I need legal advice! (important)

[Al B. Sure!]

I work at a Checkers. Every morning, the opening manager has to deposit last night's sales at the bank. Because none of the managers have cars, everyone has to take the bus, usually wearing plain clothes.

today, someone was robbed en route. Because the last manager who was robbed two months ago was fired, this manager attempted to cover his ass by claiming that he was set up... someone in the store, he claimed, called the muggers and told them where he was and what he was wearing.

I was in the store... and i did make a phone call while he was away, though obviously not to any muggers.

now i'm under investigation...

first of all, does a business even have the right to fire people for getting robbed if all the proper protocols were followed? Secondly, what are my rights in this situation? What should I do? If I am fired, what can I do? I live in Pennsylvania. Would I be able to sue for wrongful termination?


thank you.

[chequita guevara]

They'll pull the phone records to see who you called if you're a serious suspect. They can then check to see who that person is, and whether they think they'd be involved in a robbery.

In many states, I don't know about PA, a person can be fired for any reason. You work at will. If they decide to fire someone for being robbed, while it may seem unfair, there ain't a lot you can do about it. These are so-called "right-to-work" states, typical Orwellian language.

[Ming]

Just tell them who you called and why... and then tell them to check the phone records to prove it.

And yeah, they can probably fire you without cause.

[chequita guevara]

Hell, it's only Checkers. It's not like it's a real job.

[OzzyKP]

Unionize!

[GePap]

Well, right now you have your basic constituional rights vs. unlawful search and ceasure when it ocmes to the investigation.

And the store can probably fire you at will.

[mrmitchell]

I was in the store... and i did make a phone call while he was away, though obviously not to any muggers.

How does he know you made a phone call while he was away? Did he already check call logs, or did you tell him, or was there a witness?

[C0ckney]

if you can prove to your boss that the call you made was innocent then doing that is a good idea, for example if it was to a mobile then the call would show up in the call register of that phone, or getting them to check their phone records, but this may be hard to do (conclusively at least) and they may not believe you.

the most important questions you should ask yourself are, do i want to work somewhere that treats people like that? and where people will think i'm basically a low-down criminal? the answer should probably be NO, but it's your call.

my advice to you in this situation would be to make sure you have some evidence (at least the person you called verifying that it was them you called) and then tell them to stick their job where the sun don't shine.

[Al B. Sure!]

yeah right... i've been trying to get a better job forever... when i lost my last job, I was unemployed for 4 months and was rejected by every place. That checkers was the only one to hire me and that only because i knew someone who worked there and vouched for me. I won't be able to survive if I lose this job...

it's crazy though... i went through their management training program twice (i've only worked there for 8 months! i was in training for three of those months) but was never given a raise/promotion... both times I was nearly certified and they promoted someone else. but getting $5.50 in the most dead-end job in america seems like the only opportunity out there for a business student.

[Al B. Sure!]

mrmitchell:

How does he know you made a phone call while he was away? Did he already check call logs, or did you tell him, or was there a witness?

he guessed... tried a probable thing to cover his ass so he won't get fired. there was absolutely no way for him to know anyone made a phone call. it's just a fairly likely occurance.

[C0ckney]

so do people know you actually made a phone call?

[Al B. Sure!]

yes. I said I did and they checked the cameras and saw me talking on the phone.

[C0ckney]

then see my first post

[Al B. Sure!]

cockney:

yeah... the person i called confirmed and they're checking the phone logs... nevertheless, I don't have a good feeling about this... they may want someone to blame.

[Sava]

dude, you robbed your boss? that's cold