nikavolkova
New Member
I was recently fired from a seasonal retail job in Missouri where I had been given the title of "assistant manager" approx. two weeks prior. Money was missing from the store but this happened before I was working there. When I was fired I was told that they didn't find any evidence that I had taken any money or any errors in my paperwork or bank deposits. I was also accused of being on drugs(because of an accusation by a secret shopper) and asked if I would take a drug test to which I said yes but I was never asked again to take one. I go to pick up my next to last paycheck yesterday and my check stub said my net pay was to be one amount and the check I received (handwritten check, not a regular payroll check) was for a different amount. The firing manager told me immediately that the amount was different because they deducted money because they found an instance where my register was off so I was responsible for it, but the details of the date/time/etc weren't remembered at that moment. I asked for evidence/proof of my mistake and was told he would talk to the corporate manager. I went back a day later to see if the corporate manager had been contacted about the paperwork, the deduction, and that my pay rate was lowered by $.50 and was told basically if I fight them on this and/or try to say I didn't steal the money from them, they will press charges against me for theft and I would go to jail, because the evidence is on their side. The dollar amount that was deducted from my check actually corresponds with a shortage that my immediate manager told me about that occurred on a day I didn't even work(but had closed the store the night before) and the stores were opened without any shortages - and the shortage was noticed later in the day. I've found some information that states that employers are not able to make deductions like this and also that it is illegal for them not to provide documentation of the deduction from my pay. I also noticed that after the "deduction," if I calculated my hourly rate, it was lower than minimum wage, which I thought was illegal too. Also, wouldn't I still have to be an employee for them to even file charges against me? Can anyone tell me if I have any rights to fight back? I have offered, even insisted they give me drug tests and a polygraph - I just want to clear my name because I am a good person - I wouldn't fight them on the deduction if it was due to an error that I made that actually caused the loss and they could show me paperwork - but I don't think I made such an error and I certainly didn't steal
