[N/A_CPA]

Hi all, without going into too much detail I joined a company 5 months ago, and my managers make me do things in the ERP and G/L that make no sense and I cannot approve them as a CPA. Not only what they are asking for doesn’t makes any sense, but they are trying to shift a lot of responsibility on me, which is clearly above my pay grade, and they should be the ones responsible for those decisions. I think they don’t want to be responsible for anything and might be setting me up for failure. If something goes wrong, I might become their scapegoat. Of course I am pushing back and it is coming back to them, and i try to manage the situation. Anyhow I might get fired because i object to a lot of things that they are trying to do. I would have quit, but I’d rather get fired so that I can collect unemployment.

My question is if I get fired, can I sue them? Of course I would not like to go to court, but to reach some settlement before court. I mean in case of termination can I at least talk to my lawyer so that he can threaten them to talk to the Private Equity firm that owns the place where I work and shed some light on the shady things the finance executives are doing for the owners. I mean all I really need at this point is to get fired and start looking for other jobs. But if I am fired, I would like them to confirm that I am still employed there if they get a call from my potential employer. And I would like them to guarantee me that they would confirm over the phone to any potential employer that I am still with the company (even if I am not) and for that I would promise not to sue them and not disclose what happened to anyone.
That’s why I need your advice guys and gals. What can I sue them for? What can I threaten them with to get what I need out of it?
I am trying to find another job, but with such short tenure it’s a challenge. Please help!

[Mike]

Its always good to have a list of events that could hold up in court in case you would be terminated. Everything is negotiable in severance just like an offer of employment. You can use this documentation to get more severance from the company in case. Its costly to sue in court but keeping your documentation could still add to thousands of dollars to your signed severance agreement if you play it right.

[Missy]

Unless you have some sort of proof that you were fired because of age, gender, religion, disability the chances of you successfully suing an employer are slim to none, and a lawsuit would be expensive and take a long time. You have a lousy employer for sure but thats not illegal.

Theres a zero chance they will say you are employed there if you are not. Your wishes are completely unrealistic. If you want to expose their dubious practices as a matter of principal, great, but you will not get anything in return, that's blackmail my friend and just as unethical as anything they've done that you're questioning.

Find a new job asap, there's no need to be fired first to look.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[N/A_CPA]

I think a lot of employers can confirm that you work for them these days so that you can find another job faster. Blackmailing? No, negotiating what is better for me. With your logic every legal settlement is blackmailing. Court? Nobody goes to court – pre court settlement. Looks like you are a shady employer yourself Missy.

[Missy]

Wow. Just wow. If you don't hear exactly what you want to hear you accuse someone of being shady. Good luck with your tantrum.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[cpa1234]

Your employer sounds a little shady, but since I don't know this company or you or them, I can't say for sure you have anything here. You are absolutely allowed to talk to a lawyer (after you are fired), and a lawyer would tell you if you have enough evidence to get something out of this before you waste time and money. 100% start looking for employment now and apply to as much as possible. I switched jobs after only 6 months very recently. A lot of interviewers actually like to hear about your reasons for leaving when it's because of the people employing you. They use the stories to improve themselves and as long as it sounds reasonable they will side with you, and it actually helps the conversation having something like that to talk about. If you get an interview tell them what is happening and they will probably respect you a ton for standing up to your employer when it comes to not compromising your license. If you get an interview while still employed, mark that you do not want them contacting your current employer. If you get fired and then get an interview, still mark that you do not want them contact the employer. Put in your cover letter a short explanation why and they will understand. Maybe a good employer would “lie” for you saying you are still employed cause they care about you getting another job. A shady employer like you are describing would specifically want to hurt you, so I do not see them lying on your behalf even if it was part of some severance. They probably have the power here and the only way for you to get the power from them is to spend a ton of time and money fighting them. So I would say focus on yourself, not on some revenge plan against this employer. They suck, so move on as quickly as you can.

[jules1268]

Lying about your employment or directing someone else to is unethical. And when the new company finds out, they will fire you. If you have serious concerns about what you are being asked to do, document everything and set up a meeting with the owners. What would you sue the company for? If you are in a right-to-work state, they can fire you for any reason just like you can leave for any reason. Just start looking for a new job and don't worry about the employment dates.

[N/A_CPA]

CPA1234 what you are saying makes total sense. I can see that you have some experience with that. Thank you for your advice!

[N/A_CPA]

You can sue for number of things. Wrongful termination – for being a whistleblower, can sue for creating a hostile work environment or discrimination. Ok?

[CPA2018]

Can you elaborate on this “I think they don't want to be responsible for anything and might be setting me up for failure”?
Don't they have to review everything that you've done before they sign off on your work product?

[N/A_CPA]

CPA2018 You are right they review, they do not sign off but approbe verbally. I try to explain that it is not the right way to do it and there a lot of issues that need to be fixed in the ERP system before we can proceed. They reported to the owners that the new ERP works fine and all is great and let all IT consultanrs go. And now they do not want to listen that a lot of issues did not get fixed and I cannot deliver until they are fixed, they push me with deadlines and go nuts when I ask for IT support. Anyway the way their ERP is set up creates incorrect reporting for COGS and inventory which is against GAAP. That is why I not comfortable working with them.

[N/A_CPA]

Also they act like I never warned them and if they never knew about the flaws and act surprised when I talk about ERP issues. That's why I think they might be setting me up, I could be totally wrong, but the just act weird.

[jombe]

I don't understand why some people put up w/ things, whether it's ungodly hours, unethical corporate atmosphere, etc.
–
We live in a free country and generally are treated better as a human being than the rest of the world. If you think you are getting set up, or was asked to do something unethical, confront your management there and then. Talk it out. If they can't convince you that it's not unethical, give your 2 weeks notice and LEAVE. A lot of times though, assuming your management is at least somewhat reasonable, I find it's just a simple miscommunication.
–
Honestly it sounds like you just want to collect unemployment and take advantage of the situation to collect some extra $.
–
I am sure you have your reasons to be this upset(?), but I am just judging by what you disclosed here and your tone.

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[N/A_CPA]

Jombe I think you are totally right and I am not a jerk, I am just trying to prepare for the worst. It doesn't mean that I will proceed in such manner and I agree with your judgement. However it is tough to put my 2 weeks because I have bills to pay.

[cpa1234]

I don't have experience with unethical practices. I have some experience with employers in the past promising things about the job to get me in the door, but then the job turned out to be something entirely different. One internship I had they tried to take advantage of my free labor and have me drive to their furthest clients, with little re-imbursement, when any of the paid employees could have been assigned those clients. But I never sued anyone or thought of doing so. I just left when the timing was right for me and never relied on those employers to help me with future employment or anything else.

[sg235]

I didn't read the entire chain but when you say “Also they act like I never warned them and if they never knew about the flaws and act surprised when I talk about ERP issues. That's why I think they might be setting me up, I could be totally wrong, but the just act weird.”

Don't you have emails that suggest the warnings/flaws or reports that you drew up..?
Example we used caseware for our client work, on which a staff signed off, then the senior, then manager etc basically proving different levels of review so in the ERP you guys use is there some level of who prepared and who reviewed etc. Somewhere in there, there must be a trail of senior management agreeing or approving the “warnings/flaws” so they are liable for agreeing to the practices.

You should keep some of those records and do your best to make your move to a better place as soon as possible if you are not comfortable here.

[Author]

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