Service industry jobs are infamous for being low pay and high stress, however, in some cases they can be the lifeblood for working class people living paycheck to paycheck. For many people these menial jobs can be very important for scraping out a living.
In the case of Maxwell Simmons of Jackson, Mississippi, a job at Taco Bell proved to be expendable. According to an article in the Clarion-Ledger In August 2017, Simmons was summoned for jury duty, and after giving two weeks notice, he was scheduled for a shift at Taco Bell during his jury duty.
A week before jury duty, Simmons had been scheduled to close up the shop. Confused by these developments, the employee then contacted his manager, regional manager, and employee hotline to rectify the mistake. Upon calling the employee hotline and hearing that he would not have to work that day, he left and performed his jury duty as he was legally obliged.
Upon returning to work, Simmons was fired for tardiness without any warning. Simmons allegedly had arrived late to work on other occasions, however Simmons says those reasons were for transporting materials to other Taco Bell branches at the behest of his own company.
In response to this sudden firing Simmons sued, and although initially unsuccessful the lawsuit has been reinstated by the Jackson circuit court. According to the court, employers who refuse to let employees perform jury duty can be sued by their employees in the event of firing. The lawsuit is ongoing.
Where do you fall on this firing? Should Simmons have been fired for missing work to do jury duty, or was the company in the wrong? Let us know in the comments.
