Fired from work for something the managers do... Can I sue? (advice needed)

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Bluelighter
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Jul 6, 2010
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I hope anybody here can give me some advice on this matter.

Basically, I worked at a certain fast food chain for several months until 2 days ago. A cousin of my coworker entered the store and my cousin pointed him out, in which case I went and gave him an extra sandwich alongside the one he had ordered from me and paid for. A manager of mine (we'll call him douchecock) saw this and confronted me about it, asking how many sandwiches were on the register screen. I did not lie, and he told me to clock out and go home. I also managed to get the sandwich back from my coworker's cousin before he left the store, showed it to douchecock, put it back and said "I got it back". To which he replied "I don't care, I don't see any sandwich".

After I'd finished getting dressed and was about to leave, Douchecock informed me that the head manager there stated I could not work there anymore for violation of "company policy" whom he'd spoken to on the phone (i.e. can't give away free food since free food = money)

However: it should be noted that this "violating of company policy" is a NORMAL OCCURRENCE at this place. Nearly every manager specifically tells the cooks to make food for their family/friends when they come in, there have been times when coworkers have been in my situation and managers have ALLOWED THEM to, and Douchecock in particular is the hugest violator of this. For instance, he would give away free food on the basis that he thinks certain guys are cute (let it be known that Douchecock is a vagrantly homosexual middle-aged Rastafarian whose best achievement in life is being manager of said food-chain, and, when left as the only manager in the store, proceeds to make EXTREMELY lewd, discomforting sexual comments every 3 minutes to the males in the store; he has been reported for sexual harassment but nobody has taken action). He also LOVES to pick favorites

So tl;dr: I got fired for giving away (though I returned it) a sandwich when they themselves constantly and consistently violate the same policy which I apparently did. Can I take any legal action against the company/management for this? I would appreciate it wholeheartedly if I got a concrete answer before Friday (as I go in to get my last paycheck then).

I am also not just doing this out of spite; I need this job as the financial situation at home is terrible, I told them of this that homelessness is a real possibility if I lose this job. They've let many people slide for this AND it is obvious that Douchecock has something against me (because I don't take his lewd sexual harrassment lightly and voice my uncomfort).

Help?
 
Also, taking into consideration that giving away free food = giving away money, technically the company has by now lost several hundreds on account of sir douchecock. And company policy applies to everyone, managers included, and they should enforce this policy and set an example to the other workers.
 
Do police officers let you go because other people are speeding too?

I say don't end up like Douchecock and find a different job. A lawsuit would probably take up more time and money than just finding a new job.
 
I don't think you can sue the manager for being a hypocrite. But if you want, talk to a lawyer, who knows, one could take your case maybe.
 
As far as I know, the only way you could sue and have some chance of winning is if other employees are allowed to do this, which they are not. Just because someone else breaks the rules doesn't give you a legal right to do so. You could probably get douchecock in trouble though if you reported him to someone higher up. I know what you mean about stuff like this being a normal occurrence though. I have a friend that works at McDonalds and he hooks me and my friends up all the time.
 
I doubt you have a case when it comes to the sandwich. Just because others break the rules doesn't mean they can't use the rules against you... that is just the way it is.

But you may have a case when it comes to the sexual harassment stuff. That sounds like a pretty gross working environment. I don't know much about the legal stuff. But if you have witnesses and what not.... ?? Maybe, I don't know.
 
No. The employee manual is pretty clear: giving product away free constitutes theft and is grounds for dismissal. The "everybody else does it, why can't I" won't work with corporate or a prospective employer. Accept responsibility and move on.
 
I'm not a lawyer, but it doesn't appear that you have grounds for wrongful dismissal. If you were clearly caught in violation of a company policy for which termination of employment is a possible repercussion, it sounds like your employer has their bases covered.

As for giving the food back, that wouldn't make any difference because they can't re-sell it due to health reasons, and they still consider you responsible for that loss of potential revenue.

Since your manager appears to be in charge of hiring and firing, it was probably at his discretion to enforce the company policy which resulted in your termination. Proving that he has violated this same company policy likely won't get you your job back, and might be hard to do.

Ask yourself, is it worth your time to peruse this? What type of resolution are you seeking?
 
It does seem unfair, but unfair doesn't mean you have a lawsuit.

I think your best move here is political:

1) Are you friendly with any of the manager's favorites? If so, get one of them to make a plea for you, expressing that you haven't done something like that before, won't do it again, and are a good employee;

2) Talk to the manager yourself shortly thereafter. Emphasize that this will never happen again, and that you'll actually be a better employee because of the incident. Talk about how much you value the job.

3) If 1 and 2 do not work, do not simply leave things on a bad note, no matter how pissed you are.

This is a tough situation, but one which you'll survive, and the lesson you've learned is invaluable: work is politics. Your bosses will not always act fairly, and simply because others are breaking rules doesn't mean that you should. Ideally you never want to be in a position where you've broken a rule and could be terminated.

Hang in there. And apply to other jobs! You'll get one.
 
Thank you everyone for the input. To make it clear yes, this manager actually does let everyone else do this yet only persecuted me for it, and upon further contemplation I've come to the conclusion that

A) nothing can really be done as he tends to abuse what little, transparent, illusory "power" he believes he has and lies extensively when it comes down to him vs. coworkers situations

B) I do accept responsibility for what I did, and I'm not surprised this happened as he has it out for me

C) Someone said to take action on account of the sexual comments he makes to people. Well, not much can be done unfortunately as there have been a TREMENDOUS amount of "anonymous" complaints about him to the higher-ups... all who, upon receiving said complaint, inform McDouchecock who did it; subsequently their work experience spirals into absolute hell or, they are promptly fired/working hours reduced to like 1 day a week.

Regardless, I'm off today to go job hunting. If nothing comes of it, it just means more time for me to start studying and focus on the upcoming school term.

No use crying over spilled milk they say, especially if said milk consisted of urine and fecal matter.

The city's NYC, chain was McDonalds.

@Heuristic: I'm on good terms with the other managers, however they aren't on good terms with Douchecock as he enjoys to make our life, as well as theirs as misery-ridden as can be.

Talking to this guy is like talking to a rabid raccoon on DXM. Just won't work. I even told him I would not do this again, and I am in dire need of the job (not really, but it doesn't hurt to say such). All in all I see this as a sign that this year will be one of great change, which I feel inside to be a positive one.
 
standard custom and practise may come into play in an unfair dismissal case. that is if you are covered by unfair dismissal laws.
 
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