Church Politics

I was terminated from my job of 10 years as a Facility Manager of a rather large Episcopal Church. Every year a new "lay" employee is delegated the task of Buildings and Grounds, of which I am subject to. This year I received a petition for dissolution of marriage from my wife, we have 4 kids and this was quite a shock. My performance lagged compared to what I normally produce, but never fell below industry standards for the tasks, sq. ft. of facility. The lay employee made me take a leave of absence, consisting of 2 weeks paid, 2 weeks unpaid leave, totaling 1 month. When I returned the job description had gone from Manager to Housekeeper/Maint. All of my "Outside Service" budget had been taken away, and I was to report my arrival and departure to the secretary, of which no one else is required to do. I was one of 2 employees in 1994, we have 10 currently. Positions have been created that now have underlings to assist, but not mine. No eveluation of any kind has ever been done to determine the need for labor in any department. We have a "Supply Coordinator" for the Dir. of Religious Ed. but my House Keeping, Event, Maint, Outside Grounds Supplies are a lot more extensive than Sunday School's. Still no offer for help. I might add that I am the only non-member on staff. I was terminated immediately for poor performance, but I can assure that my program kept us easily in the lowest per sq.ft. and lowest per member cost to maintain facilities in our diocese. I feel as if there is more going on than meets the eye. My approval rating from members nears 99%. Even though I was about 80-90% of my normal ability, I still was well above average. The lay employee had done no research into standards for labor at all. I consulted with a local firm who informed me based on frequency & sq. ft. our facility needed between 80 and 120 hours of staff for the physical plant. All the while other departments gain help in order to reduce scope, my scope was widened to abusive levels by the increased sq. ft. in 2 expansions, and need for staff support by other departments. There are about 1200-1400 members of which 200 will be extremely shocked at my dismissal. The 200 are what I consider to be the staunch members and are aware of the differential treatment. Many are amazed at my ability to do the job alone and ask "when will I finally get help?".
I have not even finalized my divorce, and no members no of my firing yet. My numbers are astounding, and my termination was not based on any factual performance ratings, if they were, I would have deserved deserved a raise instead of a firing....and the members would have approved it at 100% if it were up to them. What to do?

1 answer  |  asked Jun 18, 2004 04:10 AM [EST]  |  applies to Texas

Answers (1)

Dana LeJune
Cannot see a cause of action here

Kevin: Your description does not provide any legal recourse that I can envision. Texas is an employment at will state, which means an employer can terminate for good cause, no good cause, or for any reason whatsoever. The only exceptions to this rule is that the employer may not treat you differently because of your race (minority), gender (female), religion, national origin, age (40+), or handicapped or HIV/AIDS status. ALso, if you have filed a workers compensation case in close time proximitity to the termination (or the taking away of your tasks, also called "adverse job action,") then you can sue under Section 451 of the labor code. That's it.

If you'd like more information, give me a call at 713 942-9898.

Dana LeJune

posted by Dana LeJune  |  Jun 18, 2004 08:48 AM [EST]

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