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I was fired for something I didn't do.

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dots41

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Idaho

I was a team leader trainee at a local restaurant. There was a cell phone left in our break room by a crew member, I put the phone in the office with a note saying "found in break room" on it. Throughout the night, the phone kept ringing and became annoying. I tried to silence the phone, but I didn't know how and I didn't have time to mess with it. I put the phone in my pocket so that I could put it in the back of the store in the lockers when I got a chance so it would be out of ear shot. After the phone was put in the lockers, it disappeared and now I am getting blamed for taking it. There is a video tape of me trying to turn the phone off and then pocketing it.
My employer fired me straight away and told me if I didn't bring $200 to the store for the phone to be replaced, they would contact the police. I don't want a criminal record, so I complied with a very long letter trying to explain the situation, while being very clear that I did not steal it. I have worked with this company for almost 5 years, I have never been accused of or suspected of any wrong doing. They are saying while they won't press charged, the girl who the phone belonged to can. What can I do to help resolve this matter? I have tried to do everything I can to make this situation right, I requested to have a sit down with 2 of my bosses to discuss this matter again. What else can I do? Is there anything I should say to my former bosses when we sit down to talk? I don't want my job back, but I do want a good reference because I have been there so long and I would like the paperwork in which I was fired changed.

Thanks so much.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


Antigone*

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Idaho

I was a team leader trainee at a local restaurant. There was a cell phone left in our break room by a crew member, I put the phone in the office with a note saying "found in break room" on it. Throughout the night, the phone kept ringing and became annoying. I tried to silence the phone, but I didn't know how and I didn't have time to mess with it. I put the phone in my pocket so that I could put it in the back of the store in the lockers when I got a chance so it would be out of ear shot. After the phone was put in the lockers, it disappeared and now I am getting blamed for taking it. There is a video tape of me trying to turn the phone off and then pocketing it.
My employer fired me straight away and told me if I didn't bring $200 to the store for the phone to be replaced, they would contact the police. I don't want a criminal record, so I complied with a very long letter trying to explain the situation, while being very clear that I did not steal it. I have worked with this company for almost 5 years, I have never been accused of or suspected of any wrong doing. They are saying while they won't press charged, the girl who the phone belonged to can. What can I do to help resolve this matter? I have tried to do everything I can to make this situation right, I requested to have a sit down with 2 of my bosses to discuss this matter again. What else can I do? Is there anything I should say to my former bosses when we sit down to talk? I don't want my job back, but I do want a good reference because I have been there so long and I would like the paperwork in which I was fired changed.

Thanks so much.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
If they are set on letting you go, there is nothing you can do. File for unemployment benefits.
 

dots41

Junior Member
First off, even if I wanted unemployment, I doubt I would be eligible because I was fired for theft and that is considered misconduct and they are perfectly within their rights to fire someone for that. Sure, I could go forth with a hearing with the unemployment board, but that's not something I want to do. Secondly, I don't want to further any harsh feeling between anyone involved, I'm trying to make sure this is ended with a good job reference and hoping they will change the paper work in my file on why I am no longer with the company.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
There is nothing you can do to force them to change their records or give you a good reference. If they are not willing to discuss the matter with you I'm not aware of any law you can use to force them to.

IF you should learn eventually that they are saying things in your references that are UNTRUE (as opposed to neutral or that are definitely opinion), you may, at that time, be able to take some form of legal action. But there is nothing you can do at this time to ensure that they say only what you want them to say.

You should absolutely apply for unemployment anyway. You will be able to tell your side of the story; the UI office is not going to deny you benefits solely on the employer's say-so.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I have NEVER seen a phone that took more than 10 seconds to figure out how to turn it off. You need a better story...
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
While it is perfectly legal for them to fire you based upon the mere suspicion of theft, in order to be disqualified for unemployment because of misconduct your employer needs to have some actual evidence. You have nothing to lose by filing and it’s your right as an employee. Why would you think collecting unemployment while you look for a new job would result in a bad job reference? If they are convinced you stole they might give you a bad reference anyway.
 

dots41

Junior Member
Cbg and Swalsh,

Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate it. I suppose there may not be anything I can do in order to get a good reference, it just seems like the only options I have are to leave them off my resume or hope that any future employer won't contact them for an employment reference.

