Court says store has to pay unemployment benefits

[IDrinkaRum]

to an employee they fired for "stealing" 2 hot dogs

A year ago, the local Dillards store had a 4th of July cookout for its employees. After the cookout ended, and the manager realized there was still food leftover, he ordered the food to be put into the break room freezer until they would be used for September.

Either the next day or a few days afterwards, an employee took 2 hot dogs out of the freezer and ate them for lunch. He was promptly fired.

The court sided with the former employee who claimed he never heard the manager say the leftovers were to keep until September and apparently no one was supposed to touch the leftover food until September.

[DrFaroohk]

Sounds good to me. If he didn't know, he didn't know, and they were originally, as per the article, designated for the employees, so he thought he was well within his rights.

It's up to management to make sure adequate notice is provided as to ensure no one can use the "i didn't know" excuse.

[Boozy]

I think it's safe to say that the manager wanted to fire that employee anyway, and was just looking for a reason. Too bad he picked the wrong one.

[bainsidhe]

Good grief. On the rare occasions our workplace gets free pizza or cake, leftovers are always put into the fridge for anyone to grab and eat at another time. The owner doesn't have a separate fridge and nobody would realize it if he wanted all the leftovers for himself. Just seems like a petty reaction to the employee taking two measly hot dogs.

[tropicsgoddess]

I can understand being fired for stealing money out of the register or something felonious, but for stealing two hot dogs from company left over picnic food the employee didn't hear the manager's orders on storing them in the fridge is incredibly petty and nothing short of . I'm glad the judges sided with the employee.

[Peppergirl]

. After the cookout ended, and the manager realized there was still food leftover, he ordered the food to be put into the break room freezer until they would be used for September.

This right here speaks volumes about the company and/or the manager. Lets have a cookout and freeze the leftovers for (presumably) months? :vomit:

They ought to be glad someone ate them and that they didn't completely go to waste.

Now, before anyone gets all up in arms - I am totally down with leftovers and not being wasteful. I just think it's a little ridiculous to freeze them for the next picnic.

I've worked quite a few places that have had a grill out or whatever, and if there's leftovers they offer them to the emps to take home or eat on later shifts or whatever. What the hell would have been so horrible about that?

Sounds like petty, vindicitive management at its finest.

[IDrinkaRum]

I love leftovers. When I'm being lazy, I'm happy to have them in the fridge.

But yeah, whenever I've worked and there's a cookout and there's leftovers, the employees are given first dibs on them, and then whatever is leftover from that, they get thrown out (or taken home).

Peppergirl is right - this is petty, vindictive management at its finest.