Leaving a job, what to do

[mtxpro752]

The company i work for now sucks, private police, it seems that everyone who has quit in the past 4 months and has given a 2 weeks notice is still logged down as being terminated and they are not giving references to new employers, A good friend of mine and great officer just accepted a job at a small NC dept, when he turned in his notice they were nice to him waited until the day before he was going to leave anyway and fired him for somthing lame like insubordination, (completly false) He also had a letter from the Cheif of police from his new dept saying our company wouldn't cooperate, luckily he already had the job, What should I do when i am ready to leave, just turn in my uniform one day and go or should I bother with a notice even though chances are it won't be recognized, should i tell the depts I am applying at this situation or would this make it look like i was making excuses for a bed reference from a job?

[str8flush]

That's kind of low. I would give them written notice and have someone sign it, like your immediate supervisor and try to document as much as possible from the time you inform them of your resignation to the time they possibly make something up. If you have had a lengthy employment history with them and have had no marks on your record, i'd hope that anyone with half a brain would see what happened if something oddly came up. You always want to give your two week notice. It shows integrity. I think a BI would be able to get to the bottom of what happened. Especially if your current employer has already sent written notice that they don't intend to cooperate. I don't know if I would take anyone for their word if they weren't cooperating and then decided to cooperate to complain about someone I was looking to hire. Good luck!

[L-1]

The company I worked for prior to going into law enforcement used to fire your the minute you tried to give notice. Because of that, when I got a job as an officer I waited until the end of shift on my last day to tell them I was quitting, effective immediately. It kind of sucked to be that way with them however, it was simply a matter of self preservation.

My girlfriend's company was the same way. If they knew you were even looking for another job, they would immediately fire you. Their logic here (which I disagree with) was that if you want to leave, you are no longer 100% loyal to them and therefore cannot be trusted to look out for the company's best interests.

While there are probably a lot of legal remedies available to you, in the long run the time and effort necessary to pursue them might outweigh the benefits. Personally, I would wait until end of watch on your last day to tell them.

[Bodie]

Give them written notice and have them sign the notice and let them keep a copy and you keep the original. A court of civil law would have a ball with these jerks.

[Choppy]

Is it at all possible that there are cases where people in the past have handed in their two weeks notices, and approached their last days on the job with an attitude of not really caring about their work?

I know that I've met a number of people, who, if they knew they were leaving, would do whatever they could to slack on the job. The "if I get fired - so what?" attitude. After a number of these, it's possible the company could develop an "early retirement" policy as L-1 pointed out.

Private security companies can really vary in the kinds of people that work for them, so this doesn't really surprise me.

First of all - talk to your supervisor about the policy. Make it clear that when you leave, you would like a good reference and that your work will reflect that every day. If you are a good employee, this shouldn't be a problem. But as others have mentioned, keeping a written record of your notice is advisable.

And as a note to others who may be reading this. Take the time to invesitgate the company that you decide to work for. If a good reference is worth more to you than an immdediate paycheck, then find somewhere where your efforts will be recognised.

[Valor55]

Wait and see whether they help you out when you apply. If they are cooperative with your background, give them notice (after you get the job). If they are playing the same games, quit and leave right away when you are ready to go.

My last civilian employer as a matter of company policy would not give any information about me to my BI other than confirm I work there. Not out of being difficult but just a legal CYA. It didn't keep me from getting the job because I had plenty of other references. So don't worry about your company not cooperating, it isn't necessary.

[SilentEnforcer]

We've had some former employees that when they announced they were looking for another job the higher-ups all but asked them "do you promise to leave" - lol

[TRichie]

My current employer has a reputation for screwing anyone that even thinks about leaving. A few years back, while the chief was away for a few weeks, one of the guys went through the hiring process with another local agency. Everything went gret for him, the even offered him the job. Then our chief found out, he called the BI from the other agency, said that the info received from our dept was unofficial because he did not sign off on it (out LT did). He went on to tell the BI that the officer was under investigation for offical misconduct and sexual harrasment. The chief even drew up documents that were back dated to support his claims. Needless to say the guy did get the job.

