I was every so happily working, just like I always had, and had just got a promotion and a raise...

Well, a couple weeks later my boss had a birthday. Being that I love decorating cakes, I thought it the perfect opportunity to practice! So, I made my boss a b-day cake, the blue striped one in my photos.

Apparently, someone had planted a seed in the owners head (ahem, his two faced wife/CEO - just gag me) that I slept with my boss for that promotion. Gee don't others accuse people of what they do themselves? Anyway, me taking in this caked cinched the deal even though we are both happily married and wouldn't touch each other with a ten foot pole.

I was demoted from my promotion and then tortured for 3 weeks until I couldn't take it and quit....

The company has under 15 employees, so technically it's not even illegal, can you believe that? And he was the owner, who do you report that to???

I have dug through the want ads, been on interviews, even went to a staffing agency and still no job. It has been 6 weeks now and I am having to get creative with a lot of bisquick and beans for dinner, I just can't believe this is happening to me...

What on earth am I supposed to say on an interview when they ask why I left? And no one can call them because they will just badmouth me. I always had perfect performance reviews, but they won't let me have a copy.

I am at my wits end.....

Do any of you have any job search suggestions? I just don't know what to do...............

I wish I had never made that cake... isn't that sad?

I am so sorry to hear this! I have been in management a long time...you have every right to file for unemployment. What this will do is you will both have to go before a review board over the phone and plead your case, what could they come up with other than gossip

Everything happens for a reason, there must be a bigger plan out ther for you! Did you post your resume on Monster.com, I have had a lot of luck with this site. If all else fails sell some cakes!!!

Sorry to hear about the situation you are in.

They can't badmouth you. It's against the law.

Try:

http://www.monster.com or http://www.careerbuilder.com

They are awesome search engines.

Good Luck!

one word. lawyer. aka this was majorly illegal and you can file sexual haraassment against the "wife" i think if you can prove it was her doing that cost you your job

Re what you are to say in an interview when they ask you why you left you may have to get 'creative' there too.

Why not get a friend, maybe one who has their own business, to phone them up and ask them for a verbal reference. See what they say. Then you'll know what you might be dealing with in terms of c*ap coming your way. You may find that they are quite neutral - because if the boss's wife has had a hand in this then he probably wants it all to die down anyway and move on.

How long had you been working there and what did they do to torture
you in the three weeks?

Here in the UK we do at least have some protection from that sort of behaviour in the work place and what you have been through would probably constitute 'constructive dismissal' in that they made your position at work unbearable / untenable to the point that you felt you had no option other than to leave. (That's one plus point for the UK at this time.)

On the face of what you've told us sounds like he's rather a pathetic sort, a dummy even, and it's her hand up his backpassage working the mouth!!

One thing here in the states to think about is that it isnt legal for them to give you a "bad" reference, it's considered slander. I would have someone to call them. Record the converstaion, they are not supposed to give you "bad" revues. They are able to say things like "she does not qualify to be re-employed with us." Tiptoe things like this, nothing specific...."defamation of character" My mother in law is one who has "picketed" businesses for doing her wrong. Actually sat on the sidewalk with a sign and made posters for the sides of her vehicle and drove everywhere! It was funny, but worked.
As far as something to do, if you have any kind of degree, you could always attempt to substitute teach. Probably wont pay much, but it's something. I would bring it before unemplyment. Never hurts to try. Just stay positive, cause when one door closes another will open. At some point, they will realize what they lost. I know I would rather work with 40 men in a filthy tiring factory job, than 2 women in an cushy office....us women can be EVIL!!!!!! Hang in there. And keep doing cakes. I know if you are down to bisquik, then funding for goofing off with cake is limited, but be creative...mold your dumplins and biscuits, you may come up with something new! Good luck!

I completely understand where you are coming from. We are in a similar situation as you are right now. My husband lost his job in February and is still searching. I'm a SAHM so we are pinching pennies as well. I know it's frustrating, but everything in life happens for a reason. Even though right now things seem impossible and life seems unfair, I'm confident in the end you will realize it's for the best. You don't need to work for a company who treats their employees the way you were treated. My husband lost his job, also owned by a couple, a small business with less than 15 employees. Ironic thing...with them it was the wife (CEO) who caused the problems. He was able to collect unemployment. His ex-employers fought it and we went almost 2 months without any checks coming in, but he ended up winning. They kept insisting he quit (even though he was fired) and in the end the judge ruled that he quit but had good reason. You do not have to work in an environment in which you are treated poorly. I would try for unemployment and see what happens.

