unjustified termination

Just for the record, Home Depot does not offer an "employee discount".
They say this is because their prices are "already reasonable and low"
that you won't need it. (At least in the area where I live.)

Sounds like you were trying to use your employee discount, the extra
10% with a purchase of $299.00 or more plus your employee Christmas
coupon. And the fact you repeatedly asked if it would be OK over and
over again tells me you knew it wasn't but you figured being able to
tell your employer "so-and-so said it was OK" would be sufficient.

Regarding: "Now understand that I nevered received any merchandise it
was only getting order. Only paperwork had been done." The fact you
hadn't actually received the merchandise is beside the point. It
sounds like you signed the paperwork and that was all HD needed to
prove you were attempting to get a combination of discounts that
weren't allowed.

You did not "loss a job for working hard". It appears that you were
terminated for attempting to combine discount offers. However,
Delaware is an at-will employment state which means you can be
terminated for any reason and the employer is not required to tell you
why.

I'm sorry for your misfortune. Trust me, you're not alone. A few
months ago, I sprained my knee at work and wound up getting fired a
month later. I had been at this job for over a year and worked my a$$
off, all for nothing.

Hope things work out for you.

Why do we always have to pull the race card (and I am a
African-American Woman)? Of course you were fired because you are
responsible and dependable, employers hate that! From your letter it
seems you knew what you were doing was wrong because you asked several
times if it was "ok". Use better judgement next time and don't try to
get something for nothing. You should have used your employee discount
and that's it.

How does getting 20 percent off plus an extra 10 percent off "Help the
company"? I'd pay cash and stick to my regualar "employee discount".

Gee Jacqueline, I'd be spitting mad too. Two years seniority and this
is how they treat you?

It's just sad. it MUST be race, as you suspected. It's just so hard
to prove what's going on inside another person's head. I just can't
think of ANY other possible reason, can you?

This is something for human resources

This sucks. However, most employers (including Home Depot according
to their website) is an "employer at-will" which means that unless you
have a legal contract with the company (since you sound like you're
either hourly or entry-management, I doubt it) then they can terminate
you for any reason as long as it is not seen as discrimination based
on sex, religion, race, prior military service, creed, nationality, or
marital status (there's probably more in there, but the point is that
your case is not covered). What they did was legal and legit;
however, it still sucks.

Where you didn't handle the transaction yourself - I believe you said
the manager sent notice up front to customer service to approve this
transaction - you shouldn't have even been suspended for it, let alone
terminated.

Just because they may have been able to do it legally, doesn't make it
right.

I believe discrimination, based upon race, is a case for legal action,
but would be difficult to prove. The reason, I think, is that
discrimination falls under a federal law and supersedes state laws.

I wish there was something you could do about it, but I don't think
there is.

http://delaware.gov/egov/portal.nsf/egovernment/faq_olle

Above is a link to the Delaware employment laws.

As far as discrimination is concerned - - just because you "fell that
this was a racial act" doesn't mean that your feelings fall within the
guidelines that define discrimination. You may think that you were
"fired for only being an middle-aged white women who did her job, was
responsible, and dependable for over 2 years" - - but Home Depot's HR
management had to approve your termination and would not do so if they
felt they were opening themselves up for a potential discrimination
claim.

In an employment-at-will state it doesn't matter how responsible you
are or how hard you work, etc. If a company doesn't want you any
longer and you are not a member of a union, they can terminate you
without giving you a reason providing they aren't violating employment
discrimination laws.

This is not the forum for employment issues. On top of that, you are
making very serious accusations of employment discrimination against
Home Depot and you had better have hard evidence to back up what you
are saying. It may seem to you like the manager "only seem to like
the young African american young girls in the work place" but what
concrete proof do you have?

I find it interesting that you claim you got a "you did something
wrong" lecture and a three day suspension yet don't disclose exactly,
precisely what you were told you did wrong. First you talk about
getting a Home Depot credit card, then there is something about an
extra 10% discount for using the card and then something about a
coupon from Christmas . . . then further down you state something
about the fact "I was off the clock". You claim "I DID NOTHING WRONG
BUT GOT TERMINATED FOR IT". Well, obviously Home Depot feels
differently about this situation and understand that once they receive
this letter (of which they probably already have), it will be
immediately forwarded to their large group of staff attorneys and you
had better be prepared to defend your accusations.

As a (soon-to-be-former) part-time HD associate, I'd like to point out
that it says right on the back of the Christmas coupon (btw, great
Christmas bonus, Nordelli) that it CANNNOT be used in conjunction with
any other discounts (along with about 20 other exclusions).

Maybe he fired you because you don't know how to use spell check.

As someone who used to be a manager in a will to work state,
(Colorado) I can tell you, that I could fire anyone for any reason,
thats the risk you take. Sorry

In almost every state, you can be fired for any nondiscriminatory
reason. It's called "Work at Will."

When you were being told you were being investigated, and then
terminated, did you speak up for yourself and name the managers who
approved your transaction?

I have to believe that there is more to this, and I'm not that willing
to believe that Home Depot fired someone without having a good reason.

First of all, in most states, you can be fired without them giving you
a reason.

Secondly, this is not the place for such an accusation. If you truly
feel you were discriminated againsst, you need to file a complaint
with the EEOC. Discrimination complaints are very hard to prove and
you will need to provide proof or show that they have a pattern of
firing middle-aged white women.

I usually like to recommend that the OP wait to write a letter like
this until they've had a chance to talk to a lawyer. I also, in this
kind of situation, like to tell the OP that PlanetFeedback is not the
right forum for this kind of letter. Then I point out all the
spelling and grammar mistakes the OP made because that makes me feel
better about myself.

If you were fired because your used a coupon (along with your
discount), especially if approved by the manager, that's stinks.
However, if there really was something wrong with this (I don't work
at HD, so I'm not in a place to say), just because you got permission
may not make it OK. Think of it this way: suppose your manager said
it was OK for you to take home anything you wanted., without paying.
If you did, both you and the manager would get into trouble.

That said, I can't believe that someone would be fired simply for
using a coupon. At worst, they should have notified you that this was
against company policy and given you a warning and had your order
canceled.

OK, so if this the only thing you did wrong, it does seem odd you were
fired.

Here's the thing: you've assumed this is racial. Maybe it is.
However, to write a letter to the company making this accusation is
very serious. They will NOT respond to you without getting lawyers
involved. HD has lots of lawyers. If you do not, you will quickly
find yourself in a situation that you cannot handle. More so that you
publicly posted this accusation.

My advice is that you e-mail the Planet Feedback admins and have your
letter removed, ASAP. Then, contact a lawyer, provide a copy of your
letter, and determine if you're opened yourself up.

If you honestly have proof of racial (or age) discrimination, file a
complaint with your local EEO.

Wow, are you serious about those accusations? I don't know if what you
did was wrong, but I do know that you are still an employee even when
you're off the clock. I'm surprised you think otherwise.

You would have been better off just sticking with the facts instead of
turning this into a "racial act".

I'm sorry you got fired.