I need your input on this one.....

My 17yo daughter has been working at a local Subway for about 2 years.  Last Saturday night, she was scheduled to work from 5:30 - 9:30, and the other worker (the manager's boyfriend) didn't show up.  She called the manager & was told he wouldn't be coming in that night, and that my [i]daughter[/i] was supposed to find a replacement....

(I know - that's f'd up, but it gets better...)

Nobody she contacted would come in, so she ended up working [b]by herself[/b] that night.  During the course of the evening, she burned her arm baking bread in the [b]commercial[/b] oven.  When she showed me her arm the next morning, I told her that she [b]had[/b] to fill out an accident report, and she needed to do it that day.

No managers were at the restaurant that day, so she called & left voice mails on both the manager & the ass't manager's home phones.  Neither one returned her calls.  When she reported to work last night, her name had been scratched off the schedule, and the ass't management informed her that she had been terminated for having an "attitude problem with authority".  (Daughter* expressed her displeasure with the ass't manager allowing her boyfriend to skip work, and not finding a replacement for him like she should have.)

I haven't talked with an attorney yet to find out for sure, but here's my take on it.  I don't think she legally could be alone at work, especially around industrial ovens / deep fat fryers etc.  When she got injured management figured (possibly) that they were about to get their tit in a wringer - & fired her to make the whole thing go away.

Opinions?

A3(thepissedwhenyoumesswithmine)kid

edited 'cause I'm pissed & stoopidly put her name in the topic....

I don't know that it was as sinister as you believe.  More likely the Manager/Asst. Manager are simply incompetent assholes.  Ever notice how incompetence and assholishness (is that a word?) go hand-in-hand?

Regardless, I'd call the state labor office and ask what the rules are.  Then, I'd call Subway and ask what the rules for the franchisee are.

Then, I'd sit back an decide what, exactly, you hope to get out of this.  Apology? Re-hire? Cash?

You might get an apology.  You don't want to send her back into the hell that is working at this joint.  I'm not sure that you'll find any money here either, but what the heck, it's America and you can sue anyone for anything.

Let us know what happens.

That's f'ed up man. I think you will find that the truth is something in the middle of what you have guessed thus far. We never want to think one of our own would have an "attitude Problem", but she might have gotten one when nobody would come in. I would be down at the Subawy OWNER's office getting some payback today. He or she will probably be REAL nice to you after the facts are determined and he realizes the "tit's in the wringer" as stated before. Unless the managers are fired, your daughter will never be able to work there again, so plan on taking her job hunting. Good luck.

Here in Calif. the labor dept that handles child labor is real strict, the owner would be quaking in his boots after a phone call/visit from one of the labor dept people. Personally go find your kid a new job, they don't need that type of BS. That report of an accident will not sit well the store's insurance company, since it is officially documented.

FatMan,
 I don't know what I want out of this situation yet.  Right now I want to find out, for sure if it was legal to have her working there alone.  I've never sued anybody for anything and I'm not after money.  I might, enjoy seeing the manager & ass't manager unemployed because of this.  It all depends on whether laws were broken or not.

Gun-fan,
 I'm not blind to her "attitude problem".  [:D]
I've discussed it here in a couple of topics in the past.  I know she ain't no angel.  I just want to make sure that's the reason she was terminated, and that it's not 'cause somebody is trying to sweep a bigger problem under the rug.


Warlord,
 The accident report never got filed.  They didn't call her back Sunday, and fired her Monday before she had a chance to fill it out.

Unfortunately labor laws are almost exclusively governed by the state, so only Ohio residents (of which I'm not) can give you specific advice. But here's some general advice -

First, these people are assholes, so you daughter shouldn't be thinking about trying to get her job back.  Instead, she should think about dicking with them and maybe getting a little money out of the deal.

Go down to your local state offices or Labor Board and pick up all the info you can relating to firing, minors, and Worker's Comp.  Your daughter can probably file claims/complaints on several points:

It may not have been legal to leave her there all alone and make her work that number of hours or that late at night.  They might pay penalties for that.

The fact that she was fired because she was trying to file an injury report is important.  Many states (like mine) impose extra special penalties for termimating an employee over a work injury. Ask for a Worker's Compensation claim form from the state office and get medical treatment!!

Start talking to [url=http://www.subway.com]Subway[/url] about the illegal labor practices of their franchisee.

But first, before you do anything, talk to a lawyer.  They work on a percentage, and many times just a call from an attorney and the company will roll over $20k or $30k just to get a signed release.  The lawyer gets $10k, your daughter gets a new car, and Subway pays higher WorkComp insurance premiums for years that comes right out of the owner's pocket.

The fact that it was the manager's boyfriend that flaked and she was fired for trying to submit an injury report all work in your daughter's favor.  It's very possible that the owner doesn't know about all this and when he gets the bill, he will probably fire them immediately.  More payback!

I've been involved in a couple of work injuries in my 20+ years in the workforce, and I can tell you that every time I tried to go it alone I got screwed.  Now I call my attorney right away and nobody messes with me.  Christ - if that happened to my daughter, I'd own that Subway by now!!

So don't let them get away with it!  Open those yellow pages right now and pick out a lawyer that specializes in Work Comp (look for the biggest display ad), and start filling out paperwork!  It will cost you absolutely nothing, and it's the only way you'll ever have to get back at the assholes that mistreated your daughter.