract
with your employer; then your rights to
employment are determined by the contract
itself and not by state law. It's the
law!
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