Not a thief

[ClayW]

What is the name of your state? Ky

I worked for a vending co. We'd fill vending machines and collect the money from them. Each machine had it's own small bag that would go into a larger bag. We were supposed to leave the large bag in the truck at the end of the day and the ower would take the money out himself.

I had only been there for two weeks and was riding a route with another guy, learning the route. I was never left alone in the truck. I was never alone at the wharehouse. When I got there the other guys were already there and I left when the guy I was riding with left. I have no key to the wharehouse.

On Monday the owner asked me to come outside. He told me that money had come up missing. My first thought was that the machine was a few dollars off. Which they told me is common with the machines. So I asked how much, he wouldn't answer me. He just said that I was fired for stealing. I asked why he thought it was me. He said that I was the "new guy" and that he's known the other guys for a while and that they wouldn't do anything like that to him. I told him that I hadn't taken anything and that I was never alone anywhere around any money. I asked him how much again and he told me $1500. My eyes nearly popped out. I couldn't believe that I was getting accused of stealing that much. I told him that $1500 in coins was a lot to get out. He said that only the bills were taken (I'll get back to this in a sec). He then told me that he'd filed charges and the police would be in touch with me to ask me some questions. I told him that that was fine, I didn't have anything to hide.

When I got home I decided to call the police myself to tell them that I was at home and they could come talk to me at any time. They had no idea what i was talking about. No charges had been filed at all. I gave the officer the story and he asked me to come down and get it on record. While at the station I talked to the officer a while longer and we both agree that something fishy was going on. Either the owner had taken the money and was putting the blame on me, he was covering for someone or there was actually no money missing at all and he just made it up as an excuse to fire me. I told him that they were more than welcome to come search my propery. The officer said he would go talk to the owner and get to the bottom of it all.

Ok, back to the bags. On a good day we'd do around ten machines. At the end of the day we might have anywhere from $350-$400 in bills and coins (so I was told by the owner himself). There were two other routes besides the one I was on. So at most there may be $1200 in bills and coins left at the wharehouse at the end of the day. The owner told me that only bills were taken. Why would someone want to sit and go through thirty bags of money and only get the bills, when they could just grab three big bags and walk out?

I've done a bit of research about it. Accusing me of theft just to fire me is illegal and if he's told the other people at work about it then it would be Defimation of Character too. But what about accusing me of theft with no proof at all? And if the owner stole it or was coving it up, then I was being framed.

So, do I have a Wrongful Termination and Defimation of Character suit?

I guess being the "new guy" automaticly means you're a thief.

 

[Beth3]

Accusing me of theft just to fire me is illegal No, it's not.

if he's told the other people at work about it then it would be Defimation of Character too Perhaps, but that's far from certain.

So, do I have a Wrongful Termination and Defimation of Character suit? No, on both counts. It was not unlawful to terminate you because he decided you were the responsible party, even if he's dead wrong and even if has no proof. Nor does his tell you he believes you are the thief constitute defamation of character.

I agree the situation is entirely unfair but nothing you've described is prohibited by any laws.

 

[ClayW]

http://jobsearchtech.about.com/library/weekly/aa102300-2.htm


QUOTE

Defamation of Character
You might be able to sue for wrongful termination if your employer intentionally defamed you to justify terminating you.

For example, if your employer falsely accuses you of stealing as an excuse to fire you, you might have a case for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.

 

[cbg]

And your proof that he accused you of theft in order to have an excuse to fire you is...?

 

[Beth3]

...particularly since he didn't need an excuse to fire you in the first place?

 

[ClayW]

What other reason would there be? If the money had been taken, why hasn't he really filed a police report. He even gave me the names of the officers he said he'd talked to. I talked to the same ones and they had never talked to him. He told me that the police would be talking to the other employees too, but none of them got fired. Why make up such a ly just for fun? I know I'll have to be the one to prove that he just made it up to fire me, but I know the man and after I tell him that I talked to all the police officers I'm 95% sure he'll break down and tell me it was a ly. As for the defamation all I have to do is ask the guys I worked with if he told them about it. If he did then it's ruining my reputation. Others will look at me as a theft and it could cost me future employment.


