Two Kansas University students who worked as house managers at the Lied Center say they think they were unfairly fired after raising concerns about their supervisor's job performance.
Morgan Denton and Stefan Vogler said they took concerns to their boss Wednesday. Both were fired the following day.
The complaints were general, Denton said. They were concerned about the supervisor's treatment of volunteer ushers, the lack of preparation for events and other matters.
Tim Van Leer, who is director of the Lied Center but not the students' direct supervisor, confirmed the students were released from their duties, but he declined to elaborate on what he said was a personnel matter.
Denton and Vogler say they have called on the ushers to voice support for them to Van Leer. They plan to appeal their firing.
Comments
The_Twelve 11 years ago
If true, this would not be the first time that organizations connected with the university have unlawfully tried to fire their employees. These employers believe that because we are students they can do anything, and the students cannot fight back because we lack any legal aid. Student Legal Services, located in Burge, in many cases has its hands tied--because its very status as an org at KU creates cetain "conflicts of interest."
I was the victim of one of those "conflicts."
I hope both men do get their day in court, and get the legal service I was denied. If they have been unlawfully relieved of their positions, I hope that someone looks into other organizations on this campus who also bend the rules.
Sigmund 11 years ago
I don't know about government jobs, but in the private sector in Kansas the general rule is you can be fired for no reason at all unless you have have an employment contract that says otherwise. You can't be fired because of race, religion, or gender but you can be fired for being a pain in the rear. Again, state jobs are different and tenured professor,for instance, have certain elevated rights, but even they are not immune. So what is it about the position of these two whiners that is so special?
In addition to the valuable lesson above, another takeaway from this incident is that nobody, but nobody likes a complainer or a tattletale.
Lee Saylor 11 years ago
The supervisor's name is easy to find. Go to the staff directory page on lied.ku.edu. Event Coordinator Mandy Leibold
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