HELP!!! son being harrassed for "shopping" 4 days in a row in office

[cincur63]

Ok my son is in preload? goes in at 4 am, worked last friday. called in monday said he had a fever (he has been having back pain but doesn't want to say that , cause you have to jump through hoops to come back to work or find a doctor, the back pain and been for like 4 months now, i told him he's crazy and to go with workers comp, but he doesn't want to as he felt it would compromise his driver chances, although now he's given up entirely and is moving away, so will be resigning in like 6 weeks)

so he goes in on tuesday , and the security guy pulls him into the office and says they found an empty box on friday and now they have a bottle of meds(allergy meds) that was found today near the belt and the fingerprints on both of these match his. The bottle was on the belt when he came in, so he put it aside and told his co workers they were there in case the open box came through. My son said to the guy that he had no idea what he was talking about. And he said to the ups sup that "you set me up, cause now you're saying the pill bottle was there all day friday and monday and no one touched it till i came in today? My son told him he didn't do anything wrong, that boxes are routinely busted open or open when coming through, etc... My son was very upset, as he busts his butt for like 11 bucks a hour and gets up at like 4 am, and now this. so he finds out they spoke with two of his co workers also, and this made him feel better. Apparantly they had a laminated card with fingerprints and the other co worker was like ...."really? you have the card all laminated already and you expect me to believe that you are an expert and they match?"

So now the wed, thur , fri, they keep calling him in to the office , trying to get him to confess to something he didn't do. And there is really nothing missing , no crime. they are calling it "shopping". the steward came in with him today. my son is convinced they are going to fire him. he is leaving anyway , but is in the middle of some major dental work, and wants to finish that up. He also wanted to leave on good terms , to use ups as a reference. He doesn't want to get fired, even though he'd get unemployment and could grieve it. we are in south central PA , and he is moving back to long island, ny. so the grieving thing is a pain ( i think , wouldn't he have to come back and fourth?). I'm also upset that he has developed a back problem, and if they fire him..... how's he gonna have any medical care??


what should he do? do you think he's going to be fired? (i am thinking they would have fired him already, but they seem to have it in for him). although he is a hard worker, and they all admit that, and they said all the bosses said he wouldn't do that, he is a mouthy NYer, who stands up for union rights and questions when they do something wrong. (oops... my bad traits passed on) please help me... so i can advise him.. thanks

 

[Official Dill]

I am sure they will investigate it more. I am sure that they would have to have a valid reason to believe that it was him. I am sure that they are also having these "talks" with the other employees( I would hope at least).

Just tell your son that he needs to stay strong. Be a man and dont break. If he didn't do it, then he should have no problem standing up for himself and fighting his side of the case.

Hope everything works out for you and your son.

Dillan

 

[hubrat]

If they do fire him, he should be able to get his job back with back pay. Tell him never to go into an office without a steward present. It's his right.

 

[mamirk69]

This is a common theme when dealing with loss prevention. These are their tactics to see if someone is going to break and confess to stealing if they ever stole anything in the first place. As stated earlier your son needs to take a shop steward with him into the office and also if he has a smart phone record any conversation taking place between him and loss prevention for further use. As to his back, he needs to have a specific event to report an injury at UPS. A time, place, and date will always assure a positive claim when identifying an injury so make sure he is confident that the injury happened at work or other wise the claim will be denied.

 

[cincur63]

thanks all, keep it coming... but if he moves to another area, and fights it, does he have to go to work in the old area (5 hours away), he would consider still working for them. but he's not staying in south central pa anymore. just curious. i'm trying to advise him, he is 26 and he is not backing down. like he said ...nothing was even stolen or missing , it was an open box issue (as far as he knows) i would think if something were stolen, he'd have been arrested or fired if they really thought it was him. Do they really have a professional who knows how to do fingerprints, i mean that sounds like stuff they only do on TV. Even the police have a specialist for that.? thanks

 

[hypocrisy]

The fingerprint "evidence" is complete BS. It's very difficult to get fingerprints off of a plastic pill bottle, and it requires a different process for paper. They are simply trying to get your son to confess. They *could* get fingerprints off of any surface, but even the Police won't bother with anything more than powder on hard surfaces (glass, metal) unless a murder was committed. Your son should say that if LP feels there has been a crime committed they should have contacted the police, as stealing prescription medications would be a serious crime. Call their bluff.

He should have reported his injury if it was work related immediately. I wouldn't worry about using UPS as a reference, as they will only stay the dates your son worked there for fear of a lawsuit. Having an on the job, or off the job injury won't matter as far as driving goes. He simply needs a relatively clean driving record and the seniority.

 

[dcdriver]

Maybe his Mommy can write him a note and say he did not do it.

 

[hubrat]

Maybe his Mommy can write him a note and say he did not do it.

Maybe you can work on whatever issues are causing you such bitterness.

 

[Catatonic]

Maybe his Mommy can write him a note and say he did not do it.

Maybe you can work on whatever issues are causing you such bitterness.

Actually that was sort of funny.
I think DC was just being a smartbutt.
I wonder if her son knows she is on BC meddling in his business? jk

 

[Re-Raise]

The bottle was on the belt when he came in, so he put it aside and told his co workers they were there in case the open box came through. My son said to the guy that he had no idea what he was talking about. And he said to the ups sup that "you set me up, cause now you're saying the pill bottle was there all day friday and monday and no one touched it till i came in today?

If I am understanding this correctly, your son picked up the bottle of pills on Tuesday that were just sitting out on the belt?

If this is true, that does sound like they were setting him up. Obviously his fingerprints may be on the bottle NOW.

