Unfiltered Story #282417

I work for a health insurance company in California. My department has a new supervisor, who has so far proven to be a nightmare to work with. In addition to her smug attitude and insistence that she’s right, she has a short temper and is prone to screaming at my coworkers for minor mistakes. Over the course of her first month at the company, I notice a couple of coworkers from my department mysteriously stop showing up to work for a few days before coming back. I suspect it’s just illness and shrug it off. Then one day, this happens while I’m processing a claim for a customer.

Supervisor: “Hey [My name]!”

Me: “Yes?”

Supervisor: “You’re fired!”

Me: *pause* “What?”

Supervisor: “YOU HEARD ME! YOU’RE FIRED!”

Me: *confused* “Umm… what are you firing me for?”

Supervisor: *smugly* “Because I said so!”

Me: *pause* “So, let me get this straight, you’re firing me just because you felt like it?”

Supervisor: “Yep.”

Me: “You can’t do that.”

Supervisor: “Wrong. I can fire you for whatever reason I want! It’s called ‘at-will employment’. I suggest you look it up while you’re looking for a new job.”

Me: “I know exactly what at-will employment is, and I also know that you still have to follow protocol even though California is an at-will state.”

Supervisor: “Nope! Protocols don’t matter, that’s why it’s called ‘at-will’! I’m your supervisor, I can fire you on the spot for ANY REASON, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Just then my boss appears, with a pink slip in his hand.

Boss: “You’re fired. Clean out your belongings, go home, and don’t ever set foot in this building again.”

Supervisor: *smugly* “You heard him! Start cleaning!”

Boss: “Not him, YOU. You have thirty minutes to clean out your belongings and leave.”

He hands the pink slip to my supervisor, who turns white.

Supervisor: “Wh- what did I do?”

Boss: “For starters, this is the third time this week that I’ve had to remind you not to yell. But more importantly, you’re violating termination protocol yet again. I heard the entire conversation, and we’ve been through this discussion several times. You cannot just fire my employees simply because you feel like it. You’re lucky I was able to get in contact with the other two employees you’ve ‘fired’ so far and bring them back, or we could have found ourselves in serious legal trouble. Like [My name] said, just because California is an at-will state does NOT mean you can break protocol when firing employees. And THAT is why I’m firing you: violating company protocol, misconduct, and insubordination. Now, like I said, thirty minutes to remove all of your belongings, starting right now.”

My now-former supervisor storms off to her desk in a huff. Later, as she’s walking past us with a box full of her stuff, she flips us off. It isn’t the last we hear of her – two months later, she T-bones a brand new Tesla after running a red light. She is not injured, but the Tesla is totaled and its driver – by sheer coincidence the same customer whose claim I had been processing the day my former supervisor was fired – suffers a broken arm and several broken ribs. Making matters worse for my former supervisor, her car insurance had been dropped just days prior to the accident for non-payment, according to police. I feel she’s got a long and rough ride ahead of her in the courtroom.