Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Ive lost the keys to open/close the small store I work at. Ive have a great track record having not lost my keys for years. I lost them and now they said I have to pay to re-key the entire building. Can they really make me pay to re-key everything? Or just for the replacement key? Ive never had a business threaten to do this before...
2 Answers from Attorneys
They probably can't make you pay to rekey, BUT.... In general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, with or without �cause� or explanation. The employee's goal should be to keep the employer happy. It's your call.
Employees are not liable to the employer for accidents or mistakes they make, unless the employer can prove the employee committed gross negligence. If you simply lost the key, that is probably not sufficient to be defined as gross negligence. And it is illegal for the employer to help itself by taking the money from your paycheck.
But, as Mr. Nelson says, you can be disciplined, even fired for the mistake, assuming you are an "at-will" employee.
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