Do I have a case for defamation of character? or violation of my rights?

[susana]

Toronto, Ontario - Susana

On monday (feb 27) night the following happened:
My sister and I were closing at the grocery store where I work. I was sweeping and she was on cash and asked me to grab her some candy. I went and grabbed her 3 bags and asked her which one she wanted. she said i want all 3 but only have enough for one and asked me to pay for the other 2. I told her id finish what i was doing and i'd go get money to pay for it. so i grabbed a bag put the one she payed for and a receipt and also put the other 2 in it. then i walked over to the express desk and put it on the counter. as i finished i was completely distracted because of something that had happened earlier at work that had upset me. I got ready to leave waited for my sister and we left, WITHOUT THE CANDY, WITHOUT THE ONE WE PAYED FOR, AND WITHOUT REMEMBERING TO PAY FOR THE OTHER ONES and taking them home. Then on wednesday my sister goes in for her shift and they are questioning her about the candy, she panicked and said they were hers taking full blame for it and they suspended her. However, we never took them we never stole. (defamation of character, assuming she was going to steal it if we had remembered the candy on monday night). she then called me crying and told me what happened and i immediately went in and asked one of the head cashiers to speak to her about what had happened and she dismissed me rudely and told me to speak to the higher head cashier (who is also the owners daughter). So the next day i was to start at 2 i came in at roughly 1 and asked to speak to her. I told her what happened monday and she says "Sally (not my real name) thats a nice story but i dont buy it, it seems that you put it into the bag to make it easier to grab it on your way out." i responded by telling her to check the cameras that she would see everything that i just told her. but she said no that she didnt trust me and that it looked like i stole the candy and my sister covered for me.

Do you think i have a solid case to fight for? I mean we honest to god didnt even take the candy we never walked out of the store with it, and we both got fired from a false accusation that they cannot prove. Please help because this may ruin our reputation and ability to get another job.

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that you can file a suit for defamation. In this you had been accused of stealing but in reality you had not done any such act. If you intend to go court then you must have evidence that you were not having any intention to steal. The basis of defamation lawsuit is false allegation thus court will view in regard to the circumstances of the case and how an ordinary person would look at your case. As candy had gone along with you without payment and you had not contacted back to store thus the burden will be heavy upon you to show your truth.

AFF

[sunlover]

Its unlikely this is defamation especially since there was confession. However I know a retail theft expert you might contact for more insight. Use the PM function of this site and contact me and i will give you the email address to this expert

I work for an auto parts store as a parts manager. Recently, I have been suffering with allergies. It's Arkansas in spring - tons of pollen.

I have an employee that would like nothing more than to see me fired. Last week, I used nasal spray to clear my head and fight a sinus headache. She took a picture of me with my head back waiting for the spray to work. In the picture, I look like I'm asleep but I'm not. She is representing that I'm sleeping on my job. I feel violated and angry, especially because she forwarded hem to the upper management after sharing them with my fellow workers.

Also, we had metal carts that were in bad shape. I thought I'd save the company money by spray painting them so they'd last longer as they were rusting. I was accused of stealing the spray paint even though I used it for their equipment. I never took the paint from the store. Apparently I had some policy to follow that i wasn't aware of.

My store manager brought this up in front of the store even though we were in the back area of the parts area. There is no place for private conversations. An employee walked through while we were talking about these issues.

Two weeks before that, the company manager misplaced one of my deposit bags with a large sum of money in it. The shift manager called me at home and accused me of taking it and to return it. I came in to the store on my day off and she started screaming at me that I needed to put it back. Her friends chimed in to make it worse and even yelled cuss words at me in front of customers. I asked for a formal grievance to be filed in each of these situations and have been turned down repeatedly.

What makes this worse is that I'm disabled. I had back surgery (spinal fusion in 2007) This is my first job back full time. I have limitations which the company has refused to enforce and I was told my job may be in jeopardy if I took any time off for it because I wasn't a "team player". I finally hurt my back yesterday. The work comp doctor pulled me down to ultra light duty. My company won't let me come back until the next appointment, causing me to lose more income. I'll never find another job in this town - it's too small and the company and its management will have harmed me for many years to come by ruining my reputation.

What can I do about this? I'm about to lose my job and I need to fight this but don't have resources to do so. This is all complete fabrication. The company policy states "No Cell Phones" but they are allowing it to take images of employees in a way to spy on them (me). I really need help. I'm in a small town and the company is a Fortune 500 corporation.

Thanks

Mike

[calgaryimmigrat]

yes.. you can file a suit for defamation.
the manager should have showed you the camera video..
i'm wonderin' why they wont let you see it.. or at least they..
you start talking to a lawyer and ask for a good advice..
hope everything will be okay..

[sunlover]

There is no legal obligation to show OP the alledged video. If OP wants to see said video then he can file a law suit and seek video through discovery process