Beatlepants
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Missouri
I work at a national home improvement store and right now I am on administrative leave. This is a forced leave. What happened is there where two associates soliciting customers to get them to join a business of their's.
Management came to me and asked me about the whole situation. I told them what I knew, but told them I did not want to be part of the investigation due to the fact that I feared retaliation from one of the accused associate. They asked why I feared retaliation I said that the associate never liked me and told me of his Vietnam stories and how he had killed people and didn’t fear doing it again.
The two days later they pulled the two associates into the office and wrote them up on a final warning notice.
After this the associates avoided me. This was fine, however, I tried to help them anyway. While helping one of the associates I violated safety procedures.
The next day the two associates cornered me in the back isle of the store accusing me of going to management and telling them about the business. I told them that that was not true. At this point a manager came upon us and said decided to talk about it with us. After some talking it was just me the manager and the original associate who started soliciting people. (the one who told me about his Vietnam stories) He started to talk about how I turned him in and that management told him how he intimidates me. This was something they swore to me they would not tell him. He said how he was getting the ACLU involved and going to sue the company. The manager decided that we all must have a meeting. I had said nearly nothing during this first meeting.
Walking up I met the manager who called the meeting and told him I did not wish to join the meeting because the associate was vengeful and would do anything he could to bring me down even though I was completely innocent. He said to just come in, sit, and say nothing just like I had done before.
During the meeting, which had another manager as a witness, things started to heat up and the associate said how things would not go back to the way they where and he was going to get his justice. He was told to clock out and see the store manager before clocking in on Monday. I was rather worried but the two managers said I had done nothing wrong and that I would not be punished.
Monday morning the HR person called me to have a meeting. I went in and wrote down everything that had occurred on Sunday. After signing the document they started ask me about breaking the safety procedure. I admitted to it because I do not lie. Then they proceeded to ask me about certain inappropriate sexual jokes that I apparently make with other associates back in my department. I said that I make jokes in my department with other associates and sometimes they are of a sexual nature, but they usually instigate the sexual jokes. I said that no one has ever complained of the jokes or said they where offended. There are even incidences of management engaging in the same jokes. I said that if anyone had ever had a problem with them, then I would have stopped and apologized.
It turns out that the associate in trouble went in with a note book of things he had document over the months of things to use against me. He is even guilty of the same jokes and there are witnesses to it.
The next day I was called into the office and told I was being put on administrative leave while the situation was being investigated. The HR manager and store manager said they should have an answer by Thursday. I waited until Thursday and they did not call me. I called them and asked what was going on and he said he had not heard from his boss and I asked him why I was put on administrative leave and he said a combination of things. I said is it because of the safety violation or the jokes and he just said a combination of things.
I called on Friday and he said that he still had not heard from his boss. All the other times I have called he couldn’t be reached and my messages have not been returned.
My main concern is that are my rights being violated because I am on unpaid administrative leave and am not being told why or when I can come back. Is it legal to go on someone else’s accusations out of retaliation? I do know they interviewed the other people who make the jokes and they admitted to making them as well. My only assumption is that they have me on administrative leave for sexual harassment, but doesn’t the person being sexual harassed file the complaint? The person said they never felt harassed and if they did I could have made the same file against them. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do.
I work at a national home improvement store and right now I am on administrative leave. This is a forced leave. What happened is there where two associates soliciting customers to get them to join a business of their's.
Management came to me and asked me about the whole situation. I told them what I knew, but told them I did not want to be part of the investigation due to the fact that I feared retaliation from one of the accused associate. They asked why I feared retaliation I said that the associate never liked me and told me of his Vietnam stories and how he had killed people and didn’t fear doing it again.
The two days later they pulled the two associates into the office and wrote them up on a final warning notice.
After this the associates avoided me. This was fine, however, I tried to help them anyway. While helping one of the associates I violated safety procedures.
The next day the two associates cornered me in the back isle of the store accusing me of going to management and telling them about the business. I told them that that was not true. At this point a manager came upon us and said decided to talk about it with us. After some talking it was just me the manager and the original associate who started soliciting people. (the one who told me about his Vietnam stories) He started to talk about how I turned him in and that management told him how he intimidates me. This was something they swore to me they would not tell him. He said how he was getting the ACLU involved and going to sue the company. The manager decided that we all must have a meeting. I had said nearly nothing during this first meeting.
Walking up I met the manager who called the meeting and told him I did not wish to join the meeting because the associate was vengeful and would do anything he could to bring me down even though I was completely innocent. He said to just come in, sit, and say nothing just like I had done before.
During the meeting, which had another manager as a witness, things started to heat up and the associate said how things would not go back to the way they where and he was going to get his justice. He was told to clock out and see the store manager before clocking in on Monday. I was rather worried but the two managers said I had done nothing wrong and that I would not be punished.
Monday morning the HR person called me to have a meeting. I went in and wrote down everything that had occurred on Sunday. After signing the document they started ask me about breaking the safety procedure. I admitted to it because I do not lie. Then they proceeded to ask me about certain inappropriate sexual jokes that I apparently make with other associates back in my department. I said that I make jokes in my department with other associates and sometimes they are of a sexual nature, but they usually instigate the sexual jokes. I said that no one has ever complained of the jokes or said they where offended. There are even incidences of management engaging in the same jokes. I said that if anyone had ever had a problem with them, then I would have stopped and apologized.
It turns out that the associate in trouble went in with a note book of things he had document over the months of things to use against me. He is even guilty of the same jokes and there are witnesses to it.
The next day I was called into the office and told I was being put on administrative leave while the situation was being investigated. The HR manager and store manager said they should have an answer by Thursday. I waited until Thursday and they did not call me. I called them and asked what was going on and he said he had not heard from his boss and I asked him why I was put on administrative leave and he said a combination of things. I said is it because of the safety violation or the jokes and he just said a combination of things.
I called on Friday and he said that he still had not heard from his boss. All the other times I have called he couldn’t be reached and my messages have not been returned.
My main concern is that are my rights being violated because I am on unpaid administrative leave and am not being told why or when I can come back. Is it legal to go on someone else’s accusations out of retaliation? I do know they interviewed the other people who make the jokes and they admitted to making them as well. My only assumption is that they have me on administrative leave for sexual harassment, but doesn’t the person being sexual harassed file the complaint? The person said they never felt harassed and if they did I could have made the same file against them. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do.