Worker moved across country for job, laid off after one day
November 25, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Dubious decisions, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
As an HR pro, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Last hired, first fired.” But Sam Gallup’s situation takes that saying to an extreme.
Gallup moved from New York to Billings, MT, to take a job with Stillwater Mining Co.
After completing his first day at work, we went home and got a recorded telephone message saying he was laid off.
Stillwater laid off 526 out of 1,770 employees.
Gallup says he spent more than $2,000 to make the westward trip, and now he could lose his car and other possessions.
Gallup moved after Stillwater executives traveled to Gouverneur, NY, in August to hire miners laid off by St. Lawrence Zinc.
Gallup said a Stillwater official had asked him if he was aware of declining prices for platinum and palladium, which the company produces. He said he never thought that would mean working one day and then being laid off.
Right now, Gallup is living with a friend in Billings. He says he wants to stay in Montana.
Help may be on the way. Signal Peak Energy, a Montana coal mine operator, will host job fairs for laid off Stillwater workers. Signal plans to add 100 jobs for miners.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:21 am
This sounds grossly unfair to me. The firm must have known that this employee would not have a job if he moved. Can you say lawsuit?
December 1st, 2008 at 9:36 am
I think in this instance the company should pay for his travel out and provide work assistance.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
The same thing happened to me. The hospital organization felt that the phone call they made to me (the day we were packing the moving van) to let me know there was some restructuring going on, but that I still had a job, was sufficient notice and therefore had no standing on which to file a lawsuit. I was eligible to apply for any open positions for which I was qualified (the only available were part time). They also felt that they were generous in giving me 2 weeks severance pay. I was fortunate, however. My unit was absorbed by another company – I’m still with them almost 9 years later! Sometimes blessing come when you least expect them and I hope that this job fair will provide Mr. Gallup and all of those laid off miners a similar opportunity.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:41 am
This is a situation where the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing. It is an excellent example as to why HR professionals need to work hard at gaining business acumen so they are invited to sit in business planning meetings. One Issue that immediately comes to mind is compliance with the WARN Act, which leads me to wonder what other considerations were not taken into account, such as ADAAA and ADEA. I see many potential issues for this company other than reimbursing a recent hire for the companies possible violation of good faith.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Here’s the initial article in the Billings Gazette – http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/11/20/news/state/24-firstday.txt
If this link doesn’t work, then go to http://www.billingsgazette.com and search for “Sam Gallup”. Then for more information regarding the layoffs, search for “Stillwater Mine”. This will give more answers.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Well if it’s any consolation he can certainly get a good tax attorney to get his travel expenses related to the position reimbursed by the IRS. I do not think the company played fair.
March 13th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
The same thing happened to me many years ago. I was hired as a part-time HR assistant for a very large bank in the D.C. metropolitan area. Four days later, I was laid off because the bank said they restructured the HR department and were moving it to Baltimore. Needless to say, I was quite annoyed. You can’t tell me that the bank didn’t know that they were going to move the HR department to Baltimore when they hired me. When I approached the president to discuss the lay off, he simply shrugged it off and offered no explanation. I accepted that position because it was closer to home and offered a higher salary. If I had known that was going to happen, I would never have resigned my previous position. It took me several months to find another position of comparable responsibility and salary.