Ask Bing: I asked for a raise and got fired

I was fired from my job solely because I asked for a performance raise. Is this legal and, if not, what is my recourse against this employer? Thanks for your time.

I'm sorry, but I find it impossible to believe that you were fired just for asking for a raise. I think it may be that you were fired for lack of awareness.

I had an assistant a few years ago, back when it wasn't an insult to call her a secretary. She was not a good assistant. She was nice and sweet, and very sad, and very confused. I believe that she was also bulimic, although at the time nobody really knew about that ailment, which had yet to receive its own TV Movie of the Week or be featured in magazines. I did think it was suspicious that she disappeared into the Ladies' Room right after lunch, but I figured she just had a hinky stomach.

At any rate, Louise, which was not her name, was well known as the exact person anybody could go to if they had a project they wanted screwed up. Anyhow, along came the end of a certain year, which is, as you know, budget time as well, and as is often the case certain adjustments for the year-to-come were mandated. This meant, not unexpectedly if deplorably, that certain people - "headcount," you know - would have to go. It was determined that our department no longer needed four full-time assistants, and one would have to be decruited.

It was an easy choice. Louise would not be missed, operationally at least. The day came in which I had to tell her. It was the first time I had been called upon to fire anybody. I didn't sleep the night before. At 9 AM I called her in and asked her to sit down. "I wanted to speak with you, Weezy," I said. "Before you do," she replied, "I'm glad I had this opportunity to talk to you about something. I've been working here for more than a year without a raise and I'd like you to consider a really big one for me now. Like, I know the corporate mandate is for 3 percent, but I've been working really hard around here and I'd like something more like 10 percent. Or even 15."

I told her the bad news then, all the time reflecting on how out-of-touch this individual was. Since then, I've heard of literally a dozen other cases of people who asked for a raise on the day they were fired. Weird. But true. You need to think about what other factors might have been involved in your termination. Nobody to my knowledge has EVER been fired because they want more money, because it's really easy to say, "No." There is a real reason you got the hook. You need to know what it was if you're going to have any chance of not repeating the mistakes that were made.

My husband and I are getting a divorce after 15 years of being married. He put on the divorce papers that I am bipolar, but he is the one who really displays the symptoms as I have read them in my research. My question is this: A few days ago he told me that around 6 weeks ago he had feelings of wanting to mutilate and kill me, but that God stepped in and let him know that wasn't the way he should be thinking. Do you think this sounds like bipolar disorder, or just a homicidal maniac? Just curious, because I am representing myself in the divorce and wondered what I should be researching.

You may be wondering why I'm answering this in a business setting. It's because a divorce just might possibly be the most important business deal that you make in your lifetime. I know mine was/is. I will be working a full decade longer to pay for it than I had anticipated. In fact, I'll probably be working until I'm ready for the feedbag. So don't tell me that divorce isn't big business, because it is.

I will, however, keep it brief. Your husband is unwell. You should take his threats seriously, because as in any negotiation it becomes not about the nuts and bolts, but about winning. That's why I'm giving you this piece of advice, sister: GET YOURSELF A LAWYER. You don't have to get the kind of jerkweed that my ex-wife hired, a guy who prides himself on rendering husbands destitute. You can find a conciliatory, reasonable person that wants to strike a deal where both sides walk away either equally happy or unhappy.

But for you to be representing yourself in this proceeding is madness. Madness! This guy wants to kill somebody, which even if you take that as hot air makes him a dangerous adversary. Many people involved in a divorce feel that way. That's why God created lawyers to hate. Without somebody between you and him, you are in danger both personally and financially. Your deal, when it is done, will also be a lousy, makeshift affair. Hire a pro and step back. And stop talking to your soon-to-be-former ex. It doesn't seem to be doing either of you any good.

I have always been the guy that did whatever was needed at work. I have moved shifts when needed, come in when things go down, worked nights...etc. I recently finished a large project and than was shifted again. They then decided to move another guy into my slot. I was promised a promotion when I accepted the move and left on vacation... I returned from vacation after 18 days and had a corrective action waiting for me when I got back to work.

They informed me that I was disruptive, causing work place hostility and they wanted me to be aware of it. I was also told that I was not qualified for a promotion and that my education wasn't worth anything in my current department... Here is the clincher, after all of this ( the same day) I was asked if I would apply for a lead position... I have decided to send my resume to a writing service and cut my losses. Are they setting me up or trying to get me to fall into line?

Honestly, I have no idea what they're doing. They sound demented. It sounds like one faction (your supporters) have one opinion about you and another faction (your detractors) feel differently, and faction B (who don't like you) got the upper hand while you were away. Now that you're back, the good guys (Faction A, who like you) have swung back into action and secured you a good "lead" position. It's possible, although it's hard to tell, that you have lumped senior management into a monolithic entity, which it almost always never is.

Still, they do sound like a bunch of disorganized loonies. I would address the most friendly of your bosses and tell him how you feel about things. Ask if he can explain some of this weirdness to you, off the record. This will help you triangulate your position and figure out whether you want to pursue a future with this group of fragmented weaslies.

I will say one last thing, however: It is just plain wrong to engineer the downfall of a person who is on vacation. That just sucks and should not be allowed. There are such things as wrongful firing suits. You might want to get a little bit of advice about that.