by damion
(brooklyn)
I am an employee of a big time retail store and was fired today over the phone, yesterday i was at work and was told to come to the office i was told to sit in a hot un ventilated room about the size of a minivan which included me and a heavy set man. I was told that i abused my employee discount 2 years ago in the beginning when i first started, i told the man that this is not true and have my employee discount card to show how many units i have bought within each month, he went on to say i am a liar he has everything in black and white and wants to know what i have stole in the company cause he knows i have stole i then said no i haven’t stole anything where would all this be coming from? He then told me that i had to sign the agreement that i did abuse my employee discount and that i did it on purpose i told him that i am not signing anything that i know i did not do i have my evidence that i didn’t do it and i am not signing anything he then said you either resign right now or sign it i said im not doin either. He then went on to say he knows people who have used the discount to sell things on ebay and he used to be a psychologist and knows that my body language is lying, i said to him i have to use the bathroom and he said no so i said this is the reason for me sweating because im being held like im in jail and being told that i stole and that abused my discount adn furthermore its hot in here. he told me that i was being suspended until further notice and that i would not be able to see the proof that he has against me, after i went home i was trying to call hr all day and left several messages to help me understand why im being wrongfully accused and no one replyed. He then called me the next day and told me over the phone that he spoke to hr and they decided to terminate me. Is this fair would i be able to fight this and can i get unemployment or even sue they have layed off about 5-10 ft employees a week before i wsnt getting much hours either could this be a trick so i cant get unemployment.
Hi Damion,
A psychologist eh? Was he LP? Sounds like an ex-officer of the law with some experience in interrogation:)
If you didn’t do it. It’s more than likely a tactic. There is nothing to sue them for. An employer can fire you for any reason they choose.
But I would like to commend you for not signing an admission of wrong doing .. especially in New York .. that’s a bad move whether you did it or not and you would have been done for whether you were guilty or signing out of fear due to the harassing nature of the episode.
It’s basic common sense that there needs to be a relationship between the misconduct and the point in time when fired for it.
Yes, If you have proof .. I’d say you have a case to get benefits, but beware Damion .. This doesn’t mean you’ll get benefits from the start.
If this is a BIG retail outfit that I am familiar with .. trust me they will have an LP investigative document, a copy of the discount policy and your signed acknowledgment of receipt of the policy submitted to the state. That’s basically all it takes to get a winning initial decision, but there are things you can do to try to counter.
Damion, start with the NY Interpretation Index
And if you think you still need help contact me.