Falsely accused of Theft and terminated. Please help.

[Walkonmyshoes]

I had my contract terminated by Target for thef in Massachusetts. They claimed that two months ago, I took two items home without paying and, the next day, another item. When they showed me a list of the items taken during the first incident, I recognized them and admitted to having them at home. Honestly, I only realized I hadn’t paid for them during the termination meeting.

The thing is, I used to collect work tools, such as printers, scanners, and devices, to return them to the charging station. I also collected trash and misplaced items to return to guest services so other team members could restock them. On a few occasions, I used Target bags to transport these items to the correct locations.

They have an image of me in the backroom, openly, in front of cameras and other team members, grabbing items from a cart I left for shipping and placing them in a bag. You can’t see exactly what I am grabbing from the image, but I am 100% sure it was work tools, my water bottle, and other personal belongings. I likely returned the devices and kept the bag with my personal items, like my water bottle and coffee mug.

That same day, I intended to buy a pair of socks and a small toy that I grabbed during my shift. After clocking out, I picked up more bulk items and went to checkout. Somehow, by accident, I failed to pay for the two small items I had with me earlier. It was an honest mistake; both items were worth less than $10 in total.

I did not steal. I’ve seen situations where moms leave the store without realizing their toddler is holding an unpaid item or when people forget items placed at the bottom of the cart. I understand being fired for my mistake, but the issue is that they are accusing me of another theft the following day.

They believe I stole a shirt, which the RFID scanner supposedly detected. However, I was told by an ETL that this type of shirt—an NBA shirt—isn’t scannable. They claimed I left with the shirt in a bag and didn’t make any purchases that day. However, I checked my app and confirmed that I bought food that day, so I left the store with a bag containing my purchases.

I understand they can fire me for missing the payment on two small items worth less than $10 from the prior day, but I did not take the shirt they accused me of stealing the next day. Why did they fabricate another accusation?

Can I request a correction to my termination record? I don’t want this misconduct on my file. Why didn’t they fire me for the two things I admitted to? I am so frustrated.

 

[Captain Orca]

Learn, move on, grow up, don't steal shit.

 

[Walkonmyshoes]

Learn, move on, grow up, don't steal shit.

I did not still. That is the whole point of the post. Hard to move on when they fabricate a theft for me. If they had fired me for the 2 items I ACCIDENTALLY forgot to pay, and it is True, I wouldn’t be so upset.

 

[Sushi2Go]

I did not still. That is the whole point of the post. Hard to move on when they fabricate a theft for me. If they had fired me for the 2 items I ACCIDENTALLY forgot to pay, and it is True, I wouldn’t be so upset.

Unfortunately, taking items you didn't pay for intentionally or unintentionally is stealing in retail.

 

[Walkonmyshoes]

Unfortunately, taking items you didn't pay for intentionally or unintentionally is stealing in retail.

Agreed. I would be quiet about if I was terminated only for that. But adding another theft on my account and not showing any proof of it was equally wrong. I want to review that accusation alone. The itens I unintentionally toke I already admired to and signed papers on it. I don’t want to have a second theft fabricated so they can “proof a pattern”.

 

[Ringwraith917]

Ignore the captain he's rude. If they wanted to keep you they would Overlook it or forgive you this time. Most likely they were looking for a way to get you out for who knows what reason. It's unlikely that anything you say or do would have any effect on the results. You may take some solace in that Target can't share the reasons you are no longer employed to any future employer. It's strictly within Target's system since there hasn't been a police involvement

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Spot caught you. move on.

 

[Captain Orca]

You're young, it won't follow you just do not do it again under any circumstances, regardless of the item. Don't play the equivocation card with the folks on this panel. Admit you stole, you knew what you were doing. No weaseling out of this one.

 

[Walkonmyshoes]

You're young, it won't follow you just do not do it again under any circumstances, regardless of the item. Don't play the equivocation card with the folks on this panel. Admit you stole, you knew what you were doing. No weaseling out of this one.

You're young, it won't follow you just do not do it again under any circumstances, regardless of the item. Don't play the equivocation card with the folks on this panel. Admit you stole, you knew what you were doing. No weaseling out of this one.

i am far frlm

I am far from young. Before work at Target I used to shopping there almost every day, is my to go place for all my family needs. I am in a moment of my life that I had to restart from somewhere and chose Target, even being extremely overqualified for fulfillment. I basically like the store and was a job that fit my needs at the moment. I don't see the point of playing victim with a bunch of stranger, I posted here to get some insight regarding how to proceed, see if someone had a similar experience. I know exactly what I did and for that reason I want to take further measures. Thank you for your time.

