A man working at a car dealership claimed his momentous decision to buy a bigger car to commence a family went terribly wrong after he was fired by his boss in the same week.
In a viral Reddit post on the popular platform "Antiwork," user u/-Derf- disclosed their appalling story which can be viewed here. The testimony attracted over 9,000 upvotes and 1,100 comments from people who shared their sympathies.
The man who worked at a car dealership wanted to buy a bigger car with his wife that was suitable for a family. However, the dealership he worked at did not have a fitting model and he had to resort to acquiring the car from another dealership.
He claimed that this did not go down with his boss well. Within a week, he got a call from his boss telling him that he was "fired," as a result of a complaint from one unhappy employee.
The Redditor said he was "heartbroken," that he was terminated from a job he loved, over a phone call.
The man claimed he "never in a million years expected this to happen," owing to the fact that he "never did anything wrong and did everything [I] was told."
While firing an employee over a phone call does not boost morale within a company, it is not illegal.
The law firm Swartz Swidler, with attorneys specializing in employment and discrimination, said on its website that "in most cases, employers are not restricted in the manner in which they can terminate their employees."
"Unless you have a contract for employment that outlines how you can be fired, your employer can fire you in any manner in which it wants," it continued.
Commenters were livid at the situation and give the Redditor all sorts of legal advice to deal with the terms of his termination.
One user said, "Don't consider yourself fired until you have received written notice of termination. In the meantime file for unemployment."
While another said "yup sounds like Wrongful termination. You're not locked in to buy a car from a dealership just because you work there."
"They cannot hold someone else's free will to purchase elsewhere on their own time against them. Crazy," they continued.
The user claimed he did not sign a contract, upon employment, that bound him to resort to his workplace exclusively to purchase a car.
In response to another user, the Redditor said he did not purchase the car from a local competitor, but instead traveled two hours away.
While all states in the U.S., except for Montana, are "at-will employment" states, each one has its own exceptions and laws to govern that dictate the terms of "wrongful termination."
One comment advised the fired employee, "If you're in a one-party state, you may want to secretly record the conversation as well."
Another Redditor agreed with this advice and continued, "Especially if you're in a state (CA for example) that requires a final paycheck to be paid at the time of termination. If they say they fired you already, get the day they fired you in writing."
Many users encouraged the poster to apply for a job at the "other" dealership he purchased the new car.
But the man said he did not want that since he "loved" his previous job and the relationship he built with the employees there over a span of four years.