 

[JonFrum]

I have no idea if your son is innocent, guilty, or something in between.

Did he ask for a steward for each of his meetings with Management/Loss Prevention/Security? He has Weingarten Rights, as well as Contract Article 4 representation rights during these fishing expeditions.

Did UPS fingerprint him when they hired him, or anytime before this incident? (Be aware that UPS can also dust an object with an invisible substance that will get on your hands and show up under a blacklight.)

Is UPS claiming his prints are on the outside of the object or inside. Remember we are hired as "package handlers" so of course our prints will be on the outside of everything.

There is a UPS RULE that you are not to touch package contents. Of course this rule is routinely violated by just about everyone in the normal course of doing their jobs and clearing open package contents out of their way. Nevertheless, UPS can make it seem that we are pilfering when they want to.

Is UPS suspecting your son is looking for pills containing pseudoephedrine so he can keep his methamphetamine cooking lab running in your basement? If you are absolutely certain your son has not done drugs (or taken and legal drugs that will confuse the test results,) have him call their bluff and volunteer for a drug test as described in Article 35, Section 3.3 and 3.4. They'll test him for amphetamine, methamphetamine, and 6-AM. (If your son knows what 6-AM is, that might be a worrisome sign right there. Just kidding.)

 

[menotyou]

UPS lies all the time. They claimed to have the Nice-and Easy store tape that proved I drove down the same road that the package I never touched was on. They never had the tape, I never drover down that road, I never stole any package, the inside building video they did have proved I left the building with the package sitting on the rollers. But, that video didn't "fit" the story they were concocting, so they didn't talk about that. Even my management team was screaming "look at the video tape", but that would have made security's job harder. Actually doing it. Your son needs to re-iterate that he did not steal or shop anything, if they continue to harass him about it, he will look into his​ legal options.

 

[dillweed]

I'm afraid your son made a big mistake by not giving that bottle to a sup right off the bat. Can't undo that now but he should understand this.

As far as fighting any of this, including his back injury, I doubt that he will be able to do so without returning to his original area. To move five hours away and expect comp and medical treatment in a new area would be, imo, ridiculous.

The stealing issue is not a good deal for him. UPS is pretty harsh on the matter and WILL try to force someone to admit to something they didn't do. He needs a union rep to guide him through this and should do all he can to leave the company with a clean record.

Best of luck with this one. Also, at 26 he does need to take charge of his own affairs. I understand your concern but it's just time for him to learn to fly on his own.

 

[QKRSTKR]

Also, at 26 he does need to take charge of his own affairs. I understand your concern but it's just time for him to learn to fly on his own.

No kiddin. I know it's not easy but he's 26, not 18. I was surprised when the OP said 26. Heck, I was working @ UPS when i was 18, married and bought first home @ 22 and driving by 25.

If they had the goods on him, he would have been fired. Period. They don't. He needs to finish up, maybe resign a little earlier. UPS almost never fires anyone with offering them to resign. Unless they have absoulute proof. Even then to bypass the grievance procedure they will. Make sure he gets any vacation time he has coming when he resigns. He should also make sure he has a steward with him when he resigns. UPS should also.

 

[bumped]

No kiddin. I know it's not easy but he's 26, not 18. I was surprised when the OP said 26. Heck, I was working @ UPS when i was 18, married and bought first home @ 22 and driving by 25.

If they had the goods on him, he would have been fired. Period. They don't. He needs to finish up, maybe resign a little earlier. UPS almost never fires anyone with offering them to resign. Unless they have absoulute proof. Even then to bypass the grievance procedure they will. Make sure he gets any vacation time he has coming when he resigns. He should also make sure he has a steward with him when he resigns. UPS should also.

I wouldn't resign. If he gets his job back I would be a PITA. Anytime a box is open I would stop the belt, and call a steward over with management to make sure all the contents are there and taped back up. That should happen probably a dozen times a day.

 

[Catatonic]

I wouldn't resign. If he gets his job back I would be a PITA. Anytime a box is open I would stop the belt, and call a steward over with management to make sure all the contents are there and taped back up. That should happen probably a dozen times a day.

Probably not a good idea.
The first time he would be warned not to stop the belt for this and second time that happened he would be fired.

 

[BrownArmy]

Probably not a good idea.
The first time he would be warned not to stop the belt for this and second time that happened he would be fired.

So, damned if you do, damned if you don't?

 

[JonFrum]

Probably not a good idea.
The first time he would be warned not to stop the belt for this and second time that happened he would be fired.

UPS hates it when we follow their stated proceedures. It ruins production numbers.

 

[dillweed]

So, damned if you do, damned if you don't?

yes, that's it.

Anytime I see anything unusual on the belt I take it to a sup, right away if possible. If no sup's around I set it close and get it to them as soon as possible. This includes empty pkgs, any medicines or expensive looking items. Nuts, bolts, cheap crap comes all the time and we just make a pile of it and take it to overgoods at the end of the sort.

 

[mamirk69]

yes, that's it.

Anytime I see anything unusual on the belt I take it to a sup, right away if possible. If no sup's around I set it close and get it to them as soon as possible. This includes empty pkgs, any medicines or expensive looking items. Nuts, bolts, cheap crap comes all the time and we just make a pile of it and take it to overgoods at the end of the sort.

Cutting the belt everytime there is a open box and have the sup retape would make for a very bad day with management. Simply set the box to the side and notify management and move on. Resigning is not an option at all. If he was considering on moving the job he could do an educational transfer if that is possible. The stealing issue should be a situation in the past by now because if no one has folded by now then they never will and UPS pays the claim and get their money back from filing on their taxes.