If getting wrongfully fired wasn’t enough, what if your boss tried to confiscate what was rightfully yours? A manager for a firm in Michigan had to deal with such a predicament after putting in two weeks’ notice in preparation to switch jobs due to scheduling reasons. The employee’s boss was furious and met the worker at the workplace to fire them on the spot, then berated and insulted them. The employer then demanded that the ex-manager turn over his custom-made uniforms for work; otherwise, he threatened not to give the final paycheck.
“The problem is that I paid for those shirts 100% and have the receipts,” the Michigan worker explained. “In my eyes, he has no claim to them, and withholding my earned money for my property seems unfair.” For further clarification, the custom-made uniforms were specially designed by their company and were hence overpriced; not to mention, they had the manager’s name printed on them. “Additionally, there was no valid reason for my termination, yet they are telling everyone that I kept putting my shifts up for grabs and that I was a poor worker,” OP added, elaborating on just how bad a boss the man truly was.
The fact that the Michigan firm’s employer wants the custom uniforms at all is ridiculous. Still, the main issue many online users take with this story is the unjustified withholding of the final paycheck, which is illegal. “Report the wage theft to the Department of Labor and let them deal” with the boss, one user recommends on OP’s Reddit post covering the matter. “His old boss has no leverage here,” agrees another. “Report wage theft to DOL.” Plenty more echo the same sentiment of telling the government that the boss is trying to make trouble for his former employee.
“Just report him to the state, might take a few weeks but you will get that check, and to f**k with him file for unemployment so he has to jump through that hoop,” suggests a Redditor. OP believes this to be the best course of action and an ideal way to retaliate against his old employer. “I like the way you think. I just filed for unemployment, we shall see what happens,” they reply. Hopefully, the employer gets in trouble with the state and ends up paying what the ex-manager is rightfully owed — regardless of whether he gets the ‘precious’ work uniforms that aren’t even his in the first place.
