Sally applied for a job working in a sales commission-based environment and got the job after quitting her previous position as a cashier in a different type of retail store. Sally knows a lot about computers and networking and technology in general, so she was the prime candidate for the job as an Inventory Specialist. She was offered an hourly rate of $9.00 to start with via email from Human Resources from the company itself. She accepted the offer for $9.00 and signed a written statement (much like a contract) describing how her timekeeping and payments would work. Sally began training for 2 weeks at the beginning of July of 2014. Halfway through July, Sally began her actual work at a different store but under the same company name, policies, etc. During training she took several courses on illegal activities in the workplace including Fraud, Theft, Violence in the Workplace and more and she was also asked to digitally sign each statement under the understanding of these activities and how to handle them. Sally trained at a larger store with a lot of employees but her home store was just shy of 7 total employees and was about 1/8 of the size of the training store; that meant that she would have to work with each employee at least once a week and would be able to get to know each one as more than an acquaintance.
Within the first 3 weeks, Sally met another employee, Sue, who was a Sales Associate. Sally and Sue got along very well in the beginning and even went out for coffee at a local book store after work one day. By the time Sally had gone out and spent time outside of work with Sue, she had heard from other employees that Sue was involved in "shady" activities at work implying that she may have been involved in theft or some type of fraudulent activity. Sally ignored the comments but soon stopped going out with Sue after work because Sally witnessed Sue checking company gift cards out using the register in order to improve her performance and be recognized for more work that she did not actually do (assumed). Sally confronted Sue and Sue brushed it off as being nothing and implied that she would not get in trouble because she would just return the items (back into the company's inventory system) and also that they were just gift cards and it was ok (really didn't matter) (assumed). Sally, being a new-hire and not wanting to 'rock the boat', trusted Sue and thought nothing of it because she thought it would be an isolated incident/activity. Shortly thereafter (within 3 months), Sally yet again witnessed Sue, this time from behind her back while stocking shelves, ringing physical items out in the register. This time, the items were expensive things such as physical items that would fit into a small bag. When Sally questioned Sue about her activities, Sue laughed it off and said something to the extent of "I have all of their (account numbers) written down on sticky notes..." and then continued later on in her explanation, "they all said it was ok." By this time, all of the employees including Sally knew that Sue was doing this and were aware that it was illegal but did nothing to stop her. When Sally questioned them, their reply was all the same - "(implying that the manager knew) Dave doesn't care because we have complained before and he did nothing." Sally told Dave in private that Sue had done these things and he shrugged it off saying that he had already spoken to her about it and implied that he wasn't able to do anything more. Recently, Sally decided to clean up around the store and came across a wad of sticky notes with phone numbers and some even included a last name (assumed). Sally considered them to be trash as they were crumpled up and in no way organized. These notes were found at a station that everyone has used at least once but more-so, Sue. When Sally opened the drawer to clean up, Sally found old paperwork that had gone missing so she decided to throw the sticky notes out. The trashcan at the station was completely full so Sally assumed that Sue had been helping customers and had just forgotten to throw them away the day before.
At the end of Sally's shift, Sally had numerous trash bags piled up and ended up tossing them into the garbage disposal outside before clocking out and leaving. The next afternoon, Sally received numerous text messages from Sue asking why she had thrown away all of her customers' information. Sally responded with slight hostility explaining that all she was trying to do was help clean up and that Sue should not have had the customers' (account numbers) in a drawer where potential thieves could steal the information. Sue became very upset with Sally even though another employee that had been working that day had told Sally that no one was able to use that particular drawer because Sue's things were constantly filling it up and implied that it was frustrating. Sally told Sue 2 times to leave her alone and to not text her anymore (because she was off the clock and not at work) and Sue ignored her by responding. The next day, Sally came to work and was disciplined in front of 2 other employees by Dave for throwing away the customers' information and ended the conversation by suggesting that I just not touch her things even though Dave admitted that he knew it was illegal for Sue to have the customers' (account numbers) written down and in her possession. Dave suggested next time that Sally just collect the things from Sue's drawer and set them aside for her to organize and go through. Sally responded by getting upset and, although agreeing with Dave, texting Sue and asking why she had to go behind Sally's back and act childish by telling the manager that we had a slight disagreement. Moments after sending this message, Dave confronted Sally while she was alone and working in her office.
