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[researchprof]

larryc and jackit, it is a major issue as my boss is trying to use my failure to do the sandwiches as a reason to terminate me.  She is saying she is not renewing my contract (which I've never seen). She claims the contract is for a year.

[jackit]

larryc and jackit, it is a major issue as my boss is trying to use my failure to do the sandwiches as a reason to terminate me.  She is saying she is not renewing my contract (which I've never seen). She claims the contract is for a year.

Time to lawyer-up.  Like, yesterday.  You need to find out if you have a legal case.

Now having said that, you should also start looking for a new job, immediately, no matter how this comes out.

Also, whatever aandsdean has to say about this...evolving situation.

[donstefano]

1/ voluntary work makes no sense if you make it mandatory
2/ voluntary work ought to happen outside office hours
3/ In many academic fields you help the poor more by doing something related to your research rather than by handing out sandwiches - handing out sandwiches is not exactly very structural or something that would end poverty. Instead, spend your time writing an op-ed about povertty, analyse some stats about poverty etc. I believe this has more structural effects.
4/ If I would hear my boss  is obliging people to to a specific kind of voluntary work, it would be a good reason for me not to volunteer myself.

[aandsdean]

larryc and jackit, it is a major issue as my boss is trying to use my failure to do the sandwiches as a reason to terminate me.  She is saying she is not renewing my contract (which I've never seen). She claims the contract is for a year.

If your boss is trying to use this action as a reason to terminate you, she has some reason besides your failure to make sandwiches.  I'm not saying she's right, but she's using the sandwiches as a formal pretext for something she thinks is less defensible.

Which is odd, since Georgia is a right-to-work state, and she can fire you for the hell of it anytime she wants.

I simply can't believe you don't have a contract.  Didn't you sign something when you took the job?  I'd check with HR or the office of the Provost or wherever faculty contracts reside and see what's there.  You're also protected to a degree by whatever the faculty handbook says.

Several things:

1.  A lawyer isn't a bad idea, but may well not help, given that GA is a right-to-work state and you are almost certainly an at-will employee, unless your contract states otherwise.

2.  Your boss is a jerk, and/or you have done something other than not making sandwiches that has made her want to get rid of you.

3.  Making you do the sandwich thing was a stupid waste of your time, but it was foolish of you not to do it.  Four hours isn't much time relative to what the apparent consequences are. It's quite sure that you've disastrously misread your boss, or you would have done the sandwiches--she's out to get you and when someone with more power than you have is out to get you, it's pretty smart not to give that person any ammo with which to complete the getting.

4.  If your boss is going to can you anyhow, it's worth talking to her supervisor, IF the supervisor is likely to be reasonable.  You'd be surprised how often deans, etc., know that their chairs, etc., are jerks, but sometimes there's nothing to be done about it directly.  At the same time, a well-placed e-mail from said dean to said chair often smoothes things nicely.

5.  You need to find another job, obviously, where you need to pay more careful attention to the signs and signals.  You did blow this one regardless of whether the outcome is otherwise justified or not.

[new_bus_prof]

If the threats of termination are starting, then you need to start your job search immediately, because if its not this there will most likely be something else in the future your boss wants to fire you for.

And you will need a lawyer...employment contract vs. right-to-work state can swing either way and its good to know the local precedence.

[jackit]

Lastly, be careful not to offer any more personal information on the fora.

If your boss gets wind of this it won't be hard to know who posted.

[clean]

Maybe it is where I work....   We had an event where faculty did volunteer to serve food to students for some sort of appreciation day the dean was throwing.  Before we could serve the food, though, we had to pass a "food handler's test". 

IS there such a requirement there?
Not being certified would seem to me to be an out for the sandwich making.

On the driving issue... Well, it is my understanding that my insurance does not cover my car when I use it for employment purposes.  (One reason I dont deliver pizza).  Do YOU deliver pizza on your off hours?  Were they providing you with a university vehicle?

If you got hurt on this 'volunteer' activity, would you recover Worker's Comp?

Finally, I would read your faculty handbook.  I discovered that even though I was untenured, the university was required to give me a full year's notice if they were not going to terminate me after 2 years employment (They had until April 15 of year 1 to tell me if they were renewing my contract in August, December 15 of the second year, and then a full year after that).

It is always good to read your faculty handbook.  One reason to love a bureaucracy... they write down the rules that they claim they have to follow.

I hope that it works out, but as others have said, this is not a place you want to stay.  Get out as soon as you can.

[obprof]

When you discuss this with your boss or the higher-ups, make sure you don't say anything along the lines of "mandatory volunteer work is stupid" (even though it is...)

THis might engender a knee-jerk response of "Researchprof doesn't even like volunteering! He is trying to Increase Poverty! What a Bad Person!".

If you do any volunteering on your own time, I would be sure to mention this.

I would also mention your support for the goals of the charity that you were asked to volunteer at. Have you made any donations to them?

Make it clear that the issue was your workload -- and you were just doing your best to do the best job you can.

larryc and jackit, it is a major issue as my boss is trying to use my failure to do the sandwiches as a reason to terminate me.  She is saying she is not renewing my contract (which I've never seen). She claims the contract is for a year.

If your boss is trying to use this action as a reason to terminate you, she has some reason besides your failure to make sandwiches.  I'm not saying she's right, but she's using the sandwiches as a formal pretext for something she thinks is less defensible.

Which is odd, since Georgia is a right-to-work state, and she can fire you for the hell of it anytime she wants.

I simply can't believe you don't have a contract.  Didn't you sign something when you took the job?  I'd check with HR or the office of the Provost or wherever faculty contracts reside and see what's there.  You're also protected to a degree by whatever the faculty handbook says.

Several things:

1.  A lawyer isn't a bad idea, but may well not help, given that GA is a right-to-work state and you are almost certainly an at-will employee, unless your contract states otherwise.

2.  Your boss is a jerk, and/or you have done something other than not making sandwiches that has made her want to get rid of you.

3.  Making you do the sandwich thing was a stupid waste of your time, but it was foolish of you not to do it.  Four hours isn't much time relative to what the apparent consequences are. It's quite sure that you've disastrously misread your boss, or you would have done the sandwiches--she's out to get you and when someone with more power than you have is out to get you, it's pretty smart not to give that person any ammo with which to complete the getting.

4.  If your boss is going to can you anyhow, it's worth talking to her supervisor, IF the supervisor is likely to be reasonable.  You'd be surprised how often deans, etc., know that their chairs, etc., are jerks, but sometimes there's nothing to be done about it directly.  At the same time, a well-placed e-mail from said dean to said chair often smoothes things nicely.

5.  You need to find another job, obviously, where you need to pay more careful attention to the signs and signals.  You did blow this one regardless of whether the outcome is otherwise justified or not.