Legal Question in Business Law in California
Wrongful Termination
I was a manager at a pizza restaurant. After a brief rush of customers I was making a drop of money into the safe when I heard a voice say ''give me that''. When I looked up it was a man with a gun who then robbed me of the drop money then asked for everything in the drawer. I was so upset I could not go in the next day for my shift. When the next time I was to go to work arrived I was told I was fired for the robbery. This was the 2nd time I was robbed. I gave up the money per company policy but was told ''that the robber got too much money''. The policy states that not more then $150 in the drawer, but I know of other stores that have been robbed for more and the employees are still working and have not been fired. Technically the money was not in the drawer because I was in the process of dropping the money when the armed robber came into the store. I also know of an incident at another store which was robbed. The manager gave up all the money, was not making a drop, but was over the limit. They are still employed by the company. I feel that I was wrongfully terminated.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Wrongful Termination
Unfortunately, California law is that you can be terminated for any reason except for illegal reasons. However, you might have a workers compensation claim for the emotional distress that arose from the two robberies and perhaps the subsequent termination. Good luck to you.
Re: Wrongful Termination
If you do not have a written employment contract, the general rule in California is that you can be fired without any reason, except for an "impermissible reason" such as race, religion, etc.
That rule changes if you have a written employment agreement that provides that you will only be terminated "for cause".
Additionally, there are some other factors here that you have mentioned such as the company's policy not to resist a robbery and to turn over the money such that they may be violating their own policies by terminating you for that reason.
Did you receive a written reason for the termination? You should ask for a copy of your employee file and find out the reason(s) listed in your file for your termination.
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Re: Wrongful Termination
This is a suprisingly compelling factual situation. If your employer was a large company I would be even more interested in this.
Please get an attorney
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Re: Wrongful Termination
Sounds like a bad place to work, but yes, if you can show your firing was different treatment than others, you can make a wrongful termination claim on that basis. Contact me if interested in discussing facts and procedures.
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