What is the name of your state? Arizona
Hello, I have just recently been terminated for a job at Target here in AZ. The date of my termination was Christmas Eve (heh) and I was wondering if someone would be willing to help me sift through what happened.
They have me on charges of a Class One Misdemeanor for "stealing" pastries and drinks from the Starbucks inside of Target. The situation was this.
In mid Septemeber our Team Lead (Our boss) left the corporation without notice or telling anyone inside of Starbucks that he was leaving. The new employees, including myself, really were lost. None of us had a competent idea of how we were supposed to get things done. This includes: Ordering, complete Customer Service, the weight of drinks, training new members competently, etc. etc. We, however, did our best and things were running more or less smoothly for several months. During this time is when the "stealing" occured. The "stolen" items include: Coffee, pastries, pizza, drinks" However the largest offense (meaning the most expensive) was pastries. At the end of the night we would have our pastries day dotted with stickers that had numbers corresponding to the synonymous day (1=Monday, 2= Tuesday etc. etc.) When pastries were to be thrown out, instead of throwing them away I would take them home with me. Seeing that they were trash anyway. I had NO idea that what I was doing would have been considered illegal to Target (Due to no management, and lack of executive management in our department). The other occurences include twice making myself a drink One was probably a tea, because I was sick and the other an iced tea to have with my lunch. The coffee was for my father and the pizza was for a time when I did not have money with me. On only one of those occasions was I even aware that what I was doing could be considered theft and that was the Pizza from Food Avenue next door, and even then I compensated. All of these charges could have easily been averted if management took a more active role in our workplace and let us know what we could and couldn't do and what was and was not considered stealing. There were also two others who were fired for the same offense as I and we are all awaiting court dates.
When they pulled me into the back room to ask me about what was going on, I told them everything I did including everything I said above, I told them that I knew it was wrong then but I did not know it was wrong at the time, a fact which I am sure they just glossed over. One, I am claustrophobic and I a do not like being in enclosed spaces. Moreover, I do not like being interrogated in enclosed spaces by someone looking to charge me with something I didn't even know I committed. After our security head finished interrogating me, I paid restitution. Most of the things I replied to her were grey comments like "I suppose I did this, and I guess I did that" and after that I paid restitution which added up to 44.20. I figured that was it, and I would probably be terminated and that would have been fine. I broke protocol, it was an honest mistake and I can live with that. But getting police officers to arrest me and then send me to court with possible jail time is ridiculous. Especially if restitution was paid and it was determined that there was no malicious intent.
Sorry for being so long winded, I just need specific advice and I am not allowed to get free legal aid because it is a criminal charge. I am very upset because I am not a criminal. I am not some kind of mastermind who goes out and steals pastries from places. They are making me out to be someone like this and I don't think that this is right. Is there anything I can do? I know for a fact that Target has made many mistakes in running our Starbucks. And I have plenty of people who will testify on my behalf. All of it seems remarkably demeaning to my character considering that this is my first offense and I have nothing on my criminal record. My first court date is coming up and I am supposed to say guilty or not guilty. I have been advised to say not guilty so that we can go to trial and I can find a lawyer who will take my case. Is there anything else I should do? All advice would be most welcome.
Hello, I have just recently been terminated for a job at Target here in AZ. The date of my termination was Christmas Eve (heh) and I was wondering if someone would be willing to help me sift through what happened.
They have me on charges of a Class One Misdemeanor for "stealing" pastries and drinks from the Starbucks inside of Target. The situation was this.
In mid Septemeber our Team Lead (Our boss) left the corporation without notice or telling anyone inside of Starbucks that he was leaving. The new employees, including myself, really were lost. None of us had a competent idea of how we were supposed to get things done. This includes: Ordering, complete Customer Service, the weight of drinks, training new members competently, etc. etc. We, however, did our best and things were running more or less smoothly for several months. During this time is when the "stealing" occured. The "stolen" items include: Coffee, pastries, pizza, drinks" However the largest offense (meaning the most expensive) was pastries. At the end of the night we would have our pastries day dotted with stickers that had numbers corresponding to the synonymous day (1=Monday, 2= Tuesday etc. etc.) When pastries were to be thrown out, instead of throwing them away I would take them home with me. Seeing that they were trash anyway. I had NO idea that what I was doing would have been considered illegal to Target (Due to no management, and lack of executive management in our department). The other occurences include twice making myself a drink One was probably a tea, because I was sick and the other an iced tea to have with my lunch. The coffee was for my father and the pizza was for a time when I did not have money with me. On only one of those occasions was I even aware that what I was doing could be considered theft and that was the Pizza from Food Avenue next door, and even then I compensated. All of these charges could have easily been averted if management took a more active role in our workplace and let us know what we could and couldn't do and what was and was not considered stealing. There were also two others who were fired for the same offense as I and we are all awaiting court dates.
When they pulled me into the back room to ask me about what was going on, I told them everything I did including everything I said above, I told them that I knew it was wrong then but I did not know it was wrong at the time, a fact which I am sure they just glossed over. One, I am claustrophobic and I a do not like being in enclosed spaces. Moreover, I do not like being interrogated in enclosed spaces by someone looking to charge me with something I didn't even know I committed. After our security head finished interrogating me, I paid restitution. Most of the things I replied to her were grey comments like "I suppose I did this, and I guess I did that" and after that I paid restitution which added up to 44.20. I figured that was it, and I would probably be terminated and that would have been fine. I broke protocol, it was an honest mistake and I can live with that. But getting police officers to arrest me and then send me to court with possible jail time is ridiculous. Especially if restitution was paid and it was determined that there was no malicious intent.
Sorry for being so long winded, I just need specific advice and I am not allowed to get free legal aid because it is a criminal charge. I am very upset because I am not a criminal. I am not some kind of mastermind who goes out and steals pastries from places. They are making me out to be someone like this and I don't think that this is right. Is there anything I can do? I know for a fact that Target has made many mistakes in running our Starbucks. And I have plenty of people who will testify on my behalf. All of it seems remarkably demeaning to my character considering that this is my first offense and I have nothing on my criminal record. My first court date is coming up and I am supposed to say guilty or not guilty. I have been advised to say not guilty so that we can go to trial and I can find a lawyer who will take my case. Is there anything else I should do? All advice would be most welcome.