As for a job search, I don't know what to tell you. My husband is still searching himself. Bad economy in MI and jobs are hard to come by. We get the paper every Sunday and search as many job sites as we can find. Eventually something will come up.

If you want to chat feel free to PM me. I understand how you are feeling right now. Jodie

For part of this I'm going to PM you

For the part on what do you say when asked why you left... just be honest, tell them you quit the job on not so good terms because you were harrassed by other employees and the employer did nothing about it. "Can we call your previous employer" I would reply back to that one honestly as well... "Well you can, you of course have my permission to do so, but I must warn you they are all very upset with me for one reason or another and will most likely bad mouth me to anyone that calls for references because they don't want to see me succeed and they would do this bad mouthing to stop me from getting a job" or something to the like. You don't have to go into detail about why you quit meaning you don't have to say "the employees accused me of sleeping with the boss and I got demoted and my pay got cut so after 3 weeks of being pushed around I quit" if you feel you have the job and the only thing stopping them from saying yes you can start tomorrow is that call.... I'd be totally honest with them and ask them if it can be "off the record" because you want to be totally honest and not hide anything and even though the above replies wouldn't be lies they are editting out major details that explain the situation....

Sorry to hear you lost your job, it seems unfair the way they treated you. There is a webpage atlantajobzone.com for people looking for work, post their resumes, etc. in the metro atlanta area. Good luck.

I forgot to mention as it's already been mentioned but I wanted to highlight it again...

Them talkin crap about you is slander and you can file a suit against them for that. Each and every one of them. You could also maybe try taking the boss to small claims court or something like that or even calling a lawyer for a free consultation and explain it all (maybe even legal aid) and see if you have a case against the boss... he basically slandered you too by talking crap behind your back.

They can't bad mouth you to protentional employers and if they do it's a violation of something I would contact a lawyer for a free consult on this situation and find out if the slander rules apply towards what the boss has done... even if there is only 10 - 15 employees that doesn't give him the right to treat them all like shit.

I am sooo sorry to hear this I hope everything works out for you in the end.

If you want to see what they will say about you, you can hire a refence checking company to call them. Just Google "reference checking services" and you'll find several. The cheapest one I saw was just under $30.

If it ever ends up in court, you will have proof if they have slandered you.

oh, girl, i hate that this happened to you!!!

let me start by saying that i'm pretty mild mannered and laid back, until someone does crap like that to me or my family, and then it's a vendetta, and i'll go to my grave if i have to...still trying to do everything i can to make that person regret what they did.

first, i would contact a well known lawyer in your area with a reputation for being a bulldog and very resourceful. tell him the bullet points of what has happened and get some advice from him on whether you have a good case. most lawyers won't collect the big money unless you've won your case. make sure to ask the lawyer about if the company can withhold your reviews...i don't think they can. i think it's kind of like your doctors records, which are technically yours to take with you. check me on that one, though.

sexual harassment can run both ways....it's not just someone coming in and feeling you up, it can also be verbal, with someone constantly in your face, trying to make you wear a snowsuit to work so as not to show an inch of skin. i imagine that if you/lawyer can start getting statements from your coworkers that you never dressed inappropriately to start off with, that you would have some great documentation that your "superiors" were in the wrong.

i also think you have a case with the slander aspect of it. they basically smeared you with everyone in the office. that's defamation, seems like to me!

please keep this in mind: i have been fired also, on the pretense of doing something i shouldn't have, and i felt absolutely mortified; like everyone knew this horrible little secret that i was supposedly doing (leaving children unattended, etc), and that that was all they were discussing. in reality, the story was crap, and my coworkers, come to find out, knew my character better than that, and didn't believe a word of it. they also had had their own experiences with the management, and were willing to help me in proving my claims. the parents of some of my children (it was a daycare) even wrote me letters of recommendation to take with me to the unemployment office and to use for future employment. in the end, i won my case with unemployment and that helped keep me until i moved to another job...left a bad taste in my mouth, but taught me to always hold my head up high, fight for what i know to be true and right, and not assume that the world is all against me.

star

At my job, we have to do this thing called "NUTSHELL"
It is like a bunch of testing on different laws, hazards, protocol etc in the workplace. One of the tests was on "employee rights". One of the things an employee has is the right to view their employee record at anytime and they can copy it. They cannot keep you from this.

