Wrongfully accused and terminated

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geniusmech

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I was recently accused of intentionally damaging a key componant in the operation of a machine I run at work. The machine went down last Wed morning due to a bearing that seized and broke a shaft on a conveyor. That was only one thing. It should've been a fairly easy fix. And that was. After the machine was put back together another problem came up that was unrelated to the conveyor shaft. The next day they called in a electronics tech to troubleshoot and fix the problem. He found the problem ordered the part and installed it later that day. And the machine had one other mechanical issue that was again unrelated to the first 2 problems. And the 3rd shift operator worked with another guy to fix that and was unsuccessful and went home at 4am. I came in at 5am for my shift and atempted to finish what the 3rd shift guy couldn't. I put the tool in that the other guy took out and attempted to run. Another employee was standing with me and as I loaded the program and wait for the ok to press start he walked behind the electrical cabinate out of my sight. I got the ok and when I pressed start the machine lost communication with the controller, I walked around to the same area the other guy did so I could see the status of controller as I came around the corner the other guy just finished letting go of the door that gives access to these componants. I dint think much of it and I opened the door and saw the fault indicators all lit. I told the other guy that the controller just failed, and he replied he just looked at it and it was fine. I powered down the machine and waited a min and restarted it. Unable to zero anything out and I had the same alarm as befor the tech came in. I tried for 2 hours to make it work again and unsuccessful I went home. They called me to come back and help the guy that came in this time to fix it. I did. Through his careful inspection of things he discovered that the module board had been damaged, intentionally.
I helped the guy put it in and everything worked again except the one issue with the misaligned axis, unrelated to that componant. The plant manager called me in his office and him and another higher up out right accused me of sabotaging the machine. I denied any resonsability and told them exactly what I witnessed earlier. He then asked if I would submit to a poly-graph test and I agreed to not only do that but also I stated I would cooperate in what ever else they wanted to get to the bottom of this incident. They said ok and that I maybe shadowed for a while due to a trust issue they are faced with and I agreed. After all I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. I finished out my time and went home. Later that evening they called me and told me not to come in anymore. I was a trial to hire employee.
What can I do to clear my name? Do I have a case? This is a very serious accusation. I lost my only means of puttin food on the table and paying my bills. I know that there has to be something. They talked like they were goin to go forward with all this poly graph stuff and now they act like they already got their man and the case is closed. Ideas?
 
I'm sorry, but can you please break off what happened into something easier to read. Paragraphs, etc. ?

it's not your fault, it's just that with the font size I can't read it.
 
I'm sorry, but legally they are allowed to terminate you on suspicion. They are not a court of law and are not required to have proof.

Under the law, there are only very limited situations under which an employer is legally permitted to give a polygraph to their employees, and this is not one of them. If they did not go through with it, it's most likely because doing so would be illegal.
 
Do I have any options what so ever? Or am I dead in the water here? Because if I lay out in cronological order when this took place the first time, then the second the first time it happened when the guy was on his regular shift, I was no where around, and they had just announced the overtime was coming to an end. The second time it happened, he had been moved to a different area and his hours got cut back to straight 40. A far cry from the 60 to 72 hours a week he was used to. And the guy that was on first shift took his spot and I then took the first shift spot. And during this time I ran the machine without any problems or excessive down time. I really hope I can do something.
 
If you are asking whether or not there is any legal action you can take to force your employer to give you your job back, no, there is not.
 
Are you an at-will employee?

Are you in a Union?

DO you have a contract? If so, what does it say?

Do you think you were terminated due to your status as a minority, etc.?
 
Oh, and this doesn't belong in Criminal Law.

This is a Civil Action/Tort. You should probably post there, you may get someone with more expertise in that area.
 
I would like to get my job back but I'm more concerned about not being able to get a decent job due to the whole incident. I mean how do you use a place as a referance when they are fingering you for something like this and let me go? More like a reputation here. Also it took a while to get this job now here I am in this weak job market jobless. I just wish I dint have bills to pay, child support or any of that. But I do and no job. No job, no money, see where I am goin with this? They want restitution where is mine?
 
I realize this is not a criminal matter. But it may evolve into one. I would love to get my job back but when the man makes up his mind its over, right?
 
Unless you had a contract or CBA that specifically listed the reasons you could and could not be terminated, and this violated them, you were almost certainly an at-will employee. That means that you could quit at any time and for any reason, and you could be fired at any time and for any reason that does not specifically violate the law.

I'm sorry that you were termed for an unfair reason in a bad job market, but the fact remains that your termination was legal and there is no law you can invoke to force the employer to hire you back.
 
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