My former employer, to my knowledge has never accepted an unemployment request from a former employee, regardless of the circumstance. The restaurant manager is clear that she doesn't believe in unemployment and criticizes people who get unemployment benefits.

I guess after being there for so long, I still feel really dedicated to my former peers, some of my friends work there, and it is so heart breaking to me that this has happened the way it has. In a way, I think my former boss, especially with her disdain of people collecting unemployment, would view it as a slap in the face to get the request in the mail. I think this would further my "bad job reference" from her.

Also, as far as the video tape, couldn't that be enough evidence to present to the unemployment board to prove they think they are in the right? The next video tapes show me picking up a few items to put away and then go to the break room area where I dropped the phone off. Is it ok to request a copy of this tape to view it on my own?

Thank you.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
My former employer, to my knowledge has never accepted an unemployment request from a former employee, regardless of the circumstance. The restaurant manager is clear that she doesn't believe in unemployment and criticizes people who get unemployment benefits.

You don’t know what you’re talking about. The employer does not make the decision on whether or not to "accept" benefits anymore than the employee gets to decide whether they are eligible or not. Your State’s unemployment office decides eligibility after gathering the relevant facts. Both parties can appeal, but neither makes the decision.

You can certainly ask for the tape but you have no legal right to it. What would it accomplish anyway? They have already decided to fire you. If they decide to appeal your unemployment and use the tape for evidence they can certainly do that.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Also, as far as the video tape, couldn't that be enough evidence to present to the unemployment board to prove they think they are in the right? The next video tapes show me picking up a few items to put away and then go to the break room area where I dropped the phone off. Is it ok to request a copy of this tape to view it on my own?

Thank you.
The tape does you more harm than good. It shows you pocketing the phone and then going somewhere that you KNEW was off-camera...then claiming you left it in that somewhere.

Furthermore, your eagerness to avoid police involvement (by paying the $200) further reinforces your guilt.
 

dots41

Junior Member
I have never been in this kind of situation. So yes, I paid the $200 in order to avoid police involvement. I'm 1 semester away from graduation and would rather not potentially have a mark on my record while I am applying for jobs in my home state. This has been the only job I have had in this state while I've been in school the entire almost 5 years I have been here. So it goes without saying, I have spent a lot of time there, got to know my co-workers well and don't want to make this situation any worse. The $200 was a high estimate of the replacement cost of the phone and my former boss said she would give me whatever change was left over, originally I had offered to help replace the phone, anyway.

As far as the unemployment, I thought the employer had an equal say in the eligibility of a former employee, apparently I was wrong in that matter. I've never received unemployment benefits, so I was just going off of what I had heard in the past, obviously, I jumbled the information.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I have never been in this kind of situation. So yes, I paid the $200 in order to avoid police involvement. I'm 1 semester away from graduation and would rather not potentially have a mark on my record while I am applying for jobs in my home state. This has been the only job I have had in this state while I've been in school the entire almost 5 years I have been here. So it goes without saying, I have spent a lot of time there, got to know my co-workers well and don't want to make this situation any worse. The $200 was a high estimate of the replacement cost of the phone and my former boss said she would give me whatever change was left over, originally I had offered to help replace the phone, anyway.

As far as the unemployment, I thought the employer had an equal say in the eligibility of a former employee, apparently I was wrong in that matter. I've never received unemployment benefits, so I was just going off of what I had heard in the past, obviously, I jumbled the information.
You agreed to pay to reimburse the injured party based on your theft of the phone.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
In most if not all states, if anything unemployment is geared in favor of the employEE.

Look at it this way. If you apply, you might be denied benefits and you might not. If you don't apply, you definitely won't get benefits. There is no cost to file and there is no penalty for being wrong. What can it hurt to try? The worst that can happen is that you're denied, in which case you are no worse off than if you didn't try in the first place.

It's already too late to get away without "a mark on your record". The minute you put the phone in your pocket and walked off camera, you had a permanent mark on it, regardless of what you did with the phone afterwards. It is already far too late to avoid that; all you can do at this point is try to mitigate the damages.
 

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