Last week I received a notice that I had been terminated from my employer after their legal department had reviewed the information gathered by their internal investigator several months earlier.
Background: I purchased a few Microsoft software titles from a prominent online retailer and wanted to get extra copies of the installation CD/DVDs because some were damaged after a year or two of usage. Plus, I wanted to get official backup copies of the CD/DVDs because, well, Microsoft offers them for a small fee. I paid retail pricing for the software and provided those receipts to the department that provides the media and they accepted them after reviewing them.
Unfortunately, there were several incorrect shipments and even shipments that never arrived due to some sort of error on their part. It took quite a few reshipments and many calls lasting a total of hours to get what I paid for finally in my hands. Finally, I ordered some replacement CDs for the most recent purchase and that order never arrived at my door to date. I should note that these replacement CDs might have a total of $75 in charges (+/-) a few dollars.
A few months into my new position I received an email from the investigator stating that he required my attendance at a meeting with no details given. During this meeting, I was given a strange series of questions revolving around completely unrelated security issues that this company must have issues with. Ultimately, I was shown a printout of the orders that were on record and I explained the situation in great detail. The printout had one thing that was odd to me - retail pricing for the complete software titles associated with each order. Not only were the replacement CDs valueless, but they required the original licensing and product activation keys to make them work and be legal. So, the dollar value that the investigator believed to be accurate was completely incorrect. I pointed this fact out to him, but I still to this day do not believe he completely understood the subject matter because he thought the order I received were retail boxed software editions.
After a few months, I was informed that the Legal department had reviewed his findings and believed that I had committed some sort of offense warranting termination. My manager stated that he had the final report and that it stated they would not pursue legal action due to lack of evidence. I thought this was shocking as much as it was funny. In the end, I was banned from ever working at the company again and my reputation in my field will undoubtedly by negatively affected.
I would like to know what recourse I have available to me? Is there a way to get a look at their investigative report to determine where the incongruities exist and then provide the Legal department with correct facts? The team I left as a result of this is/was great and I have some hope of returning if I can get this situation reopened for review. Even if that does not occur, something in the order of an apology needs to be given to me as this is ridiculous.
I am seriously thinking about hiring an attorney to handle some measure of discovery to find out what information they received from this investigator. Before that, I need some directives to avoid wasting time and money during initial consultations. Hopefully, this forum's legal members will be able to help get this sorted out!
Thank you,
-thuff
Background: I purchased a few Microsoft software titles from a prominent online retailer and wanted to get extra copies of the installation CD/DVDs because some were damaged after a year or two of usage. Plus, I wanted to get official backup copies of the CD/DVDs because, well, Microsoft offers them for a small fee. I paid retail pricing for the software and provided those receipts to the department that provides the media and they accepted them after reviewing them.
Unfortunately, there were several incorrect shipments and even shipments that never arrived due to some sort of error on their part. It took quite a few reshipments and many calls lasting a total of hours to get what I paid for finally in my hands. Finally, I ordered some replacement CDs for the most recent purchase and that order never arrived at my door to date. I should note that these replacement CDs might have a total of $75 in charges (+/-) a few dollars.
A few months into my new position I received an email from the investigator stating that he required my attendance at a meeting with no details given. During this meeting, I was given a strange series of questions revolving around completely unrelated security issues that this company must have issues with. Ultimately, I was shown a printout of the orders that were on record and I explained the situation in great detail. The printout had one thing that was odd to me - retail pricing for the complete software titles associated with each order. Not only were the replacement CDs valueless, but they required the original licensing and product activation keys to make them work and be legal. So, the dollar value that the investigator believed to be accurate was completely incorrect. I pointed this fact out to him, but I still to this day do not believe he completely understood the subject matter because he thought the order I received were retail boxed software editions.
After a few months, I was informed that the Legal department had reviewed his findings and believed that I had committed some sort of offense warranting termination. My manager stated that he had the final report and that it stated they would not pursue legal action due to lack of evidence. I thought this was shocking as much as it was funny. In the end, I was banned from ever working at the company again and my reputation in my field will undoubtedly by negatively affected.
I would like to know what recourse I have available to me? Is there a way to get a look at their investigative report to determine where the incongruities exist and then provide the Legal department with correct facts? The team I left as a result of this is/was great and I have some hope of returning if I can get this situation reopened for review. Even if that does not occur, something in the order of an apology needs to be given to me as this is ridiculous.
I am seriously thinking about hiring an attorney to handle some measure of discovery to find out what information they received from this investigator. Before that, I need some directives to avoid wasting time and money during initial consultations. Hopefully, this forum's legal members will be able to help get this sorted out!
Thank you,
-thuff
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