Dave raised his voice and told Sally to "knock it off" and if need be Sally or Sue would have to be transferred to a different store location. Dave acted in a way that Sally had never seen before let alone known to be out of character completely for Dave. Dave also threatened to get Human Resources involved in order to sort the problem between Sally and Sue out, even though the incident had lasted a mere 5 minutes at the most and was over. Sally tried to explain that she was not CURRENTLY talking to Sue (as in that very moment) and Dave completely cut Sally off mid-sentence saying that he basically didn't care if Sally and Sue ever spoke again as long as Sally left Sue's things alone in the future. Sally immediately deleted Sue's phone number and text message history from her phone to avoid further contact. About 2-3 months before this incident, Sally had found out that Sue was already in trouble for the exact same thing with the exact same company after accidentally overhearing a teleconference call between Sue, a Loss Prevention manager (assumed), and the District Manager. During the teleconference, Sue was reprimanded for ringing out company gift cards and fraudulently getting credit (commission) or not actually selling them. During or around the same time Sally found out about Sue's previous issues with fraud within the company, Sally also found out that Dave made a percentage off of everything that the Sales Associates sold and that he made a lot more money just because Sue worked there. Dave implied that he knew that Sue was committing fraud and using customers' personal information without their consent or knowledge in order to gain more commission at the end of the month and make more money than the other team members/employees.
Sally recalls several times where Sue complained about never having enough money, in particular, to pay her babysitter for looking after her 2 daughters all day. Sally knew that this was not completely true because both of Sue's daughters were in school all day. If Sue had indeed needed to pay for the babysitter, it would have only had to have been after school hours; which in this state is 3:30pm. Sue almost always worked closing shifts but since the company closed so early in the evening, she would have had been home with them for the entire night after closing, not to mention Sue lived in the same small town and indicated on a few occasions that she lived "right across the street". Now Sally feels as though her job is in jeopardy because Sally knows about Sue's continuous illegal activities at work along with the other employees and the manager, Dave. Sally feels that if she quits, she may save herself from being accused of doing the same thing because she did not come forward but she also feels that if she quits, nothing will be done to prevent Sue from doing this in the future. Sally also feels that if she stays with her job, she may be subject to unfair treatment based on what she assumes is the main issue - Dave not making what he believes to be enough money. Sally also fears that if a random audit is performed, she will bear the brunt of the punishment for missing funds because she handles the store's paperwork on a daily basis. Sally does not feel that she can come forward and tell Loss Prevention or the District Manager that Sue is still committing fraud and Dave is allowing her to continue in order to make more money because she fears she will be retaliated against and much worse, she will not be able to get hired anywhere else based on this legal issue.
Later that afternoon, Dave sent out an email to everyone employed at the store explaining that recent events had brought the company's Code of Conduct into question and to everyone who received the email, that they please respond with their name explaining that they understand the rules within the company handbook. Dave made Sally aware he was sending the email, implying that just because Dave had sent it to everyone who worked there, Dave was really just speaking to Sally and Sue (allegedly). To Sally's knowledge, she is the only one who responded with her actual name explaining that she had no questions about the issues discussed in the Code of Conduct including Harassment and Discrimination. Sally doesn't understand why she is being allegedly targeted for harassment and discrimination when Sally has never used derogatory terms or slang towards Sue or even indicated that she was offended by Sue's race, gender, color, etc. Sally also knows that she was not the initial person to get upset about the customers' private information because Sue initiated the argument with Sally via text message on Sally's day off while Sue was at work. What should Sally do?
Within the first 3 weeks, Sally met another employee, Sue, who was a Sales Associate. Sally and Sue got along very well in the beginning and even went out for coffee at a local book store after work one day. By the time Sally had gone out and spent time outside of work with Sue, she had heard from other employees that Sue was involved in "shady" activities at work implying that she may have been involved in theft or some type of fraudulent activity. Sally ignored the comments but soon stopped going out with Sue after work because Sally witnessed Sue checking company gift cards out using the register in order to improve her performance and be recognized for more work that she did not actually do (assumed). Sally confronted Sue and Sue brushed it off as being nothing and implied that she would not get in trouble because she would just return the items (back into the company's inventory system) and also that they were just gift cards and it was ok (really didn't matter) (assumed). Sally, being a new-hire and not wanting to 'rock the boat', trusted Sue and thought nothing of it because she thought it would be an isolated incident/activity. Shortly thereafter (within 3 months), Sally yet again witnessed Sue, this time from behind her back while stocking shelves, ringing physical items out in the register. This time, the items were expensive things such as physical items that would fit into a small bag. When Sally questioned Sue about her activities, Sue laughed it off and said something to the extent of "I have all of their (account numbers) written down on sticky notes..." and then continued later on in her explanation, "they all said it was ok." By this time, all of the employees including Sally knew that Sue was doing this and were aware that it was illegal but did nothing to stop her. When Sally questioned them, their reply was all the same - "(implying that the manager knew) Dave doesn't care because we have complained before and he did nothing." Sally told Dave in private that Sue had done these things and he shrugged it off saying that he had already spoken to her about it and implied that he wasn't able to do anything more. Recently, Sally decided to clean up around the store and came across a wad of sticky notes with phone numbers and some even included a last name (assumed). Sally considered them to be trash as they were crumpled up and in no way organized. These notes were found at a station that everyone has used at least once but more-so, Sue. When Sally opened the drawer to clean up, Sally found old paperwork that had gone missing so she decided to throw the sticky notes out. The trashcan at the station was completely full so Sally assumed that Sue had been helping customers and had just forgotten to throw them away the day before.
