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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    7

    Default Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    I'm wondering if there is really anything I should be concerned with in this situation:

    I currently work part-time at a pet store. I recently had a customer offer to GIVE me their animal. There would be no money involved they want the animal to go to a good home.

    When my boss found out about this he went ballistic and threatened to fire me over it because I was doing "dealings through the store." He also told a co-worker/assistant manager of mine that if I took the bird he would take me to court for retail fraud. He said that the animal is only be able to come back to the store to be resold. He is convinced he would have a new customer that would buy a cage and whatnot but because I would be taking the bird, I'm stealing from him. Needless to say, he's lost two customers already.

    I live in Michigan, and I haven't found anything that would give me a clear answer, other then that Michigan seems to be unique in its law about it.

    No matter what I am taking the animal. But in this day and age I'd like to be sure he can't really sue me. People should be free to give their animals to whom they please. The only "problem" is that we met through the store.

    Thank you for your time.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued

    Let me guess... You work at PetLand.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued

    Let's say I am an unethical, unscrupulous pet store. I know that I can significantly boost my revenues by selling pets to people who are ill-suited to care for them, but how can I make even more money.... I can institute a return policy whereby if those people bring the pet back within a specified time period they are limited to a 50% refund.

    When I sell somebody a sickly, poorly socialized pet which has been forced to learn to "potty" in the same place it eats and sleeps (consider the cage design in this type of pet store), the odds are pretty good that a lot of them will be coming back. I then give the buyer a 50% refund, put the animal back in its cage, and sell it to the next sucker to come along. Maybe I'll be lucky and my animals will be so sickly, poorly socialized, and inured against being housebroken, that I can sell them several times before somebody keeps them or, due to their advancing age, I ship them back to the puppy mill that spawned them.

    Let's say that a customer gets angry with this policy and decides, "I am not going to return this pet to you. I'm going to make a gift of it to... this employee I like." At that point it's the customer's pet - their property - and they can dispose of it as they wish (within the confines of animal cruelty laws). I don't know of any basis for the employer to sue an employee who receives the gift of such a pet. However, Michigan is an at-will state and the employer could fire the employee.

    Am I close to the mark as to what's going on in the pet store where you work?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued

    Thank you all for your responses!

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    Let me guess... You work at PetLand.
    Thankfully no. There is one near me in Utica that opened semi-recently. Two people I work with want to work there. I was there once and found it to be just another pet store that churns animals out. Although things were clean as far as I could tell, their animals friendly, I still didn't like to atmosphere. Something about it was more about money then the animals.

    Quote Quoting aaron
    View Post
    Let's say I am an unethical, unscrupulous pet store. I know that I can significantly boost my revenues by selling pets to people who are ill-suited to care for them, but how can I make even more money.... I can institute a return policy whereby if those people bring the pet back within a specified time period they are limited to a 50% refund.

    When I sell somebody a sickly, poorly socialized pet which has been forced to learn to "potty" in the same place it eats and sleeps (consider the cage design in this type of pet store), the odds are pretty good that a lot of them will be coming back. I then give the buyer a 50% refund, put the animal back in its cage, and sell it to the next sucker to come along. Maybe I'll be lucky and my animals will be so sickly, poorly socialized, and inured against being housebroken, that I can sell them several times before somebody keeps them or, due to their advancing age, I ship them back to the puppy mill that spawned them.

    Let's say that a customer gets angry with this policy and decides, "I am not going to return this pet to you. I'm going to make a gift of it to... this employee I like." At that point it's the customer's pet - their property - and they can dispose of it as they wish (within the confines of animal cruelty laws). I don't know of any basis for the employer to sue an employee who receives the gift of such a pet. However, Michigan is an at-will state and the employer could fire the employee.

    Am I close to the mark as to what's going on in the pet store where you work?
    Actually it really is a nice pet store, or else I'd be long gone. Our animals are well socialized, not from mills, and we clean constantly. These are the only things the store has going for it. We take the time to educate people about their animals, and it isn't completely unheard of that we've declined to sell one to someone because we didn't see them fit. Outrageous prices and an owner that is a tyrant/dictator is the downfall. I figured that because the bird was THEIR property they can say how and where it goes. The worst my boss could do was "ban" us from the store. But considering his outburst we're not too heartbroken about the possibility.

    Quote Quoting redtoy92
    View Post
    find a new job and take the bird... screw him.
    Working on it. I may even put my two weeks in before I even have another job. It just is hard to find a good job around here

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    563

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    did you happen to sign anything about promising to not personally take a pet from a customer during the return period or anything like that?

    aside from that ..enjoy your new bird

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    Quote Quoting THEAMAZINGCHAN
    View Post
    did you happen to sign anything about promising to not personally take a pet from a customer during the return period or anything like that?

    aside from that ..enjoy your new bird
    Nope. I don't even think we have any kind of "manual" which is where that stuff should be found right?

    Yeah our return policy is great. You buy the animal, you can't bring it back after a day with the reasoning "We don't know where its been. It could have gotten a sickness and we don't want to give it to the other animals." But because you bought it from us, you don't need the health tests we require and the animal can come and go from the store as they please. Does not make sense.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    UTAH
    Posts
    178

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    find a new job and take the bird... screw him.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    Update!

    Today I walked into my work and informed him that I would be taking the bird. He then informed me he'd see me in court. Why? Because he's suing me for "corporate theft" and "embezzlement" and in fact his lawyer had gotten back with him today about it and said he could. His point is I wouldn't know the family had it not been for the store, and that I'm doing deals through the store. I then asked about my job and he said that corporate theft was instant termination. He later told an employee after I left that he can sue me because I went through his personal files, called the family and convinced them to give me the bird and not him. And that he was also going to make me lose my unemployment*.

    The family themselves has said that even this is incorrect because they contacted me first. And I officially agreed to take the bird while talking to them on my cellphone out of the store. Not to mention the bird is their property and they should be free to give the bird to whomever. Also, when he sues me, if its before October, I won't even have the bird in my possession.

    Quite honestly I don't think he can even AFFORD to sue me, but I'd like to know where I stand as far as the case against me. From what I can tell he doesn't have much, some paralegals we talked to today said there isn't much, but still, its a scary thing.

    Again, thank you for your time!

    *I was collecting underemployment due to the fact I worked at CompUSA and the pet store at the same time. Now that I have lost both jobs I can continue to collect unemployment. I called UIA today and informed them of what happened. I asked if it would effect my unemployment they said it shouldn't. Not a promise but he was quite amused when I told him the very brief story of why I was fired. I have to fill out a questionare about the matter.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    I thought you indicated that your boss didn't take returns, supposedly out of concern for illness, so I'm not sure how the buyers could have returned the bird to the owner. Perhaps I misunderstood something?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: Being Threatened to be Sued by my Employer

    Quote Quoting aaron
    View Post
    I thought you indicated that your boss didn't take returns, supposedly out of concern for illness, so I'm not sure how the buyers could have returned the bird to the owner. Perhaps I misunderstood something?
    No you haven't really misunderstood anything. Yes they can't return the bird ( this mostly applies to little birds ) but if you want to give up your larger bird then thats ok as long as they came from the store, or have had health tests done. Of course you have to GIVE UP the bird so he can sell it and make some kind of profit. Which is what it comes down to. Profit. He's mad he can't resell the bird and try to make a profit.

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