EyeShotFirst said:
I got fired on my first day. First time that's ever happened. Supposedly you're not allowed to sit down during a break. It was a 13 hour shift, 30 some degrees, wet, and I was wearing dress clothes, because the owner of the place didn't bother to tell me that it wasn't going to be an orientation, and that I was going to be getting into the gritty work of power washing houses.
I bit my lip and took it most of the day, until about a few hours to the end of my day. I ended up doing most of the work on the last house, while the manager stood around and shot the shit with the owner of the house, while standing within 5 feet of me.
A while later, I was told that if I finished 4 sections of the driveway, I could take a break, and the manager would do 4 sections. I see he's off on his own somewhere, so I do six, just to keep busy. I see him come back, and he takes over. So I take the break I was told I could have. I grab my lunchbox and try to eat the lunch I was never told to have. I was in the truck for 2 minutes, and I hear screaming. I open up the door, and the guy was saying "I'm not gonna let you sit on your ass while I do all the work!" I give this man the look of death, and said "You told me I could have a break, what the fuck else was I gonna do on my break?" and he stumbled over his own pompous tongue "You could organize the fucking toolbox"....this being the toolbox this asshole threw cigarette packs and chip bags in. He continued "When my workers don't work, when I'm working, I call the owner, and tell him to fire their ass" I was fed up at that point. "Call him!", I didn't give a shit for once. I believe in hard work, but you can't win with people like this. So he grabs his cellphone and walks off. Keep in mind, I wasn't in my own vehicle during this job, as it was locked up in the storage unit where our equipment was held.
So I stood in the cold, my nice clothes ruined with bleach, and at the complete mercy of an asshole who fired me. I had to stand and watch him, so HE could drive me back to get my truck.
He not once looked at me, until the ride to the storage unit. He tried to play the whole thing off, like it wasn't as bad as all that. I wanted to hit him so hard, but I wanted to get in my vehicle and go home. I was done. He had the nerve to tell me what time to get started the next day, I laughed at him.
The owner later called and tried to get me to come back, but I knew I would always be at the mercy of a man like that. I couldn't stomach answering to a guy like that, so I declined. So I was fired, and quit all within the same 2 hours.
You may want to look up the labor laws in your state because all I know is that in Delaware the law requires your boss to give you a break on a shift that long and once you are on break they are not allowed to tell you what to do. What is more in extreme heat or cold they have to let you get out of elements every few hours.
As i said I don't know what the laws are in your state but where I live you have the grounds for reporting the jerk to the department of labor and taking civil action against him.