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I was employed as a Paralegal at Maricopa Attorney's Office on 05/05/07. I have been serving a probationary period for 6 month. On 10/26/07, a Detective was given a letter to hand deliver to me in the office, and demanded that I give him the office keys, pagers, and above all pack up my personal things and be escorted out of the office. The letter read" You have been relieved off your duties as a Paralegal effective 10/26/07 with County Attorney's Office" There was no any other explanation to that effect, whether or not it was due to not passing the probation, or anything else which I do not know. My immediate supervisor was no where to be contacted since I was escorted out from the bulding by a Detective. What do I do next? Do I have recourse? Can they just terminate my employment without explanation whether or not it was about not passing probation or something else.Please advice I am very, very desparate because I do not know how I will feed my family before I get another Job

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PHOENIX, Arizona

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THIS HAPPENED LAST FRIDAY 10/26/07. TODAY IS SUNDAY. I HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING YET, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TRYING TO CALL MY FORMER IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR WHO WAS OUT OF HER OFFICE OR DID NOT WANT TO ANSWER THE PHONES. SHE NEVER WARNED ME AT ALL. IF IWAS ABOUT PERFORMANCE, HE HAS TALKED TO ME ONLY ONE TIME AND TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD BE ON SPEED WITH WORK. SHE HAD LEFT ALL THE WORK OF SUPERVISION TO 2 OTHER PARALEGALS TO FORSEE MY WORK.

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Arizona is an "at will" employment state. That means that unless you are a member of a protected class: a racial minority member; or unless you have a written employment contract, you can be fired for any reason as long as that reason is not illegal. For example, you can be fired for not working fast enough. Employers in "at will" employment states have a lot of power. I am sorry my answer is not more positive. If you believe you fit into an exception to the general termination rule, please contact an employment lawyer in AZ and they can give you an appraisal of your case. You can find them online or through the AZ state bar association. Good luck.

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