My uncle has worked in the produce department for a Walmart in PA for 9 years. He has never once got written up for anything. The other day, he was in the back room about to discard an apple that was badly bruised. Before he did, he turned it over to where there was still a bit of good apple left, sliced it off, and ate it. His supervisor saw him and he was eventually terminated because of it. The eating of fruit is pretty common in that back area, a fact that even his supervisor's superior acknowledged during my uncle's "exit discussion." I'm sure that what he did was technically stealing, but it hardly seems to be a reason for instant termination after having been a good employee for 9 years.

Additionally, he still had 3 weeks of vacation time but when they fired him they told him that the "system" showed he had zero. They also did this to his wife, who worked at the same Walmart, but she received a check in the mail a few weeks later. She was fired within the past year for a very suspect reason: a shopper had a large item in their cart, so my uncle's wife walked around the register with the handheld scanner and in the process the red light shone across a baby's face, which caused the shopper to freak out. She was instantly fired, and she had also worked there for 9 years. I've heard many similar stories from a friend that works for the state in labor laws, where a Walmart employee's shelf-life is just under 10 years.

Does anyone have any advice as to what recourse he might have? I was maybe going to suggest the BBB or the ACLU, but that might be overkill. Any help is much appreciated!