Can my job fire me after I tendered my resignation and the date passed?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can my job fire me after I tendered my resignation and the date passed?
I work for a school district as principal, recently receiving a promotion to Asst. Superintendent. Then 4 weeks ago, I had a change of heart and want to remain in the principal capacity. I was offered a position at another school district, tendered my resignation, signed, dated, and delivered. The board now wants to publicly fire me at the next board meeting because they are angry? Can they do that? According to my fellow administrators, at the board workshop they negatively spoke of my performance (we recently became a high performing school and my eval was spectacular).
Asked on August 3, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Michigan
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you have already resigned, you may not be retroactively fired. The board may state that they are glad you left, that they would have fired you anyway, etc.--but
1) again, once your employment has already terminated, you can't be terminated and
2) if they say any untrue negative facts (not opinions--only facts) about you publically, that may be defamation and you may have a cause of action.
However, and this is critical: if your resignation is not yet effective--for example, say that you have gave notice for August 31--then you *may* be fired prior to that time. Tendering notice, even notice with a definite date, does not make you termination proof--as long as you are employed, you may be terminated. If they intend to fire you, you may wish to resign effective immediately, before the board meeting, to prevent them from firing you, if being fired is an issue for you.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you have already resigned, you may not be retroactively fired. The board may state that they are glad you left, that they would have fired you anyway, etc.--but
1) again, once your employment has already terminated, you can't be terminated and
2) if they say any untrue negative facts (not opinions--only facts) about you publically, that may be defamation and you may have a cause of action.
However, and this is critical: if your resignation is not yet effective--for example, say that you have gave notice for August 31--then you *may* be fired prior to that time. Tendering notice, even notice with a definite date, does not make you termination proof--as long as you are employed, you may be terminated. If they intend to fire you, you may wish to resign effective immediately, before the board meeting, to prevent them from firing you, if being fired is an issue for you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.