Good luck--I'm with the majority. LAWYER. It usually doesn't cost for consultation.

I'll be praying for you!

Lu

ditto on Lawyer.

and them telling you how to dress is such a manner when no one else was required to do so is also harassment

a lesson to all..... if any of this was (or in the future, is ever) put in an email, be sure to send a copy to your home email or print them out.

I know a lady who is pursuing EEOC action against her former company. They are hanging themselves with everything they put in writing via email ... that she retained for her records.

When you are let go or forced to leave quickly, you frequently have no chance to retrieve the data if it's just saved in your work computer.

If you find yourself in any kind of negative situation at work, KEEP FILES!! And don't keep them at work.

Jenn, that is ridiculous! I'm so sorry that happened to you. Everything about it is so wrong and I also think you should try to seek legal counsel. I know funds are tight but maybe someone will work with you. This is definitely harassment and slander.

You're in my neck of the woods...I'd also suggest contacting one of the local news stations' investigative reporters that bust and expose businesses.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your field of work/former position? Atlantajobzone is good as previously mentioned, as well as craigslist., believe it or not.

Hang in there!

I'm so sorry that you ahve to go through this horrible ordeal. Like some one has already said....Women in the workpalce can be so catty. I don't get it, don't they realize that they are making all women look bad?? Just sickening that they treated you this way. I agree with everyone's advise and don't take this lying down. Fight for yourself. My prayers are with you.

PS keep us posted.

Pam

Oh my. I was expecting some type of sexually explicit cake, or something flirty or naughty. The blue striped cake caused the fuss?? Wow. She must have been after you for some time and just used this as an excuse to pounce. Nice cake, by the way. My guess is, she would have got you sooner or later. I haven't read all the posts for this topic, but a wrongful termination case might be worth looking into. If nothing else, put the bug in someone's ear at the company and let them sweat it. Good luck with the job search.

Thank you guys so much for all of the support! I have gotten really down about it and haven't seen daylight in who knows how long and rarely now even get out of my pj's.

After reading all of this, I am ready to start fighting back!!!!!!

I couldn't even find someone in my phone book that does employment law, so I am going to send an email to the lawyer I used to settle my car accident case a few years ago, maybe he knows someone...

If anything, I really think I can get unemployment.

Unfortunately, most of what went on was words, but the good thing is, everything they did to me is not backed up in writing in regards to dress/performance either. My employee file is pristine and was never warned verbally or in writing, so it pretty much fell out of the sky. Their office dress code is clearly posted and never once did I violate it, they were just grasping at straws.

Thank you all so much for your kind words!

I was sexually harrassed at a job that I absolutely LOVED. If it weren't for my boss doing that to me, I would have stayed there a long time. After 2 years, I couldn't take it anymore. After he pursued me very strongly and did some very unacceptable things, he finally got the hint that I wasn't going there with him, and he turned MEAN. That's when things got really bad. Funny thing is that he IS a lawyer. I'm a legal secretary. I did go to an attorney about the situation. You probably have a better case than I did, becuz I voluntarily left. The attorney told me that I had no damages (other than years of nightmares, I guess). If I were to have gotten fired and lost $$ in wage earnings, etc. I would've had a case. So you should have a case. Also, I was told that whenever something like this happens, it's best to put it in writing. I'm assuming you never had a chance to complain in writing - since you were fired rather quickly. I think there's some rule or something that a company doesn't "know" what's going on unless it's in writing. Otherwise, it's all heresay. As far as the referral, I struggled with this for a long time. I had 2 years to account for and I knew that if I told potential employers they could call there, God only knew what horrible things they'd say about me, so as of only this year, I started telling the truth. I worked for a big company, so I never had to name names, which I think helps a lot. But I usually say that I was harrassed by a "high up" member of the firm and I left and that when I left, I told the company what was going on and it wasn't received well, so I wasn't sure what kind of referral I would get. Mostly, potential employers are understanding and sympathetic. If you handle it well and don't name names, I think it shows strength. Otherwise, you have to lie and come up with something that they'll analyze and it could end up hurting you more than the truth would.

Anyway, I just wanted to say GOOD LUCK and you'll grow from this and don't let it get you down!!!

