Boss Terminated For Cause After Placing Me On Retaliatory Pip

Location: Idaho.

Consistently a top performer for the company, with several promotions and significant pay raises since I started working with them.

I took FMLA leave over the winter due to personal health issues, and once I returned my boss began to put a ton of pressure on me. My coworker was constantly absent and known to be a poor performer (he missed five to seven days of work per month) and I received the blame for missed deadlines. I was in a supervisory role of this coworker.

My boss put me on a performance plan in March with no end date, unclear performance issues, and required daily self criticism emails as well as weekly calls (1.5 to 2 hours) to review my "progress". Out of fear, I tried to put a good face on the plan, but the targets constantly shifted. I spent the calls crying while having my character broken down, as he continually told me how I was the cause of recent staff turnover and didn't know how to interact with people. He altered my bonus structure to split between all of my coworkers in the office, leading to me losing out on several thousand dollars. Part of the performance plan was "stop wanting policy in writing" i.e. Just do what you're told. My boss also posted my role on Indeed as a confidential listing at a significant pay cut, one of my coworkers responsible for hiring sent me a screenshot of the post as they could access all of the company's postings. When I asked a senior member of the team about this posting, they were suprised and let me know theyd address it with my boss. He then lied to me and said the listing didnt exist.

My coworker was out for three days, leaving me to handle all of their clients as well as my own. I did my best to wrap up contracts and get them rolling, and had the next day off for scheduled dental work. The next day, my boss claimed that I committed fraud with sales targets, alleging that I falsely created contracts to make it look like I was meeting the targets. (Honestly I'm not stupid enough or dishonest to commit that kind of fraud.) He blindsided me with these accusations the next day, and as I showed supporting evidence that the contracts were valid, he dismissed me as "making excuses".

The next performance review call, my boss spent two hours making me describe in detail how much of a failure I am, and then accusing me of being rude when I asked one of my coworkers to leave my office during this call. I wholeheartedly expected to be fired, and was unproductive the rest of the day.

Following day, he calls me and reads an email he sent to EVERYONE at our corporate office, describing my personal health issues, medication I was taking, and outlining how annoying he found me. The end of the email had him state he was ending the PIP as he realized it was "ineffective".

My coworker puts in his notice, and my boss continues to blame me for this. I pointed out how he constantly was absent and made serious errors in contracts, and his resignation stemmed from his 1.5 hour commute. When I ask my coworker where he's going, he states our boss told him not to tell me anything, then bragged about how he was going to a more senior role than mine.

My coworker then leaves before his notice is complete, after making several serious "mistakes" as well as hiding errors from myself and the rest of the team. I am now handling the workload of two people, and my boss let's me know they're posting a listing for his position.

I receive a call from upper management asking if my boss had ever pushed me to commit a criminal, unethical, or against company policy act.

Two days later my boss is fired for cause, and he calls me to tell me he was fired for being "cruel" and a liability.

I then have a call with another member of senior management, and she let me know my boss wanted to fire me and promote my coworker into my role. She stated my boss was jealous of me, and that he was a massive liability due to his treatment of other employees.

Honestly no idea what to do from here. Im frustrated that my boss chose to mistreat me for months, and i was severely depressed and anxious as he continually reminded me how I would lose my home if i was fired.

I like senior leadership, they've always been very appreciative of me and I generally like my job. But having my bonus structure altered, having perks and responsibilities related to my most recent promotion taken away by my boss, and no real confirmation that the performance plan is no longer considered valid all stress me out.

Any ideas of next steps?

Forgot to add, boss directly told me while ending the PIP that he placed me on it due to my performance the week before I took medical leave.