Robbed on the job? YOU'RE FIRED!!

[cewfa]

Having been in this situation, I can say that the management of the pizza place I worked for was pretty fair to me when it happened. They paid me back the money I lost and also paid for the window the gunman shot out when he tried to shoot me.

[bainsidhe]

The fact that she had been supposedly talked to about this kind of thing before makes me wonder if there were already write ups on the matter as well which kind of changes the story

I agree with you. There is a difference between breaking a policy that everyone ignores anyway, versus breaking a policy that is enforced.

Though I don't think it really matters. The owners made a mistake by offering her to keep her job if she paid the money back. If they hadn't made her employment contingent on her paying back the money, this wouldn't be national news and Popeye's corporate wouldn't be involved.

[s_stabeler]

Yeah, especially since it is, in fact, illegal to require shortages to be made up from wages.

[HYHYBT]

Which, in other circumstances, can work against employees if strictly adhered to.

Which would you prefer? "Your drawer was $20 short. You're fired."

or

"Your drawer was $20 short. That's a fireable offense, but if you make it up, I'll overlook it this time"?

[s_stabeler]

Off the top of my head, I'm fairly sure an employer ( excepting in an at-will state) can't fire you for a one-off shortage. It would have to be either for incompetence if it keeps happening, or if they had actual proof you were stealing.

[Andara Bledin]

Off the top of my head, I'm fairly sure an employer ( excepting in an at-will state) can't fire you for a one-off shortage. It would have to be either for incompetence if it keeps happening, or if they had actual proof you were stealing.

Even at-will employment needs valid reason to fire a person. That reason can be bullshit, but it has to be non-discriminatory and not otherwise against the law.

In my state you could fire someone for lying on their application if it's discovered that they smoke, but you can't actually fire them for smoking because legal activities off the clock and property are protected.

[s_stabeler]

yes, but (IIRC) thye can fire you for stealing, but even if you prove you weren't stealing ( good luck) then you wouldn't get the job back, and I don't think it comes under wrongful dismissal.

[Lindsay B.]

"I don't know what the hell is in people's minds. What was this guy thinking? How do you get to be the manager of anything, how do you walk and chew gum at the same time, and not know that it's going to come back and bite you in the ass if you fire someone who's five months pregnant because they gave money to someone who pointed a gun at them while they were working for you?!"
- Jimmy Dore, guest host on the political talk show "The Young Turks"


I find it amazing, sometimes, how people who work in jobs that depend heavily on public relations will fail to realize how bad they're going to wind up looking if they do something like this. Even if I granted that they technically had grounds to fire her, because she didn't empty out her cash drawer properly, firing her for it under these circumstances was not only heartless, but an incredibly bad business decision. I doubt that a large segment of the public would ever care that she didn't follow register procedures here.

also paid for the window the gunman shot out when he tried to shoot me.

... Oh, Dear Lord. You are a stronger person than I am. I'm not sure that I could handle continuing to work in a place after something like that.

[cewfa]

I don't work there anymore. I worked another year after the incident before the shock wore off and I went off the deep end for a while. I'm better now, but I paid and still am paying for working that year. If I had it to do over again, when the manager said I had to fill out an incident report, I would have told him to cram it.

I'm not a very strong person for working afterwards, I just didn't feel like I had a choice. I didn't have a very good support system at the time and no health insurance and no chance at any because of the state I lived in at the time. Working that year has messed me up forever, I think.

[Lindsay B.]

I'm sorry. I hope things get better for you.

[Aragarthiel]

Now she's looking for $5.5 MILLION from Popeye's. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ages/26622971/

Corporate offered her her job back, even offering back pay, and while I can understand not wanting to go back there, $5.5 million is just outrageous.

[Rageaholic]

Now she's looking for $5.5 MILLION from Popeye's. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ages/26622971/

Corporate offered her her job back, even offering back pay, and while I can understand not wanting to go back there, $5.5 million is just outrageous.

Looks like she's in over her head now.

[cewfa]

I'm sorry. I hope things get better for you.

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

I think this lawsuit is excessive. I think she would be better served by just moving on.

[Rageaholic]

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

I think this lawsuit is excessive. I think she would be better served by just moving on.

Or if she's gonna sue, sue them for a more reasonable amount. I don't understand why these people insist on suing for such ridiculous amounts (unless it's part of their legal strategy?).

[Aragarthiel]

It's probably the lawyers looking for a big payout.