Turned a colleague down for a date, reported it to HR, and I was fired the next day

[Anonymous]

I worked as a contractor. The contract ended. I went to work for another contractor. I learned the day I met my team of subcontractors, they worked for the company I just left. Sound complicated?

One of their contractors sent me an email inviting me to drinks and dinner. I replied back no thanks, politely, I don't mix business and personal life. I emailed this email exchange to my HR department, requesting that they take note that I turned this man down. He was a subcontractor but a good twenty years older and in a position of authority.

The next day, my HR department brought me into the conference room and fired me. They said it was because I told them the job was too difficult for me to do.

I went to work three weeks later for another contractor.

I saw an attorney but was told I had no case.

I am just putting this out there as a case study and lesson learned. Everything worked out for the best for me in the long run. I never would want to work for an employer like them. However, was there something else I could have done to save my job and not date the subcontractor?

[Anonymous]

Did you actually tell HR or anyone else that "the job was too difficult" for you to do?

[Anonymous]

I can't follow which contractor is which. Maybe try Contractor A, B, C for clarity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Did you actually tell HR or anyone else that "the job was too difficult" for you to do?

Never. Not once.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you reported him for asking you out on a date?

[Anonymous]

You deserve to be fired if you reported someone for just asking you for a drink.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't follow which contractor is which. Maybe try Contractor A, B, C for clarity?

I worked for Contractor A. That contract ended. I went to work for Contractor B. Contractor A is now a subcontractor to Contractor B. Dude from Contractor A emails me for drinks and dinner. I politely declined, and forwarded the email to my Contractor B's HR department. Next day, my employer Contractor B fired me and said I told them the job was too difficult for me to do. I never said that.

I found another contractor job within 3 weeks.

I still wonder what I could have done to save my job at Contractor B without dating the dude from Contractor A, a good twenty years older than me. I was not interested in him or encouraging him to ask me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You deserve to be fired if you reported someone for just asking you for a drink.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous.

You sound experienced in this realm. STFU

[Anonymous]

Why did you report it to HR? Does the company have a policy in place saying no work place dating and any attempts at such must be reported? If no, then why? Did you feel harassed by that one email?

It seems like you really over reacted. You shouldn't be fired for that, but from the little you shared, you do seem like the weird one in this situation.

[Anonymous]

You said no. That was the end of it. Why in the world did you take this to hr? It wasn't harassment.

[Anonymous]

Was the man that asked you out on a date someone you had to report to? Did your work depend on any decisions he was making? If not, why did you feel the need to report it to HR? If yes, then you did the right thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You deserve to be fired if you reported someone for just asking you for a drink.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous.

I did not report him to HR. I simply wanted HR to know that since he worked for my previous employer, I turned him down for drinks and dinner and that I was not interested in socializing with him outside of work. I had no idea whether he would progress or escalate his invitations and I did not want my employer to think I was encouraging him.

Why can't dudes who are twenty and thirty years older than their captive office mates, find people their own age and outside of work to date?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't follow which contractor is which. Maybe try Contractor A, B, C for clarity?

I worked for Contractor A. That contract ended. I went to work for Contractor B. Contractor A is now a subcontractor to Contractor B. Dude from Contractor A emails me for drinks and dinner. I politely declined, and forwarded the email to my Contractor B's HR department. Next day, my employer Contractor B fired me and said I told them the job was too difficult for me to do. I never said that.

I found another contractor job within 3 weeks.

I still wonder what I could have done to save my job at Contractor B without dating the dude from Contractor A, a good twenty years older than me. I was not interested in him or encouraging him to ask me out.

You decline the date.

You report to HR if it later escalates to harassing, but a date request is not harassment.

[Anonymous]

I'm still not exactly getting why you reported the email to HR?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You deserve to be fired if you reported someone for just asking you for a drink.

I have never heard anything so ridiculous.

I disagree. It sounds like OP was just covering his/her tracks ahead of just such an interaction. However, OP, since you found another job almost immediately, you didn't experience any lasting harm to your earning power. It sounds like you didn't even miss a paycheck. In that case, there doesn't seem like your have a claim to be compensated. Just sayin' ...