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Can my boss legally fire me or tell me to go >>>>>

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goregirl

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas:mad:
I misread an ID and thought it said 88....lo and behold it did not...i sold cigarettes to a minor..The prosecutor decided not to fine me but they fined my employer...My boss told me I HAD to pay the fine for him or I can "walk". Can he legally do this to me...its like my boss committing a crime and forcing me to pay his fine for him or I lose my job...this was a complete accident and although it is only a gas station job...its all I have. Can he force me to pay his hefty fine or fire me for not paying it...I only make around minimum wage and am strapped weekly as it is..I need my job and am desperate to know if this is legal in the state of Kansas.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas:mad:
I misread an ID and thought it said 88....lo and behold it did not...i sold cigarettes to a minor..The prosecutor decided not to fine me but they fined my employer...My boss told me I HAD to pay the fine for him or I can "walk". Can he legally do this to me...its like my boss committing a crime and forcing me to pay his fine for him or I lose my job...this was a complete accident and although it is only a gas station job...its all I have. Can he force me to pay his hefty fine or fire me for not paying it...I only make around minimum wage and am strapped weekly as it is..I need my job and am desperate to know if this is legal in the state of Kansas.
How in the world is this like your boss committing a crime and forcing you to pay the fine? YOU committed the crime (analogous)! He should fire you.

ETA: No, he can't force you to pay it. Yes, he can fire you.
 

Isis1

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas:mad:
I misread an ID and thought it said 88....lo and behold it did not...i sold cigarettes to a minor..The prosecutor decided not to fine me but they fined my employer...My boss told me I HAD to pay the fine for him or I can "walk". Can he legally do this to me...its like my boss committing a crime and forcing me to pay his fine for him or I lose my job...this was a complete accident and although it is only a gas station job...its all I have. Can he force me to pay his hefty fine or fire me for not paying it...I only make around minimum wage and am strapped weekly as it is..I need my job and am desperate to know if this is legal in the state of Kansas.
it is ABSOLUTELY and PERFECTLY legal to fire you for this instance.

it is also legal for him to ask you to pay and keep your job.

see, you can decide to quit and not pay. or pay and keep your job. he's giving you a second chance.
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kansas:mad:
I misread an ID and thought it said 88....lo and behold it did not...i sold cigarettes to a minor..The prosecutor decided not to fine me but they fined my employer...My boss told me I HAD to pay the fine for him or I can "walk". Can he legally do this to me...its like my boss committing a crime and forcing me to pay his fine for him or I lose my job...this was a complete accident and although it is only a gas station job...its all I have. Can he force me to pay his hefty fine or fire me for not paying it...I only make around minimum wage and am strapped weekly as it is..I need my job and am desperate to know if this is legal in the state of Kansas.
Yes, it's legal.

*whoa, got here late!*
 

commentator

Senior Member
Do not walk. Let him fire you for refusing to pay this. Then immediately, file for unemployment benefits. You have a pretty good chance of being approved. Emphasize that you did not quit, that you wanted to keep your job. Stress that you always did your job to the best of your abilities, and that you did not mean to make the error of selling to this underage person. It had never happened before.

How much are we talking about here, as far as what he wants you to pay? Was he planning on deducting it from your paychecks? If he "lets you quit" or you agree to say you are quitting, then it is very much harder to be approved for unemployment benefits. But you aren't quitting. He is giving you an ultimatum, either pay the fines or I will fire you. That's not quitting.

But then neither is it your boss "committing a crime and forcing me to pay for it" either. You were actually the one who made the error, while you were working at his store. This was not him committing a crime, it was your poor management of his best interests. So don't get too dramatic. Had you any sort of policy at this store about this sort of incident? Had it ever been discussed with employees, written down in a handbook?

Yes, legally he can fire you. Otherwise, he cannot force you to pay this. He can say pay or be fired, but if, as you say, there is no way you can pay these fines for him, he certainly has the right to terminate you. He is required to pay you at least minimum wage for the hours you do work, but he can certainly fire you for selling to a minor, OR for selling to a minor and refusing to pay his fines for him.

If your financial situation is as tight as you indicate, you definitely need to file for and hopefully be approved for unemployment benefits if he does fire you. You might consider asking him to take the repayment of the fine in small increments and keep the job. But its up to you. If you are approved for unemployment, it will take several weeks, maybe seven or eight weeks from the time you file until you would receive any benefits.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I agree that the employer can legally fire you for this. In fact, I can't for the life of me imagine why you might think otherwise.

However, I do not agree that the employer can require the employee to pay the fine. Absolutely he cannot require it by payroll deduction.

While I acknowledge that "fines incurred because of the employee's error" is not listed here, I think the spirit of the law is pretty clear. At the very least the poster should check with the KS DOL.

http://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/wage-payment-laws/state-wage-payment-laws/kansas/
 

TinkerBelleLuvr

Senior Member
Would this fall under deductions from a paycheck that are for the benefit of the employer? If so, then said deductions cannot take a person's pay below minimum wage.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I think that case could easily be made, yes. But I can also see the state determining that a fine for an employee's error is a cost of doing business that CANNOT be passed onto the employee.

No matter how you look at it, I think the OP's first item of business tomorrow needs to be to get on the horn with the state DOL. The firing is 100% legal- there's no possible question of that. But requiring the OP to pay the fine is VERY questionable at best.
 

Chyvan

Member
Another thing to consider, is even if he leads you to believe that if you pay you can keep your job, the fact is, as soon as you pay him, he can end up firing you anyway.
 

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