Union member, arrested and charged with theft from job..charges dropped, still banned

[Tracydr]

What is the name of your state?
Indiana.

I am not sure where to post this, but was wanting to ask advice on how to deal with the situation.

My father is a plumber and steamfitter, and has been for many years. He was recently (well..now not so recently, 4-5 months ago) working at a power plant that was being redone. They were pulling out metal and redoing the entire place. He worked there for months and months and was a foreman.

He noticed the big pile of scrap metal (what they were tearing out) and asked one of the supervisors what they did with the metal and was told they haul it out to the dump. My father is very involved in his catholic church, so he asked his supervisor (an employee of the power plant..not a union member) if he could take some to sell and donate the money to his church. His supervisor thought it was a great idea, as did some of the other workers and they wanted to do the same. My father didn't drive a truck to work, but had one at home...so some of the other workers loaded up the metal and brought it to his house to store in the garage until he could take it to sell it as the metal yard.

While it was sitting in his garage, the state police came with an search warrant, while my father was not home (my mother was there), and searched the premises. A boss from the power plant was there as well, and determined that the metal belonged to his company. They waited for my father to get home and they arrested him for theft and some other charges, and took him to jail on Good Friday, right before Easter.

My father argued that he was told he could have the metal, that other men had brought it to his house, and that he had permission to take it from higher supervisors. At this time, there was much tension within the power plant due to union members/power plant employee's, and non union members. My father was working there 12 hours a day 7 days a week and had became good friends with some of the power plant bosses.

This accusation dragged on for a few months, with court dates and dragging people to give statements, while my father waited for this to go to trial. Many supervisors gave depositions to the prosecutor and to my fathers attorney stating that my father had permission to take the metal but the power plant was infuriated.

Eventually, after a 6 thousand lawyer bill all charges were dropped. The prosecutor kept telling my fathers attorney that he did not have a case at all, but the power plant would not drop charges. Eventually they did, but while this was going on they had banned my father from working at the power plant until the issue was resolved.

This was a few months ago, and all charges have been dropped. To this day, my father is still banned from going to work at the power plant and cannot find work.

There was news camera's at his house, stories written up about him calling him a thief, he is not allowed to go to work at the power plant, and some other companies will not let him work there because he was falsely labeled a "thief".

He doesn't really want to sue his company, even though they damaged his name in a big way...he just wants to work, and they will not let him.

Is this legal, and what can be done about it?

[Zigner]

He can't force them to hire him back.

[Tracydr]

He's a union member, has been for 25+ years, and he works out of a hall...I guess is how you say it. The hall cannot send him anyplace to work, because this company totally ruined his name, even though charges were dropped against him.

You can't just ruin someone's life, file false charges against them, make it so they cannot get work, or no one will hire them because you said something about them...and then go on your merry way like nothing every happened.

He can't get unemployment, he can't get work....his hall and the union has told him there is nothing that they can do about it, that they want to send him to work and he's ALWAYS worked through the hall.

The company that accused him did not let anyone else go, even the men that they have on tape, with the metal in their trucks...and the supervisors that wrote him the scrap metal pass, to take the items out of the plant.

I am not sure what this falls under...defamation of character? You cant just destroy someones life, accuse them of things that they are innocent of, drag their name through the mud, and then drop everything and say "nevermind".

Can you?

[Tracydr]

And that is another part of it.....

They have other men on video tape, taking the items out of the plant. They have sworn depositions from other men that they are the ones that took the stuff, and they just took it to his house, they have sworn depositions from supervisors stating that they are the ones that gave him permission.

All of these other men are still working there, but they let my father go...he's the older one, even though he has much more experience.

Is it discrimination to do this? How can they just fire one person, and let 7 others continue to work like nothing happened, even though the 7 others admitted that they had a part in it?

[xylene]

25 years is a very long career. Your dad should have hundreds of contacts... even to easily set up his own shop.

The power plant CANNOT be forced to rehire the man

While you see your father actions innocently, and I agree they are, the power plants perception is different and I also see their point.

The fact that your dad was selling scrap for the catholic church is immaterial. Her could have been selling it for beer money. It doesn't matter.

If your dad has any case it is against his supervisor, the supervisor was in the wrong to give dad permission when he did not have the right to give it, and I am VERY surprised the DA and the power plant did not go after him also.

BY the way, the DA presses changes, the power plant does not....

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

He's a union member, has been for 25+ years, and he works out of a hall...I guess is how you say it. The hall cannot send him anyplace to work, because this company totally ruined his name, even though charges were dropped against him.

You can't just ruin someone's life, file false charges against them, make it so they cannot get work, or no one will hire them because you said something about them...and then go on your merry way like nothing every happened.

He can't get unemployment, he can't get work....his hall and the union has told him there is nothing that they can do about it, that they want to send him to work and he's ALWAYS worked through the hall.

First, you need to understand how the union hall referral system works. There are signatory contractors who have signed a contract with the union that they would hire their employees through the hall referrals. What that does is make a very close relationship between the union and the contractors.

Now, what I would suggest is he speak with his BA (he will know what that is) and ask him to send a letter to all the signatory contractors to his local that explains that your father has been exonerated of all charges and there was no merit to the charges.

Then, as your father bids on a call (he will know what that is) and is able to take a call (he will know what I mean) that the BA personally call the contractors HR department (or whomever is in charge of the company) and reinforce what the letter stated.

There are many times things similar to this happen and it is up to the union leaders to support their members by vouching for their members when such a situation was unjustly brought about. Sometimes it is merely a rumor but that can be enough to effectively blackball a worker.

Now, I cannot understand why he cannot get unemployment since he has been exonerated of all charges. What this means is his discharge for improper actions is now proven to be incorrect and he should have regained eligibility for unemployment, even retroactively if he had continued to register and report as required in Indiana throughout the entire situation.

[Zigner]

He was not exonerated. The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. That doesn't mean he didn't commit the acts, just that the DA felt it could not be proved in a criminal case.

[justalayman]

from Websters:

.Main Entry: ex·on·er·ate
Pronunciation: \ig-ˈzä-nə-ˌrāt, eg-\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): ex·on·er·at·ed; ex·on·er·at·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin exoneratus, past participle of exonerare to unburden, from ex- + oner-, onus load
Date: 1524
1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship
2 : to clear from accusation or blame

I don't know but I felt this was an exoneration:

Many supervisors gave depositions to the prosecutor and to my fathers attorney stating that my father had permission to take the metal but the power plant was infuriated.

Coupled with the inability to prosecute seems like he was exonerated to me.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by justalayman

from Websters:



I don't know but I felt this was an exoneration:

Coupled with the inability to prosecute seems like he was exonerated to me.

Not having enough evidence to prosecute "beyond a reasonable doubt" does NOT equal exoneration.

[justalayman]

First, let me say, I am basing my comments entirely on what the OP has given us. I am not trying to read into what was or was not given.

So, you must believe that everybody that is charged with a crime is guilty regardless of the outcome they experience?

It was also beyond simply lack of prosecution because of lack of evidence (which by the way is exactly what would happen if the guy actually was innocent) but he had people supporting him in his claim. He had a document giving him the right to remove the material.

Sorry Zig but Jesus isn't coming down to tell you that the guy was not guilty. I don;t know what you see but taken at face value, the guy was charged without true cause.



If you look at things, as given, there were people in levels of authority that supported the OP's dad in his claim of innocence.

He has a pass for the material:

and the supervisors that wrote him the scrap metal pass, to take the items out of the plant.

what else do you want to show the guy was charged unjustly?