Another question I have: If I got someone to call him and act like they were doing an employer background check on me for a new job, would I be breaking any kind of laws? I'd just like to know if he'd tell a future employer that I stole from him.

I know it seems like I'm going a bit far with this but the man cost me my job and accused me of theft. It'll take a while to find a new job which means my bills will fall behind and my family will have to do without.

 

[ClayW]

No, he didn't need an excuse, but he's a new business owner and I don't think he knew that.

 

[Beth3]

If I got someone to call him and act like they were doing an employer background check on me for a new job, would I be breaking any kind of laws? No. Impersonation or misrepresentation is not agains the law as long as no fraud is perpetrated.

Maybe the owner decided not to file a criminal complaint because he knows that without any proof whatsoever that you were the responsible party it would be a complete waste of time.

 

[ClayW]

But he told me that he'd already filed the charges and even gave me the
names of the officers that he'd mad the report with. Which struck me funny there because why would it take three officers to take a report?

He's only 22 yrs old. He worked for the man that used to own the company. When that man decided to sell, this new owner went to his father and had him co-sign for the loan. He is very new at the job and I just don't think he knew that he didn't have to have a reason to fire me. If he'd just come to me and said "Hey, I can't afford another employee right now." I would have been a bit ticked off, but I would have just gone away.

I called him a while ago and asked him about picking up my check friday. His exact words "call me friday and if I'm not busy I'll get your check to you."

He's playing some kind of game.

 

[Beth3]

Clay, I can't begin to guess what's going on in the boss's head. If he needed to let someone go, why he'd think he had to alledge criminal misconduct and then accuse someone he knew to be innocent, is beyond my imagining. Maybe the fact that he's 22 says it all. Daddy may soon discover he's made a very bad investment.

FYI - Kentucky regulations require that final pay be provided no later than the next regular pay date or 14 days after termination, whichever is later. In other words, if you don't receive your last paycheck by two weeks after you were term'd, you can contact KY's Department of Labor and file a complaint.

Good luck.

 

[cbg]

Clay, true story from my own experience. Please note that in telling this story I am NOT saying that I think you stole; I accept that you did not. My point in telling this story is to explain why, if money was missing (and you have NO proof that it was not) he would first look at you.

One of my clients had a new employee doing the same work as several other employees. The nature of the work was such that it was impossible to state, on any given day, who was responsible for which work production if an error was made. All you would be able to say was that, someone who was working on such and such a day made this particular error.

No one had made this particular error for months. Then suddenly, it started happening frequently. Eventually they were able to determine that it ONLY occurred on days when the new employee (call her Jane) was working. At the request of Jane's supervisor, I asked Jane if it were possible that she were the one making the error and asking her to please be more careful. She vehemently denied that it could possibly be her.

Nonetheless, EVERY day that Jane worked, someone made this mistake. NO ONE made the mistake any day that Jane did not work. NO ONE had made this mistake for months before Jane started work. (And I should mention that Jane was fired for unrelated reasons six months ago and no one has made that particular mistake since.)

Jane was working; someone made that particular error. Jane was not working; no one made that particular error. Was it so unreasonable to assume that Jane was the one making that mistake?

Nothing you have posted provides any reason to believe that no money was actually missing. If you accept at face value that there was money missing (either due to an administrative error in bookkeeping or because a longer-term employee figured out that if he stole money now, you'd be the one to get blamed) can you see why you'd be the logical suspect?

 

[ClayW]

First off, thank you for believing me. I'd rather have $30,000 a yr than $1500 for a week.

I can understand that he would assume it was me, but I didn't have to be fired with no proof. He told me that it was the first time it had ever happened. I was never there alone, when I got to work more than one person was already there, I worked with someone else and we left at the same time because he gave me a ride home.

