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Was fired and threatened to be arrested.

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helpmetn

Guest
As you might be able to tell i'm in TN.

I was recently let go from a local hollywood video store where i've worked for the alst two months. I made two mistakes which ultimatly led to my firing but me getting fired isn't really my problem. My problem is that the mistakes are linked and that they think i was stealing from them and threatened to have me arrested if i didn't sign papers saying that i'd pay them back.

Let me explain in detail.

A few days ago i had rang someone up who was paying with a credit card,to make a long story short it didn't charge her card,i messed up on the computer and it didn't charge them,this mistake i knew about and asked the assistant manager what to do about it that night which he said to not worry about it.

The second mistake was that i also under priced the movies when i rang the lady up,meaning not only did she get them for free but she also got charged less than she should have. I was called into the office today by the loss prevention manager(LPM) and the store director(SD).The LPM proceed to interogate me like i was a criminal,saying what i did was embezzlement,getting very hostile and mean with me,making me feel like i had murdered somebody.He said it was embezzlement
( a mistake is embezzlement?)and that if i didn't pay them back he'd have me arrested.He gave me those choices,pay or be arrested. I had to sign papers saying that i'd pay them back,papers which i feel i was forced to sign under diress as i was being threatened with jail time if i didn't. Its only $60 but i'm 19 and for me thats a significant amount of money that i don't really need to lose.

Do i have any chance of fighting this or should i just pay them and forget about it?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Not all states permit an employer to charge an employee for losses, shortages, breakages or mistakes - in fact, while some do, it's rare.

I'm not in my office and won't be there till Tuesday so I can't tell you if your state permits it or not, but call your state Department of Labor on Monday morning and they will be able to tell you if your employer can legally charge you the $60 or not.
 
H

helpmetn

Guest
Thank you for any help you can give. I''ve tried looking online for answers about TN labor laws but haven't found much. I'd like to know even more if what they did to me was illegal with the interogating and everything. I always thought anyhting signed under diress was void,even though i signed that i wasn't threatened or anyhting thats far from true. It was sign or they call the police.
 
C

coosi

Guest
and it didn't charge them
**Is there any way you could contact the customer, explain the situation, and have them pay for the items?
 
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helpmetn

Guest
I don't have any way of contacting her,i don't even know who she was.

See,they're accusing me of helping out "buddies" as the loss prevention manager put it and he said that was embezzlement and i could go to jail and everyhting. Then after scaring me told me they'd let me pay them back and that i had to sign all those papers saying i would. Essentially he told me either i sign saying i'll pay them back or they'll call the police and charge me with embezzlement.

I know that a mistake can't be considered embezzlement or any other sort of illegal activity,but the way it happened makes it look like i did it all on puprpose to help the customer out. It dosen't make sense though because i don't even know this woman. I just really want to fight this,i know its $60 but i can't stand to be pushed around and bullied into paying them for a mistake anybody could of made.
 
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coosi

Guest
**Your boss can probably find out who it is. If you explain this to them, it might help your assertion of innocence. Then, contact the woman, as I previously posted. This is all based on your statement of innocence, of
course....

anybody could of made
.

FYI - It's "could have" made. That may seen petty, even cruel, but when someone only knows you by your written expression of the english language, it's everything ...
 
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H

helpmetn

Guest
I could ask but i don't think he'd tell me.That would be giving out customer info and i'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to do that. Plus he was in on all of this anyway so i doubt he'd help me in any way unless he was forced to.
 
C

coosi

Guest
I'm not in my office and won't be there till Tuesday so I can't tell you if your state permits it or not, but call your state Department of Labor on Monday morning and they will be able to tell you if your employer can legally charge you the $60 or not.
**Do what cbg said...
 
H

helpmetn

Guest
I could but the problem is that they claim they aren't charging me for a mistake,they have twisted it into being theft essentially.

They say that i did it to help the woman out and how its embezzlement and all. They claim it wasn't an accident and i did it on purpose. I can just see them calling the police here and telling them to arrest me for "embezzling" $60. It would probably be the first time the police here have ever been called for something like that. This isn't a big place.

I've checked online on the state's website and according to the labor law section they can't charge me for a mistake,which i think is why they're calling it theft and treating me like a criminal. Its the only way they can get the money.
 
H

helpmetn

Guest
Just reading over a few things and i have another question. I realize that extortion occurs if you threaten someone to obtain property.

Would them threatening to call the police if i didn't pay be extortion? Not to mention that after this people who once trusted me might think i'm now a thief.
 

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