Visitor Question

Termination in North Carolina during 90 day probationary period?

Submitted By: Christy (North Carolina)

In October 2014, I gave my resignation at my current SC employer and relocated to North Carolina to accept a position with another company. During my employment with the NC employer, I was spoken to once about a month into my employment regarding some things that weren’t up to par (supervisor stated it wasn’t being written down or anything).

Upon completion of the conversation, I had documentation for everything we discussed – disproving all of it. He even stated that he wasn’t sure why he was having this conversation with me and needed to go back to the person that stated it and get clarification.

On Jan. 6th I was terminated for job performance issues. Never once was I written up, told that anything was a verbal warning, no evaluations done, etc. I never received a job description from the supervisor that entailed all of my job duties, which is required by the corporate office that every employee receives and signs.

During my employment, there were several things that led me to believe that they were going to terminate me, and I have documentation of all of this which proves I was performing my job.

They have since denied my unemployment based on the “performance” issue (which I’m appealing). Do I have any recourse at all? Thank you.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Christy,

Unfortunately, unless you can prove your termination was based on discrimination you really don’t have a viable wrongful employment termination claim. Based on the set of circumstances you have provided, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of discrimination.

While the company may have acted improperly, you were still on a 90 day probationary period. During that probationary period your employment could be terminated for any reason, short of discrimination.

You are certainly right to appeal the decision. Make sure you bring with you to the hearing all the documentation you have supporting your claim of appropriate job performance. At that point, it will be up to the appeals process to determine whether or not to reinstate you.

The same applies if there isn’t an actual hearing. Make sure you provide whoever is considering the appeal with all necessary documentation in support of your claim.

Learn more here: Suing for Wrongful Termination

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

Published:

2 thoughts on “Termination in North Carolina during 90 day probationary period?

  1. Denise says:

    I also just had this same thing happen to me, without warning, no conversations that I was told it was to prevent termination or anything to that nature. I made small mistakes and was evaluated as doing an excellent job, never was I reprimanded to my knowledge.

    I had one day of a family emergency and I was an hour late to work (first time ever). I called and they excused me, I charged the time, but they used it against me later. I was said to have been disrupting the workplace, something I never did! I have always had excellent evaluations. Never been terminated from state employment which in total I have worked almost 30 years across 2 states.

    My supervisor was newer to the job than me, I would have made a year on 8/22/2019, she has only been employed there for almost 3 months and came right in and terminated me. A right to work state proves to be an unfair state as far as I can see.

  2. Doris says:

    Same thing happened to me in NC, but it was shortly after my 90 day. I didn’t document anything. I just took it and now reading this, maybe I shouldn’t have?

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