Every now and again, we come across individuals who were brought into this world by placing a wet sock, rotten chicken, and an overdraft bank fee in a summoning circle before chanting the ancient hymn known only as the Ode to Scoundrels. Typically, you can find these people in the higher echelons of the corporate world, the entry fee of which is agreeing to a slow release of one’s remaining humanity.
Experts advise not to engage with these beings, but if you find yourself in a situation where you must (such as trying to make one’s way in an increasingly dystopian capitalist hellscape, just to name one), you should never, ever even suggest taking an action that will inconvenience them in any way, shape, form, or fashion. Watch what happens when that advice isn’t heeded:
Relayed by TikTok‘s @rjsoldit, we see our friend Steven hopping on a company call with his (now former) employers after having just put in his two-week notice; an action that has angered the machine. As he unsuspectingly begins speaking with the company’s representative/attack dog, they strike; with the stiltedness of a fax machine pumping out data does this representative let Steven know that the company has terminated his contract, and that they’ll follow up with further instructions on how to return company-owned equipment.
The kicker? When we say “just put in” his two-week notice, we mean he put it in earlier that day; perhaps the company is starved on account of not having had time to hunt recently, hence their swift pounce on this opportunity for indecency.
Of course, we can only slam this representative so much, because she probably is an attack dog in every way that matters; she likely feels genuinely bad about having to relay this information to Steven, but the fear of her own job security and corporate reputation was simply too much to bear.
If Steven so wishes, however, he may have grounds to pursue a wrongful termination case against the company. According to Kingsley & Kingsley, wrongful termination is defined as an employer firing an employee as payback for doing something the company didn’t like (such as providing a two-week notice or filing a sexual harassment complaint). If Steven can find other former employees with similar experiences, he might just be in luck.
Otherwise, however, the best he can hope for is unemployment income as he was fired before his waiting period ended; an action that’s not technically illegal in and of itself so long as it wasn’t wrongful termination. Oh, the joys of the law circus.