[sflcop]

TRichie... sounds like my chief and the things he does. He will terminate anyone that even looks at another department while on probation. If you look when you are off of probation he finds out about it, you are sure to have your life made miserable.

[TRichie]

Our chief is so bad because he lies to you to bring you in and then he makes your life hell. I didn't know anyone who worked at my dept before I hired on. I wish I had done a little more research into the dept before I did. At the pre-employment test, he gave this speech about benefits and such...it was all crap, I get no holidays and only 10 vacation days (not the 21 he said). Insurance sucks, 500 deductable on a PPO that only pays 50%(if any) after deductable. Your days off can be changed at any time without notice, no FTO program, no dept sponsored training (ALL training even the stuff you pay for must be on your own time) he drives an Hummer H2 while some of our cars have 150,000 and our radios don't work 95% of the time.

I'm looking to get out, but he has ruined my chances at 3 different agencies. There is a Dept that about 90% of the people who leave go to beacuse they don't call him beacuse they know how he is.

[TPoise]

You should document and keep all copies of everything in your career, including commendations, awards, and even complaints. That way, if your former employer bad mouths you and deny or make up allegations that are untrue you can take them to court. If they write a letter or give you a bad reference that is their own perogative, but making up allegations is defamation of character, and if you can prove that it hurts your ability to move on elsewhere in the workforce you can sue for $$$$.

Having said that, thats about only true if you have no complaints and a very clean work record (never late, never complained, etc). If you do have complaints on your jacket, I would expect them to emphasize that over your good things. And in fact they don't have to give you a reference at all.

For me personally, if I went to another agency I'd be discrete about it as possible unless it was something public, like I wanted to move to another state or something. I would not apply for another local agency since the chiefs probably know each other on a first name basis. However, if I went to a non-LEO job I would not tell anybody till I turned in my 2 week notice. At that point, if they fired me/whatever then fine. I'll still have my non-LEO job atleast.

Check with your civil service board, who sometimes require an appeals process to be given to actually terminate an employee. Luckily here, only the CSB can hire or fire. You work for the City not the chief. And if I was going to put down references I would not put down the chief unless he knew me extremely well. I would put down some other person I closely worked with (my partner) or my most immediate shift supervisor. They probably know you more anyways.

[L-1]

mtxpro752,

I agree with TPoise about maintaining documentation. In order to protect itself from civil liability, a Department cannot give a subjective job reference to prospective employers. Instead, references must be limited to that which is actually documented in the employee's personnel file. Now, I realize that in the real world, this is not done and there are a few supervisors and managers out there that will screw their subordinates in a heart beat if they feel like it. However, if their negative remarks are not substantiated by what's in your file (and with your signature on them, acknowledging that you are aware of their contents) it can be lawsuit city.

Most good background investigators recognize this. (However, sometimes you need to remind them that if you really had sex with Ms. O'leary's kitty cat as your chief claims, there should be some record documenting this and the resulting discipline in your file. If there is not, it's probably just BS from a disgruntled manager.) But, when you back this up wih glowing performance evaluations that say you are a neet guy, along with a few commendations, the background investigator will realize he has just been hosed by your chief.

Background investigators are also wary of being caught up in any resulting civil liability issues. If they reject you based on a false or unsubstantiated allegation, they and their department can be liable as well. In addition, if they do reject you, their reasons for doing so may not be as confidential or protected as you think and you may have more remedies than you think.

Here in California the court has ruled that a peace officer candidate who is rejected on the background has the right to know the basis for, and evidence substantiating that rejection. The court's logic here was that if an error was made in the background, you have a right to know the allegations and evidence so you can refute them. OTOH, if there is a valid reason for rejecting you, you also have a right to know so you can correct whatever unacceptable behavior you have engaged in, in order to be able to get another job down the line. With this in mind, you can find out if your boss, coworkers or friends inappropriately backstabbed you and take the legal action agains them and the department (so don't give up and throw in the towel just yet). (G)

[PhilipCal]

Leaving Job.

You've already gotten some good advice. Definitely try to give and work a notice.Document your notice,and your offer to work during that time.That's simply professional,and speaks well of you. If the company fires you,report that fact to the agency your'e going to work for.