Unfair dismissal at Milbrae Window Co.?

Alexis Rojas's employment was terminated by her supervisor, Colleen Wilson, on Friday 23 December at 16:30.

She was just putting on her coat when Wilson asked her to step into the office of Managing Director Ben Synhorst. She was given no explanation. Rojas had been employed by the Milbrae Window Company for 12 years as an outside sales representative. She had won the company's highest annual sales award in four of the last six years and was generally considered one of the most loyal employees. Thus, her abrupt termination came as a shock to her and everyone else. She drove home in a daze but decided to telephone her best friends, Shari Lee and Juan Williams, as soon as possible to ask if they knew what had caused her dismissal. Neither of the two had heard a word from anyone and were as puzzled as Rojas.

Managing Director Ben Synhorst had made the decision to terminate Rojas on Thursday after receiving substantial evidence from local police officials and two representatives of major clients that Rojas had accepted kickbacks on large sales orders. Ben Synhorst's attorney recommended the immediate dismissal. By Monday all of the 300 employees at Milbrae Window Company had heard of the termination. Many were angry and demanded an explanation, but Ben Synhorst refused to comment. Then at 13:00 almost all of the production and sales employees refused to leave the cafeteria and return to work until Ben Synhorst answered their questions. They began talking about unionising. Ben Synhorst decided that the situation could become violent, and would at least cause major morale problems for several days, and thus walked to the cafeteria at about 13:30.

The employees demanded an explanation, and the following exchange occurred:

Ben Synhorst: Ms Rojas was terminated for just cause.

Shari Lee: And what was the cause?

Ben Synhorst: I can't say.

Shari Lee: Why wasn't Rojas even given a reason?

Ben Synhorst: She knows why....

Juan Williams: She says she doesn't!

Ben Synhorst: She knows.

Juan Williams: She has been a good friend to many of us for years, and she was a good employee. She says she has no idea why she was let go - and we believe her!

Shari Lee: We demand an explanation - is this a racial thing?

Ben Synhorst: (pause) No, she was let go because she took kickbacks, pure and simple. Now get back to work!

Questions

1.Alexis Rojas, after hearing what occurred, is considering suing Ben Synhorst for defamation. Do you think she has a case? Explain you answer.

2.What could Ben Synhorst have done to possibly avoid the confrontation with the employees? Briefly discuss two options .

3.If Alexis Rojas was guilty, should she have been terminated for a first offence or given a different disciplinary action? Justify your response.