At the end of Sally's shift, Sally had numerous trash bags piled up and ended up tossing them into the garbage disposal outside before clocking out and leaving. The next afternoon, Sally received numerous text messages from Sue asking why she had thrown away all of her customers' information. Sally responded with slight hostility explaining that all she was trying to do was help clean up and that Sue should not have had the customers' (account numbers) in a drawer where potential thieves could steal the information. Sue became very upset with Sally even though another employee that had been working that day had told Sally that no one was able to use that particular drawer because Sue's things were constantly filling it up and implied that it was frustrating. Sally told Sue 2 times to leave her alone and to not text her anymore (because she was off the clock and not at work) and Sue ignored her by responding. The next day, Sally came to work and was disciplined in front of 2 other employees by Dave for throwing away the customers' information and ended the conversation by suggesting that I just not touch her things even though Dave admitted that he knew it was illegal for Sue to have the customers' (account numbers) written down and in her possession. Dave suggested next time that Sally just collect the things from Sue's drawer and set them aside for her to organize and go through. Sally responded by getting upset and, although agreeing with Dave, texting Sue and asking why she had to go behind Sally's back and act childish by telling the manager that we had a slight disagreement. Moments after sending this message, Dave confronted Sally while she was alone and working in her office.
Dave raised his voice and told Sally to "knock it off" and if need be Sally or Sue would have to be transferred to a different store location. Dave acted in a way that Sally had never seen before let alone known to be out of character completely for Dave. Dave also threatened to get Human Resources involved in order to sort the problem between Sally and Sue out, even though the incident had lasted a mere 5 minutes at the most and was over. Sally tried to explain that she was not CURRENTLY talking to Sue (as in that very moment) and Dave completely cut Sally off mid-sentence saying that he basically didn't care if Sally and Sue ever spoke again as long as Sally left Sue's things alone in the future. Sally immediately deleted Sue's phone number and text message history from her phone to avoid further contact. About 2-3 months before this incident, Sally had found out that Sue was already in trouble for the exact same thing with the exact same company after accidentally overhearing a teleconference call between Sue, a Loss Prevention manager (assumed), and the District Manager. During the teleconference, Sue was reprimanded for ringing out company gift cards and fraudulently getting credit (commission) or not actually selling them. During or around the same time Sally found out about Sue's previous issues with fraud within the company, Sally also found out that Dave made a percentage off of everything that the Sales Associates sold and that he made a lot more money just because Sue worked there. Dave implied that he knew that Sue was committing fraud and using customers' personal information without their consent or knowledge in order to gain more commission at the end of the month and make more money than the other team members/employees.
Sally recalls several times where Sue complained about never having enough money, in particular, to pay her babysitter for looking after her 2 daughters all day. Sally knew that this was not completely true because both of Sue's daughters were in school all day. If Sue had indeed needed to pay for the babysitter, it would have only had to have been after school hours; which in this state is 3:30pm. Sue almost always worked closing shifts but since the company closed so early in the evening, she would have had been home with them for the entire night after closing, not to mention Sue lived in the same small town and indicated on a few occasions that she lived "right across the street". Now Sally feels as though her job is in jeopardy because Sally knows about Sue's continuous illegal activities at work along with the other employees and the manager, Dave. Sally feels that if she quits, she may save herself from being accused of doing the same thing because she did not come forward but she also feels that if she quits, nothing will be done to prevent Sue from doing this in the future. Sally also feels that if she stays with her job, she may be subject to unfair treatment based on what she assumes is the main issue - Dave not making what he believes to be enough money. Sally also fears that if a random audit is performed, she will bear the brunt of the punishment for missing funds because she handles the store's paperwork on a daily basis. Sally does not feel that she can come forward and tell Loss Prevention or the District Manager that Sue is still committing fraud and Dave is allowing her to continue in order to make more money because she fears she will be retaliated against and much worse, she will not be able to get hired anywhere else based on this legal issue.
Later that afternoon, Dave sent out an email to everyone employed at the store explaining that recent events had brought the company's Code of Conduct into question and to everyone who received the email, that they please respond with their name explaining that they understand the rules within the company handbook. Dave made Sally aware he was sending the email, implying that just because Dave had sent it to everyone who worked there, Dave was really just speaking to Sally and Sue (allegedly). To Sally's knowledge, she is the only one who responded with her actual name explaining that she had no questions about the issues discussed in the Code of Conduct including Harassment and Discrimination. Sally doesn't understand why she is being allegedly targeted for harassment and discrimination when Sally has never used derogatory terms or slang towards Sue or even indicated that she was offended by Sue's race, gender, color, etc. Sally also knows that she was not the initial person to get upset about the customers' private information because Sue initiated the argument with Sally via text message on Sally's day off while Sue was at work. What should Sally do?
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