I feel for you - it's horrible to be in a situation like that. I was also fired for a completely untrue rumor. I didn't have the time and the energy for a lawsuit at that point - and looking back I wish I had sued them for everything they had - and the girl that started the rumor.

My main advice to you, however, is that this too shall pass. It's going to stink for a long time. And then one day you'll blink, and realize you're okay. It happened for me the day I walked out of the interview of my current job - I thought for sure I had bombed it. And they called me fifteen minutes later and offered me the job.

Things change - hang in there and find some time for something like meditation or prayer. It will really, really help you get through this. If you need talk/vent, feel free to PM me. I understand what you're going through, and I know exactly how hard the decision to sue or not to sue will be after talking to the lawyer.

Good Luck!!

I've gotten demotion after demotion after demotion after I started sleeping with my boss ... I have no idea why this is the case because the boss for my other job happens to be my husband and I work for my IL's. Seriously though, I have worked there for about 9.5 years now, and the second they found out we were engaged was the beginning of the end (it also was when FIL was stepping out of the business completely because he is partially responsible that I moved up because when I was there I worked and he knew he could call me in if there were extra shifts available). I was 3rd in command of one of the departments when no one knew we were an item... By the next winter, I was at the bottom of the food chain for that department and it's gone downhill from there getting tossed around from department to department. Now I'm doing odds and ends tasks. So much for the most important employee being the one who can do any job on site.

The thing is, just make a clean break for yourself. I worked for a company that was an absolute nightmare for a while when DH & I were just dating. They needed me more as a therapist than a marketing assistant. The thing is, it was doomed from the start, they were complaining about the way I dressed down to the shoes I was wearing. They kept sending me employee agreements claiming I never signed them the previous times (I think there were five different ones). They got pithy with me when I insisted upon reading them point by point. They complained because I took my half-hour lunch at 2 because I was subbing for everyone else so they could take their lunches. I left the company worried about how I was going to pay for things and everything in time worked out because I was under so much less stress.

Things will work out. If worse comes to worse, take a job as a greeter at Walmart for the time being. It's a good job, you get face time because people see you working that when you go to apply at other places they know you're a worker, and it gives you a chance to look for something better. You also get a good discount on everything you buy from them

Hang in there, everything will work out. When you apply for new positions and they ask why you left your previous position just say because of gossip amongst other employees about you that was not worth the stress and a double-standard in their dress code policy that others were allowed to wear whatever and you were relocated to wearing turtlenecks and khaki's. Don't hide the truth, but give it a dose of sugar. Chances are Joe Bloe was sleeping with someone and that someone is who probably started the rumor to get the heat off of them. Either way, that's not a situation you want to be in. Just keep looking and you'll find a great job!

P.S. Ramen is cheaper than Bisquik and you get more varieties... but seriously, in college I survived on hotdogs for longer than I care to admit!

I just recently went through someting like this myself .. I worked at a very small company and had just hit the five year mark there ... all of a sudden everything changed and I felt as though I was suddenly the target of abuse. There were things that the company did that everyone knew only affected me .. such as I worked say 35 hours a week for five years .. well all of a sudden to get health care coverage you need to work 36 hours a week .. so I said .. schedule me in for a few more hours .. but oh no .. you had to have an "open" schedule unlike mine that was a set schedule for five years .. there were tons of little things like that ... I had never been written up on bad behaviour before and it all boiled down to the assistant managers words against mine over what time I punched out one day .. and who do you think the owner believed? Well the assistant manager of course a.k.a. his brother-in-law!! BUT the last straw came when three members of management, all men, took me into the office and shut the door with me in there and then badgered me until I was backed into a corner and was given an ultimatum .. either sign a statment that I knew was false or I could not work there .. well I may not have much but I have integrity and I know whats right and whats wrong and I refused to sign that paper .. of course I filed unemployment and the owner disputed it .. but I fought back and the unemployment came through stating that I had good reason to quit .. I know I was nervous and angry and upset about everything that had happened to me but I also knew that I didn't deserve what they had done to me ... and when I think about it now if I was braver I would have fought them on what they did to me too .. like putting me in that closed office with three men and badgering me .. In my whole entire left I have never felt so cornered and vulnerable .. but all I wanted to do was get the unemployment going so my dh and I would not be strapped financially and just move on with my life .... I wish you the very best in any decision you make!!