The owner told me that the money had been taken last friday, on that day everyone arrived at the wharehouse at the same time that evening and my partner and I left at the same time. I have no key to this place but everyone else does.

He told me that the police would be questioning the other employees too but he didn't bother to fire any of them and I can't understand why he keeps telling me he filed charges when no one knows a thing. I have a friend in the department that checked it all out for me and he said that my boss had never called nor been there. If $1500 had been taken from me the police would be the first place I'd go. Then I started thinking that maybe the owner had done it himself and wanted to blame me. Then he could get the $1500 and get another $1500 from the insurance company. But he would have had to file charges to collect from the insurance company.

I agree that if money was taken that someone saw the chance to take it knowing that I would get the blame.

In short...........I'm confused!! Either way it goes, he's lying to me in one way or another. I'm pretty sure that if it went to court that I wouldn't win the wrongful termination. Might win the defamation of character and punitive damages. Really all I'm looking for is the defamation of character and punitive damages to show him that he shouldn't (not can't) do this sort of thing to people. I just figured that throwing the wrongful termination in couldn't hurt. Might scare him and he may settle out of court I wouldn't even ask for much. It's just the principle of it all.

Like I said, if it had happened any other way I would have just walked away and found a new job, but this is dirty and rotten and he deserves to be taken to court.

I'm going to talk to a lawyer tomorrow, I'll let everyone know what he thinks I should do.

 

[cananyonehelp]

Then I started thinking that maybe the owner had done it himself and wanted to blame me. Then he could get the $1500 and get another $1500 from the insurance company.

You are doing the same thing, you accused him of doing!!
Huh, i wonder if he took it????

Really all I'm looking for is the defamation of character and punitive damages to show him that he shouldn't (not can't) do this sort of thing to people. I just figured that throwing the wrongful termination in couldn't hurt. Might scare him and he may settle out of court I wouldn't even ask for much. It's just the principle of it all.

Do you want to take the chance of losing and having to pay his court cost and your own? Take it from me I am being sued by my former employer let it go. You said you have a job now. What strain will it be on your new job to go to court and miss work? Will you lose that job and blame it on this guy for making you take him to court? Live and learn.... The cold hard fact is money is power, and im sure he has more to spend than you. So save your money, time, and efforts. Focus on your family and current job.

This world is FAR from fair...

 

[ClayW]

1.) I've looked at this from all angles. I never automaticly assumed "He's the owner, he must have taken it." And I believe that my last statement shows that I have recanted my previous statement accusing him of taking his own money when I said that I am sure that I won't win the Wrongful Termination.

2.) No I don't have a job right now. This only happened two days ago. Last months my car was stolen and wrecked, so it will probably be a while before I can find a job.

What about such cases as Roe v. Wade or Rosa Parks. What if they had just given up? Some things need to be changed. Yes I may have to pay out a great deal of money but as I said "It's the principle of it all." I feel in my heart that this is wrong and in his mind I was tried and convicted without evidence or motive.

This could come back to haunt me for years if I don't act on it. I could lose future jobs if I can get any job at all. Would you hire someone that had been accused of stealing from their job? No, they're not trust worthy.

In my mind this is the same as being accused of murder. I live in a small town and if he's telling people that I stole from him then most likely half the town will know by this time tomorrow. People will look at me with different eyes and not trust me for as long as they can remember any of this.

I believe that he is just a naive young man that made a mistake. But that mistake could cost me dearly. I suppose I'm playing psychologist and trying to get into this guys head and figure out why he's making up lies about me. I guess you could say that I'm putting him on trial, but I haven't convicted him without proof or motive. There is reasonable doubt that he took the money himself. I've seen what he pays himself, he's not hurting for money and if I were him and wanted to pull something I'd take a lot more than $1500.

Although I love a good debate, you seem to be angry over the matter.