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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    3

    Default Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    I work at a shopping mall in Illinois that gets really busy on the weekends and there aren't enough parking spaces to accommodate all customers & employees. The mall management and security came up with a rule that employees cannot park at the mall parking lot on weekends to make space for customers. They created an "off-site" parking area down the road which employees have to inconveniently park there and take a shuttle bus over to the mall to get to work. The cars of people they "believed" worked at the mall they would put a sticker on them saying that they were in violation of not parking offsite. They had no way of knowing these cars belong to employees they just based if off the cars that were parked there the most frequently. I have been working in the mall for 3 years and I have always parked in the mall parking lot but recently I put a Obama bumper sticker on my car so I have been getting stickers from them every weekend. Just this week they released a memo, that I just read last night, saying that they will no longer be warning cars & immediately towing them. Keep in mind there are not signs saying we have to park off-site. There was no oral, written consent or agreement from employees. The corporate offices of the stores were not notified about this towing either. Today after leaving work I found that my car was missing. I had no notice given because the mall management/security does not know who I am and that I am even an employee of the mall. I found myself searching the whole mall trying to find a security guard or person of management and they were know where to be found. I ended up reporting my car stolen to the police and they told me my car had been towed. I called the towing place and paid $198 to get my car out. Another young lady happened to be there from the mall and we found out we were the only two cars towed that day and she also had an Obama sticker on her car. There are several issues with this situation and I want to know if my car was illegally towed and was I and the other young lady possibly targeted as well.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Louisville, KY
    Posts
    1,877

    Default Re: Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    Putting any sort of sticker on your car made it easier to track. (if they didn't want to memorize and write down license plates)

    Of COURSE you can be towed if the mall's management mandated you were to park somewhere else, and provided accomomdations for such. From now on, I suggest you park where you're supposed to.

    (oh, and get a better bumper sticker!) ; )

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    Actually, after research I found out that I was illegally towed based on Illinois laws & regulations on towing of vehicles. Since there was no consent from me, I was not personally notified, and there were no legal signs stating that I could be towed; they had no right to tow my car. Also when a car is towed there should be some notification of what the towing place is called, located, & telephone # somewhere on the premises and there wasn't.

    (oh, btw there is no better bumper sticker than the one I already have)

    http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publ...95-0562&GA=095

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    I think the statutes you should be looking are actually 625 ILCS 5/Ch. 18a et seq, but those statutes also have a signage requirement.

    Basically, I think you're right - your employer could have fired you or suspended you, and still can, but if they don't have statutorily required signage they should not be towing you.

    You were personally notified - you told us as much - but not by posted sign.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    Also, this is not a rule made by my employer, I don't work for the mall, I work for a store in the mall. My store/employer has no idea about this rules the mall is making because if they did they would have personally notified us about these rules.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Posts
    8,006

    Default Re: Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    Another problem I see for mall management is how do they know if a particular employee is there to work that day or shop? If they are shopping, they become customers and should not be bound by the rule. It's not hard if they wear distinctive clothing and security sees them going into work but could get ugly otherwise. What are they going to do, start having security check every store to see if someone is working or not? Talk about a waste of time.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Can You Be Towed at a Shopping Mall That You Work at

    Quote Quoting ebbysimone
    View Post
    Also, this is not a rule made by my employer, I don't work for the mall, I work for a store in the mall. My store/employer has no idea about this rules the mall is making because if they did they would have personally notified us about these rules.
    You are free to demand mall management reimburse you. They are free to ban you from mall property in response. Your employer is free to fire you for not being permitted to come to work. What a terrible web we weave, when we practice to deceive.

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