Question about search by employer and discrimination..

[abcisme]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

I am posting on behalf of my mother. She is employed in a hair salon which is inside a retail department store (big department store chain).

Recently the salon manager said that one of the employees stole some equipment from the salon (no proof and no one was specifically accused). (This manager has a habit of misplacing things and then magically having them appear again...)

Now the store manager is requiring that everyone's personal belongings need to be searched before they leave the salon. However, the search does not extend to the employees within the retail area of the store.

My questions are - first, is this illegal for him to search the employees personal belongings without having it in company policy and without having proof that anyone actually did anything wrong? And second, is it discriminatory for the store to limit the search to the salon employees only?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cbg]

By personal belongings, are you referring to people's purses and pockets, or the contents of their lockers?

It is DEFINITELY not illegal to limit the searches to salon employees.

 

[abcisme]

I mean the entire contents of their bags, purses, pockets, etc. The search is being done before they are allowed to leave the store at the end of their shift each day.

I could see maybe if you just had to open your bag and show them, but they are actually rummaging through the bags and removing the contents.

 

[cbg]

Let me put it this way: I am in the same state as your mother, and I am not aware of any laws that would be violated by this search.

They are not required to have a written policy on any issue before they can take action. They are not required to have proof of theft before they can protect themselves. They are not singling people out on the basis of any protected characteristic. I have never been in a retail setting but my best friend spent 17 years in one, and I think I'd have heard if the law prohibited such searches. I KNOW that they are legal in other states; I have a colleague who works for a jewelry manufacturer, and her employees have to go through a metal detector every night. I have no reason to believe that Massachusetts is any different.

Look at it this way, while I fully understand why you are upset about this and I'm not saying that I'd feel any differently, the search will actually serve to clear any employee who submits to it. Refusal only provides suspicion.

A friend of mine in similar circumstances once suggested bringing personal belongings in clear plastic bags so that it can be immediately seen what is in it. My personal response would be to stuff my glasses case and my wallet in my glove compartment (locking my car, of course) and not bringing any personal items into the store at all.