My sister got fired for using coupons...?

Question

They have no rule reguarding coupons. They told her that she was a loss to the company and that she had to pay the money that she saved back. Also informed her that she can't get a job anywhere else except maybe walmart. Months back she was telling me that some associates were picking on her along with a particular manager,which was the one who fired her. A couple days prior to her being fired a different manager approached her and told her that they were researching her purchase transactions and didn't know why until today when they fired her for using coupons. Can you be fired for trying to save yourself money by clipping/using coupons?

Answer 1

Coupons are for everyone.  As long as she wasn't using an employee discount on top of the coupons I see nothing wrong.  They need to present her with all their findings.  I suspect someone may have made some purchases in her name and it was more than just the Sunday coupons that were used.....

Manufactures reimburse stores for the coupons along with an additional handling fee on top of it.  There is something very wrong here.  I suggest she seek legal council or the state employment commission.  There may be some laws that are being broken.....

Answer 2

she in a union or call the dept of labor

Answer 3

i don't think so

Answer 4

get on the horn with the  state labor board and let them know what happened. look around for a good lawyer. sounds like she has a case of workplace bullying.

Answer 5

What does the employee handbook say about coupons? If nothing then there is more to the story. How many transactions were there and how frequently did she do this? Was she clipping coupons and putting them in the register and taking cash out? If not, who approved the employee puchase? Genereally an employee cannot ring up their own purchase. If she truly does not know what she did wrong she needs to find out for the future. The nasty remarks that she won't be able to work anywhere else are just spiteful. Just don't list that job on her resume and no other non-gevernment employer would even know she was fired.

Answer 6

Can you tell us more about what your sister's job was and where she worked?

Answer 7

You don't say if this is in conjunction with an employee discount or if this is a store coupon or a coupon that can be used at all stores that sell the same product.

Regardless - The employer can not know that she will not be able to get another job so the comment about only being able to work at Walmart seems out of place and judgmental.

Each employer should provide information on purchasing policies....they have to right to restrict use of their coupons by employees, but the policy should have been written and clearly conveyed to your sister, so that there would be no question if she chose to use the coupons.  

Picking on her is a different issue- you did not ask about this but ....in a professional environment she should have informed the manager that she was uncomfortable with the comments (or whatever caused her to feel "picked on"), if not resolved to her satisfaction she should have taken the issue to her managers boss.  Keep all emotions from this communication and state the facts.  Who said what or did what and their tone of voice.

Answer 8

Either this company is screwed up and your sister has been wrongfully terminated or she is not being honest about the circumstances that led to her dismissal.  It is possible that you sister was redeeming coupons for products that she was not buying and skimming the cash back.  the explanation you are offering does not make sense in this era of employee rights and the fear of wrongful termination suits.  I know this sounds harsh but I have heard too many fishy stores of termination from people who can't accept the consequences of their actions and thus never progress in their careers.