The reason I'm posting this: I know Southperry is full of some very smart individuals and I want others input on something of this nature. I like to see things from different points of views and I know you guys can help me with that.
After some recent events at my mother's workplace, she has been contemplating suing the company over a few different things. The main reason would be the fact that Family Dollar Stores, Inc. has nothing to protect it's employees in this specific location. This store has no Camera's. No security system. No NOTHING. It has a small safe in the back to keep the money over night, but that is it.
The store is located in Geneva, NY. This is a really bad town. I mean, a few weeks ago there were two people beaten with baseball bats on main street in the middle of town. The thing is, I know there are worse towns out there, but Geneva is pretty bad. I can think back to 3 different occasions over the past 2 years where they have been shootings.
Mostly everything started about 3 months ago after Inventory at my Mother's store. She's been the Manager at this Family Dollar for 13 years, since it opened. And like most other places, they inventory to take count of losses. Well, they had a huge loss of merchandise that was revealed by the inventory that took place. The only possible explanation was that someone was stealing. This particular event doesn't have a huge impact on why we might be suing, but it has a small role. Anyways, someone was going to get fired. There was only one person that could have been stealing from the store. Most of you should know you just can't fire someone over nothing. There has to be cause. There were no grounds to fire this employee except that she might be stealing. But she was. My mother requested for help with the situation several times, but she was left in the cold. So she says.
Lets fast forward 2 months to the event that has cause health complications for my mother. A few weeks ago, there was a robbery. Sure, it's expected because of the town this store is located in, but in the 13 years it's been there this is the first of this scale.
It started on a night where the closing time was extended to 9:00pm when it's usually 7:00pm. This is something that's not common, but it has happened before. The store is actually going to be making a transition into the 9:00pm closing schedule this coming September. But, anyways, my mother had to close up alone that night. The usual routine takes about 15 minutes, counting the drawers, filling out a few slips, putting the money in the safe, closing and locking the 3 doors and heading home. This night went as normal as every other night.
It was the next morning that pomegranate went down. She was called in about a robbery that took place at the store later when she left the store. After an investigation, they found out that some bastard hid in the Paper Towel and Toilet paper pyramid in the back part of the store before she closed up for that night. The pineappleer HID in this god damn thing. He was in the store, alone with my mother. Hiding, waiting to pineappleing steal either money or merchandise from this place. My mother was put in immediate danger, and she's shaken up by this. This man could have killed her, taken the $6,000 they made from that day, and no one would have had a clue what happened until the morning. I am not happy about this at all.
Shortly finding out about all this, she was suspended until further noticed. pineappleing suspended? For what you ask? She didn't do anything wrong. Well, here's what happened. She left the Key to disabled the loud noise the loading door makes if it's open without it. My mother closes and opens this store. And when she doesn't, she has the key. The thing is, she was suspended over leaving this key in the back, over a policy that didn't exist. Yet. The Assistant manager cannot have one of these keys on their person, in case he could be stealing. My mother followed that to the T. Because she opened and closed the store, no one except her had this key. So when she closed, she left it in the back room. The guy that hid in the back after closing got a hold of this key to disable the noise the door makes to get the merchandise out it. Mind you, this door is in front of the store because of the location it's in.
So, the guy used this key to get the stuff out the door. But, it wouldn't have mattered at all. He still could have used the front door because they lock from the inside, and a key from the outside. So my mother was suspended for this, over a policy that didn't exist. It was just "good" to keep the key away from the assistant manager because of the above reason. It was instructed by my mother's boss to do so, which she did.
Seriously, this is a bunch of nonsense. As of right now, there aren't any plans from what I know to put security systems in, or anything else. Everything is still going on as normal.
Now, the thing that makes me rage is the fact that I could have lost my mother because of this company's incompetence. Like I said, no cameras or alarms are in this store. If something would have happened, I'd be out my mom and the guy would have got off scott free. The other thing is this "policy". My mother is smart and she understand to follow everything exactly as it is so they can't get out on something. But the policy didn't even exist before this event.
Now, it comes down to these facts. Is there a case here? I think there's something. Surely there is something. But I want other opinions. Have away.
edit: The way they found out about the man hiding in the pyramid is the fact that there were puddles of piss in it from him waiting for her to close.
