A catch 22 at work

mods if in the wrong place please move

I was an Asst. Mgr at a retail store,

The company policy was noone was allowed to work in the store alone,The loss prevention person told me if I was ever in the store alone I was to call him.As it turned out a few weeks later my D.M. told me we had to cut hrs and I had to work 5 hrs alone..I asked him about the company policy of not being alone in the store.He told me to shut up and deal with it.

The catch 22 is

If I call loss prevention I disobey my D.M. and can be written up for insubordination and fired,

If I don't call loss prevention I can be fired

And on top of that I don't know if its a test to see if I follow company policy

Heres the question Do I follow my D.M.'s instructions or do I call loss prevention?

[edit on 18-11-2008 by rtcctr]

reply to post by rtcctr


I would follow company policy and then go home and polish my resume. It is a catch 22. Like they say though, honesty is the best policy. Call your loss manager and tell him that you are conflicted. I would think it would be considered "wrongful termination" if you get fired for following policy.

heres the kicker I wasn't fired...the person I put in a sexual harrassment against became my MGR. need I say more

the company already signed the contract with this person before I put in the complaint so they had to give her the job and I was told I could transfer to another store 20 miles away..the problem with that was I didn't have a car and there was days I would have to open before the buses ran and the nights I closed the buses stopped running by then and it would cost me half my pay check to take a cab

What is your main concern? Ethics (as in, what is the right thing to do)or job security (which choice will keep me employed)?

If it is ethics, just do the right thing and express your concern. If it is job security, then you need to evaluate which of your two superiors would be more likely to fire you if you cross them.

reply to post by rtcctr

I dont like the sound of it. You alone in the store.. if anything, ANYTHING, merchandise, money , .. comes up short, who do you think id going to take the fall? Y O U !

If I call loss prevention I disobey my D.M. and can be written up for insubordination and fired,

Sounds to me like if you call loss prevention your DM should be reprimanded. How can you be insubordinate when HE or she is breaking company policy??

Like Karl said... pick and choose what you want to fight for. But CYA is my advice. Don't let anyone set you up . Bottom line.

I don't think you can be written up (and have it stick) for not following a direct order that contravenes written company policy.

Is it a written policy? Do you have a copy? Get one and keep it safe. Call the loss prevention manager. If you catch any grief, sue 'em. Any attorney would take that one on contingency. That's as close to a slam-dunk guaranteed settlement as you'll see.

[Edit to add]

I'm NOT a lawyer. But since you asked, that's my advice based upon many years of experience.

Caveat lector.


[edit on 11/18/2008 by yeahright]

I agree with Karl that it's prob time to start spiffing up that resume because from what you said, there is no happy ending at this employer.

Tough situation as Im sure you know..I dont know much about retail but I do know about chain of command..Your DM should have authority over the loss prevention employee right?.. is the loss prevention guy management as well? and who is his boss?, It seems to me that the DM should hold the high card..right?..

This is some thing that I am trying to make all of you aware of YOUR company might be doing it also,

Read your company policies carefully,and report every rule that any employee including management breaks or you could be fired,

Loss prevention's highest manager answers to the owner/board of the company same as the highest manager of the company so I'm not sure who would have ranking authority.....

As far as I know loss prevention is compared to a doctor in the military,
A medic no matter what rank outranks a 5 star general when it comes to the 5 star general's health... ex. if a medic (even if he is a private) saw that the 5 star general had a cold, the medic could order the 5 star general to go to the hospital so he would not make the other service members sick, and the medic would have the authority to do so. (the catch 22 there is the 5 star could pull rank and try to give the medic an article 15 for insubordination eventhough the medic is in the right)

Personally, I would tell the loss prevention guy.

It would be my kind of luck to work that shift alone and have half the store go missing. Cover thine own butt is the first rule of employment.

On the same catch 22 subject,

different job,I was 40 at the time sitting in the breakroom,

A 17 year old was complaining about her boyfriend,I told her she was too young for me to talk to her about the subjects she was complaining about, She put in a sexual harrassment against me and I got fired(unemployment denied me benifits because of the sexual harrassment,they didn't care about the circumstances)I was in the right.

is their a union at your work?if there is i would give them a call.alternatively you could just say im in a no win situation so id like it in writing what you ask of me.but rules are rules follow them maybe youll have thier job before the days over.anyways go with your gut.