 

[Walkonmyshoes]

Ignore the captain he's rude. If they wanted to keep you they would Overlook it or forgive you this time. Most likely they were looking for a way to get you out for who knows what reason. It's unlikely that anything you say or do would have any effect on the results. You may take some solace in that Target can't share the reasons you are no longer employed to any future employer. It's strictly within Target's system since there hasn't been a police involvement

I don’t intend to work at Target again, what I want to keep my reputation. I shop at Target every other day, I want to be able to walk in there and not being look at . I met people that I like over there. I go to the same religious temple of some of them. I can’t accept the idea that they call me a thief. The AP start the talking telling me that sometimes accidents happen, they would understand that, but I had a “pattern”. I believe they made up the second incident to eliminate the change of overlooking my mistake. In the past 4 months the store lost 3 team leaders and 3 amazing executive leaders. Seriously, the store is running down. People say they are cutting more hours than usual for Jan/Feb. they are pushing people to give up. I can’t take a falsely accusation, as small as it seems. Thank you for kindness in your words.

 

[sunnydays]

You're young, it won't follow you just do not do it again under any circumstances, regardless of the item. Don't play the equivocation card with the folks on this panel. Admit you stole, you knew what you were doing. No weaseling out of this one.

why are you such a jerk

 

[Black Sheep 214]

When I was at Target if you shopped on a day that you worked you had to have your bags and receipts checked when you left. Doesn’t Target require that anymore? It’s a shame if they don’t, since it protected everyone.

 

[sunnydays]

When I was at Target if you shopped on a day that you worked you had to have your bags and receipts checked when you left. Doesn’t Target require that anymore? It’s a shame if they don’t, since it protected everyone.

did not happen to me even once in 3+ years

 

[Walkonmyshoes]

did not happen to me even once in 3+ years

Never about that practice around here neither.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

did not happen to me even once in 3+ years

Never about that practice around here neither.

Wow, that’s interesting to know, because my store was so serious about it. We had metal detectors and AP sticker detectors at the team member entrance/exit too. That last one kept a lot of keys from taking that unintentional trip home. 😂

 

[BobBelcher]

I had my contract terminated by Target for thef in Massachusetts. They claimed that two months ago, I took two items home without paying and, the next day, another item. When they showed me a list of the items taken during the first incident, I recognized them and admitted to having them at home. Honestly, I only realized I hadn’t paid for them during the termination meeting.

The thing is, I used to collect work tools, such as printers, scanners, and devices, to return them to the charging station. I also collected trash and misplaced items to return to guest services so other team members could restock them. On a few occasions, I used Target bags to transport these items to the correct locations.

They have an image of me in the backroom, openly, in front of cameras and other team members, grabbing items from a cart I left for shipping and placing them in a bag. You can’t see exactly what I am grabbing from the image, but I am 100% sure it was work tools, my water bottle, and other personal belongings. I likely returned the devices and kept the bag with my personal items, like my water bottle and coffee mug.

That same day, I intended to buy a pair of socks and a small toy that I grabbed during my shift. After clocking out, I picked up more bulk items and went to checkout. Somehow, by accident, I failed to pay for the two small items I had with me earlier. It was an honest mistake; both items were worth less than $10 in total.

I did not steal. I’ve seen situations where moms leave the store without realizing their toddler is holding an unpaid item or when people forget items placed at the bottom of the cart. I understand being fired for my mistake, but the issue is that they are accusing me of another theft the following day.

They believe I stole a shirt, which the RFID scanner supposedly detected. However, I was told by an ETL that this type of shirt—an NBA shirt—isn’t scannable. They claimed I left with the shirt in a bag and didn’t make any purchases that day. However, I checked my app and confirmed that I bought food that day, so I left the store with a bag containing my purchases.

I understand they can fire me for missing the payment on two small items worth less than $10 from the prior day, but I did not take the shirt they accused me of stealing the next day. Why did they fabricate another accusation?

Can I request a correction to my termination record? I don’t want this misconduct on my file. Why didn’t they fire me for the two things I admitted to? I am so frustrated.

At the end of the day, it's the INTENT to steal that needs proof. If the case they have on you can prove that you intended to deprive Target of their merchandise, that is why you got canned. In your situation it seems like they were trying to get you before it became a bigger issue. A lot of times we would pull people on small stuff if we thought they could be testing the waters on how much they can get away with.

As far as the other theft goes, did you sign a paper admitting to the other theft? If so, that is on you for not sticking up for yourself. RFID is pretty accurate on what walks out the door without being paid for. It could be that they weren't completely sure and were trying to get you to incriminate yourself. AP cannot accuse you of a theft that you didn't commit, however AP utilizes wicklander interview methods to beat around accusing you and get you to tell on yourself. As far as your termination, there would be no point as you were fired for theft which is considered gross misconduct, I could be wrong but I believe that will bar you from rehire. As far as walking around the store that you like without being judged or looked at a certain way? You kinda did it to yourself lol, one of the things I always said when doing orientation to new hires is "Don't sh1T where you eat"...in a spot acceptable way of course.

EDIT: Can you provide more information on the shirt? This was brought into question for a reason. Did you select the shirt at any point? Did you select it and walk around with it are perhaps set it down in a place that it looked like you staged the item?