Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Falsely Accused of Theft
I am a retail manager. I was called in by LP because ''someone'' noticed I had new accessories on my car that we sell at our store. As I explained to LP, I purchased these items for cash four months ago and do not have the receipts now (there was no warranty on them so no reason to keep receipts) so they are accusing me of stealing them. They can not even show me that these items are part of my stores shrinkage or are missing at all from my inventory. Now, they are saying that they will specifically question the employees that ''might'' have sold them to me to see if they remember me buying them.
It seems improper for them to specifially ask employees if they remember me paying for specific items. The way we wer trained to ask about theft was to ask employees if they had information as to where missing items might have gone, never pointing a finger at anyone. Even if the investigation is dropped, within days, my name will be on the grapevine as a thief. What should I do to protect myself?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Falsely Accused of Theft
Employers have a right to investigate suspected employee theft and you have a duty to cooperate with that investigation.
If you are accused of theft and there is no evidence to support that accusation, you may have a claim for libel or slander, depending on the circumstances.
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