Suspended from work for accidental shoplifting

[phiral22]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

I was buying lunch at work and the cashier scanned 1 of the 3 items i was purchasing and i didnt notice it, i payed credit for 1 item and went to the breakroom, i am then pulled aside by an lp and a manager and when i check my reciept it only showed 1 item, i was told i would be suspended for violating company policy, and to call the union the next morning. could i face jail time for this? and is there a way i could keep my job as this was not intentional?

 

[justalayman]

so, you had no idea what you were purchasing cost?


could you face jail? I suppose anything is possible. They would have to charge you criminally with something and you be convicted to be put in jail.


as to keeping your job; if you have a union, that is who you need to be asking.

 

[Hot Topic]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

I was buying lunch at work and the cashier scanned 1 of the 3 items i was purchasing and i didnt notice it, i payed credit for 1 item and went to the breakroom, i am then pulled aside by an lp and a manager and when i check my reciept it only showed 1 item, i was told i would be suspended for violating company policy, and to call the union the next morning. could i face jail time for this? and is there a way i could keep my job as this was not intentional?

Post back after you've talked to your union representative. The transaction does sound a little "fishy," but you didn't explain exactly what happened very well.

 

[phiral22]

i purchase the same items everyday i work, so when i was paying i didnt look at the how much it would total to i just swiped the card and hit yes. didnt look at the receipt till i was pulled aside. there is a union and i was told to call them. i was just wondering since they jotted my information down.

 

[phiral22]

ok i will post when i have spoken to them.

 

[sandyclaus]

i purchase the same items everyday i work, so when i was paying i didnt look at the how much it would total to i just swiped the card and hit yes. didnt look at the receipt till i was pulled aside....

... i didnt notice it, i payed credit for 1 item ...

So, you're trying to tell us that you purchase the very same items everyday, and when you paid for your purchase, you didn't notice or realize that the amount you were paying was far less than usual? I'm not buying that story for one second.

I think that you full well realized you weren't charged for the remaining two items you got, and figured that you got away with it and said nothing. Until you were caught, that is. The honorable thing to do would have been to return to the checkout and pay for the two items once you realized the mistake.

I wouldn't want an employee working for me that would be willing to walk out without paying for products, either. It's all about honesty and integrity.

 

[justalayman]

the next question is; was the cashier complicit?

 

[commentator]

I get the feeling this person scanned their own through self check, or that they are the cashier. It might fly that they don't notice how much their charges are on their receipt. In these days of credit cards for everything and all electronic processes, a lot of young people don't pay a lot of attention, it's not like they were counting out pennies.

But the keyword is MIGHT. "Accidental shoplifting" is more common than you'd think. In this day of cameras everywhere, was the transaction on camera? Does it show the person looking down at their receipt? A look at it might be interesting. Has there ever been an honesty issue with this particular employee before?

In most places, with most employers, they could fire you for even "accidental shoplifting." And most people, as sandy says, wouldn't give you the benefit of the doubt, when it happens once, out you go. But given that you have a union, you do need to speak with them immediately. They may have some sort of policy or appeals process, can possibly save your job for you. Rest assured that if you do get to go back to work, your future transactions will be monitored to the maximum.

As soon as you have been suspended for more than a week, file for unemployment benefits. I've seen claims concerning this type of "accidental" theft go both ways, but it never ever hurts to file that claim. Don't let the employer dangle you out there in unpaid suspension very long without filing for unemployment.

 

[cbg]

It is unlikely that you would serve any jail time for this.

As far as the law is concerned, it is 100% legal to suspend or fire you for this. We do not know what, if anything, your union contract says about it.

Since the law is absolutely fine with your being fired for this and will not force the employer to rehire you even if you could somehow "prove" that you somehow didn't notice that you were being undercharged (which I find something short of believable - you might want to try to come up with a better story), it's going to come down to what your union contract says. If the union contract says you cannot be suspended or fired for this, then you cannot. If the union contract says you can be suspended or fired for this, or if it fails to address the issue, then you can.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

could i face jail time for this?

Not unless this is a third or subsequent offense, or the value of the merchandise if $100 or more.

where the retail value of the goods obtained is less than one hundred dollars, shall be punished for a first offense by a fine not to exceed two hundred and fifty dollars, for a second offense by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars and for a third or subsequent offense by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment in a jail for not more than two years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Where the retail value of the goods obtained equals or exceeds one hundred dollars, any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

 

[phiral22]

I spoke with the union representative he said he would schedule a meeting on monday, I was seen on cctv in our store, I dont have any priors and have never had this happen before i usually just swipe my card and dont look at the receipt cause i know i had enough on the card to pay for everything. so if it takes more than 1 week i should file for unemployment?

 

[Silverplum]

I spoke with the union representative he said he would schedule a meeting on monday, I was seen on cctv in our store, I dont have any priors and have never had this happen before i usually just swipe my card and dont look at the receipt cause i know i had enough on the card to pay for everything. so if it takes more than 1 week i should file for unemployment?

I believe you, because I do it all the time. It's a bad habit, and I'm shocked at myself that I sign receipts without looking.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Back in 1980, I got a job with a supermarket. They had just fired a bunch of cashiers for "Sliding". Their friends would come through their register with a week's worth of groceries, and the cashier would only ring in 1/4/ to 1/2 of the items. The customer and the cashier would split the 'savings'.

Since everything was manually keyed into the cash register, you didn't have the excuse "Oh, I guess it didn't scan".

What make's OP's issue problematic is the qustion of why this was caught. They don't generally watch every transaction unless they are looking for something. If OP was caught immediately, what were they looking for? Did they suspect the cashier of doing this? If they did, it's likely the OP will not return to work as their investigation obviously achieved the desired result.

 

[justalayman]

The problem arises from ignoring the fact the scanner did not "beep" indicating it was recorded or the voice that said, enter next item (some scanners do this), or that the screen changes every time you scan something or that you really can't ignore the total because you are presented with it on the screen when it asks what form of payment.

There are just too many things that occur during a self scan process that it is almost impossible to say you were not aware of the fact it only recorded one item when you claim to have scanned three or the total dollar amount of the sale.


btw: for all the people that work in places where there are self scans;

You should avoid the self scans, not only while working but even when off work and shopping. There is too much of a chance for even an innocent error to be seen as an intent to steal. Let a human ring things up so you have somebody to blame if you don't get charged for something.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

There are just too many things that occur during a self scan process that it is almost impossible to say you were not aware of the fact it only recorded one item when you claim to have scanned three or the total dollar amount of the sale.

I see no indication from OP that this was a self-scan checkout. In fact, a cashier is mentioned in the original post.