After some recent events at my mother's workplace, she has been contemplating suing the company over a few different things. The main reason would be the fact that Family Dollar Stores, Inc. has nothing to protect it's employees in this specific location. This store has no Camera's. No security system. No NOTHING. It has a small safe in the back to keep the money over night, but that is it.
The store is located in Geneva, NY. This is a really bad town. I mean, a few weeks ago there were two people beaten with baseball bats on main street in the middle of town. The thing is, I know there are worse towns out there, but Geneva is pretty bad. I can think back to 3 different occasions over the past 2 years where they have been shootings.
Mostly everything started about 3 months ago after Inventory at my Mother's store. She's been the Manager at this Family Dollar for 13 years, since it opened. And like most other places, they inventory to take count of losses. Well, they had a huge loss of merchandise that was revealed by the inventory that took place. The only possible explanation was that someone was stealing. This particular event doesn't have a huge impact on why we might be suing, but it has a small role. Anyways, someone was going to get fired. There was only one person that could have been stealing from the store. Most of you should know you just can't fire someone over nothing. There has to be cause. There were no grounds to fire this employee except that she might be stealing. But she was. My mother requested for help with the situation several times, but she was left in the cold. So she says.
Lets fast forward 2 months to the event that has cause health complications for my mother. A few weeks ago, there was a robbery. Sure, it's expected because of the town this store is located in, but in the 13 years it's been there this is the first of this scale.
It started on a night where the closing time was extended to 9:00pm when it's usually 7:00pm. This is something that's not common, but it has happened before. The store is actually going to be making a transition into the 9:00pm closing schedule this coming September. But, anyways, my mother had to close up alone that night. The usual routine takes about 15 minutes, counting the drawers, filling out a few slips, putting the money in the safe, closing and locking the 3 doors and heading home. This night went as normal as every other night.
It was the next morning that pomegranate went down. She was called in about a robbery that took place at the store later when she left the store. After an investigation, they found out that some bastard hid in the Paper Towel and Toilet paper pyramid in the back part of the store before she closed up for that night. The pineappleer HID in this god damn thing. He was in the store, alone with my mother. Hiding, waiting to pineappleing steal either money or merchandise from this place. My mother was put in immediate danger, and she's shaken up by this. This man could have killed her, taken the $6,000 they made from that day, and no one would have had a clue what happened until the morning. I am not happy about this at all.
Shortly finding out about all this, she was suspended until further noticed. pineappleing suspended? For what you ask? She didn't do anything wrong. Well, here's what happened. She left the Key to disabled the loud noise the loading door makes if it's open without it. My mother closes and opens this store. And when she doesn't, she has the key. The thing is, she was suspended over leaving this key in the back, over a policy that didn't exist. Yet. The Assistant manager cannot have one of these keys on their person, in case he could be stealing. My mother followed that to the T. Because she opened and closed the store, no one except her had this key. So when she closed, she left it in the back room. The guy that hid in the back after closing got a hold of this key to disable the noise the door makes to get the merchandise out it. Mind you, this door is in front of the store because of the location it's in.
So, the guy used this key to get the stuff out the door. But, it wouldn't have mattered at all. He still could have used the front door because they lock from the inside, and a key from the outside. So my mother was suspended for this, over a policy that didn't exist. It was just "good" to keep the key away from the assistant manager because of the above reason. It was instructed by my mother's boss to do so, which she did.
Seriously, this is a bunch of nonsense. As of right now, there aren't any plans from what I know to put security systems in, or anything else. Everything is still going on as normal.
Now, the thing that makes me rage is the fact that I could have lost my mother because of this company's incompetence. Like I said, no cameras or alarms are in this store. If something would have happened, I'd be out my mom and the guy would have got off scott free. The other thing is this "policy". My mother is smart and she understand to follow everything exactly as it is so they can't get out on something. But the policy didn't even exist before this event.
Now, it comes down to these facts. Is there a case here? I think there's something. Surely there is something. But I want other opinions. Have away.
edit: The way they found out about the man hiding in the pyramid is the fact that there were puddles of piss in it from him waiting for her to close.