Employee Theft

[AmandaLL]

New York State

I’m a former GM for a hotel. I was let go due to the fact that I didn’t catch a lot of cash being taken from the hotel by a staff member. There is no proof that she took all the money, but many people have seen her take cash and other items from the hotel. They’ve turned it over to the cops, nobody has been accused yet so we will all be questioned. I had no knowledge of this going on and did not catch it which is why they let me go. However since I was the Manager and responsible for the hotel and finances, I’m worried they will try to pin this on me. If they come to talk to me, is it fine to do so since I had no knowledge anything going on and am innocent, or is it best to consult a lawyer and not talk to them? I feel like if I get a lawyer and don’t talk then I’ll look guilty for doing so, at the same time if they try to accuse me and I don’t have a lawyer then that won’t be good.

The person I believe did this, aside from other staff members saying yes they saw her take items and cash before, we have no camera proof or anything like that actually showing her take it. My fear is that if they can’t prove her, it will fall on me since I was the manager responsible for the deposits and all the finances. I wasn’t trained properly so wasn’t printing the right forms daily or i would have caught it much sooner.

I know the authorities will begin questioning all current and former employees soon, so just trying to be prepared.

 

[Shadowbunny]

If you are accused of a crime, do NOT talk to anyone about it, including your former employer, the police, family, friends, etc. Instead, get an attorney if you are contacted by the police. If the employer wants to speak to you about it, decline to do so.

 

[AmandaLL]

I haven’t been accused of anything and told my boss my concerns about the former employee taking cash and items before I left the company. But they have already stated that it’s been turned over to the authorities and they will be contacting all current and former staff as they aren’t accusing anyone and they are leaving it all to the authorities. My worries are the fact that I was the GM so if they don’t find proof of her doing anything that it will fall on me simply because I was in charge of everything. When they come to talk to everyone I don’t want to pull the lawyer card right away as that looks like I did do something wrong which I didn’t and wasn’t aware of anything, but at the same I’m worried that I’ll be accused of something later simply because I was in charge.

 

[cbg]

You're putting on your track shoes before you know if there's going to be a race. Relax, slow down. There will be plenty of time to contact a lawyer if you actually are accused of anything, which is not even remotely certain.

 

[commentator]

File for unemployment benefits, wait and see if you are accused of anything. You can be fired at will, so that's not a case or an issue. But if they cannot show that they had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you, you get unemployment benefits while you are looking for another job. There's no case against you, the employer simply elected to fire you. That's within their legal scope to do so. Get unemployment, and move on.

 

[quincy]

If you were responsible for the finances and the deposits - and you did not notice money was being siphoned from receipts over an extended period of time - you were rightfully let go from your position as general manager.

It is possible that you could be found to have some liability for the losses because you did not manage the staff well enough to prevent the thefts. This could especially be the case if a staff member informed you early on that they thought another staff member might be taking cash or other items.

Watch this YouTube video before you are questioned by anyone about the money - and then don't answer any questions until you have a lawyer :

Good luck.

 

[AmandaLL]

I will watch, thank you. I understand being let go as I did not catch it and regardless of how I was trained it happened on my watch as a manager, so I get that part unfortunately.

I was not aware until near the end of my employment that there were issues with this lady or things going missing, not to this extent. I certainly had no knowledge and nothing to do with it, so wanted to make sure I didn’t need to get a lawyer for the first time they go around to talk to everyone.

 

[quincy]

You should have a lawyer before saying anything. Again, view the video and see how even a statement uttered in all honesty and innocence can create problems for you.

Good luck.