pension or paycut

I am a Store Manager for a major company. Last year, I had a situation in my store involving an assistant manager and a bank bag. There was money missing. I was on vacation out of town the weekend that the bag was dropped into the safe. Two employees were terminated due to breaking company policy. There were allegations made to FVP by the employee that was terminated regarding me and my work situation in which I am working for my brother who is the district manager. FVP would not allow him to work the case although he is my boss and it should be his job to do. That left me in an awkward situation because now who do I talk to? There were questions that offended me on a personal and business level. I was basically asked if I thought that since my brother is my boss that I should be able to do anything. I feel like that was over the top. There were also a few questions about my nephew and more about my brother. They know that I am working for my brother. I was told I could not work with him and we were kept in separate districts. When he was promoted to District Manager there were two districts. Recently, the two were combined and he is now my boss. I am treated unfairly daily by employees and other store managers. Everyone I work with thinks that this has all been handed to me when in reality, until my brother became my boss; we never worked near each other. My employees do not know what to think because they feel if they have a complaint about me it could be held against them. I feel that I am being treated very unfairly because my brother also works for the company. If I get a promotion I am told by fellow managers that it was handed to me and I did not earn it. I have worked hard for this company and I continue to work hard through all of this. A former employee is accusing me of being treated differently because of my situation. When that employee was terminated it was because of the bank bag situation. I was not in town when this bank bag was put into the safe. I did not sign for it with the armed car driver. Somehow, since this employee has been fired I have been investigated for her accusations. I do not see how I have anything to do with her termination or her case. If anything, I am being treated unfairly because of something I cannot control. When the districts became one and the other manager was moved to Kansas City, I offered to move there also because I knew that I could not work for my brother. The company refused to move me although the other manager requested me three times. I did not choose to work for my brother. I was forced to. And now, I am paying for it by being treated as if I have not earned my position or anything I have achieved. If you were to look at my record since I started working for this company, you would see that I am a very hardworking man. I won Rookie Store Manager of the year. I won the Big Trip in 2005. I have continued to excel wherever the company moves me. I know it is against policy to work for my brother. I have been told that repeatedly. I sent a letter to FVP on 12-9-08 regarding my situation. I spoke with the FVP Wednesday morning and explained to her that I am very stressed over this and my family is as well. I wanted to keep this one on one with her and told her that I just needed her to counsel me at the present time. I was very upset. I let her know that this could have been handled better. They could have had another district manager ask me the questions. Not a fellow store manager. The situation was quiet until Wednesday, December 17, 2008 when Monique from FVP called me and spoke to me. Monique asked me to write a statement about what happened when the driver came back into the store. I do not understand why I need to write a statement now when the employee was terminated in November. They did not need me to write one then but now when all this is coming down on me, I am asked to write statements. She also asked me which employees were in the store that she could speak with. She has been having daily conversations with me regarding when my employees come in and she is calling and speaking to them when they do. I understand that they have an investigation regarding the bank bag and the employee that was terminated. But I do not understand why we are dealing with this now during the holiday rush or why I am being investigated either. I feel as if I am being pushed out of the company. All of this has affected my work and home life. I am stressed out all day and night worried about all of this. I do not feel as if this can be fixed. I am in a no-win situation. I will either have to leave my store or the company because of this. And even then, my employees and co-workers still will not respect me fully. My wife and nephew have been stressed out also because of this. It has taken a toll on our home life and that is not acceptable. I am going to see a doctor for the stress. I would never be in this situation if I were not forced to work for my brother. I feel as if it is me against the other managers and the company.

I was informed on 9-18-09 that my store would be closing as of the end of September. I had less than two weeks notice and was told to wait to see if I will be offered another store position or laid off. I have been waiting patiently to see what would happen and today on 10-8-09 I was informed that I can either take a smaller store and they will cut my pay in half or I can be laid off with a very small severance package. I don’t believe it is fair for me to have to take a pay cut because the company is moving me. This is an involuntary move, not one I chose. I have been off work since the store has been cleaned and waiting for word from the company about my future. I am in the middle of trying to keep my home that I own and still be able to pay the mortgage and bills. When my brother called me regarding this situation today, he was not being professional about this but making it very personal. I feel that my situation of working for my brother has again interfered with my career. This has been very upsetting for not only me but my wife and family. The dreams that we had are being taken from us because the company can’t make up its mind and I am being treated like dirt because my brother is in charge of finding me a new position.

I feel that this is all a retaliation from the issues last year. What can I do?

They cannot punish you for groundless accusations...You could consult your nearest Department of Labor office to briefly discuss the issue with them first...you may also want to ask the company to put what is happening in writing and explain to them that you may have attorneys review the situation...try speaking to a higher level of management about the issue; they may override the other managers. If none of these efforts resolves the issue, let us know.