RHUer Needs Advice: Security Guard Vet Forced To Pay For Company's Weather Damaged Golf Cart

Okay, RHU. I have a small story for you and I need some advice.

My husband is a security guard that advertises itself as a place for veterans of all eras. They pride themselves in working for the vets. If you aren't a vet, you don't go anywhere in this company and they tell everyone that up front. My husband's a vet and has had many compliments by the higher ups for his assistance when it came to following the poor scheduling practices they abide by (such as calling the morning of and telling you that you work by the way on that day). 

In any case, suffice it to say that he's never had any issues (save this one) and has never had a single complaint against him. He is liked by everyone he works with without exception. His higher ups (that he doesn't personally report to- boss's boss, ect) .. are dicks, I guess.

So at his work, there is an opening in to the 'back' parking lot which is where they keep the security vehicles and their personal vehicles. The general public doesn't get to it, it's secluded and off to itself. The opening for this lot goes between two slender trees with a bit of an incline that's kind of steep and made of cedar chips, dirt and some rocks. Now, their golf cart doesn't have working lights on it and it has been raining.. 

The rain has come down so hard and so fast that the ten minutes he's spent back there the little dirt road that leads to he opening from the rest of the property is soaked and soft. Well, what happens when the car inches out? It sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiides into the tree. There is an estimated $800 worth of damage. We, like so many out there, are paycheck to paycheck. I'm only weeks from enlisting and working hard to get the weight down that I need to. 

That said,  weeks ago, there was a meeting between husby's boss and his boss to break the news that he would have to pay for this act of God out of pocket since they don't want their insurance rates going up by claiming it on their insurance. Ooohkay.

Also, as more punishment, they would be changing his work hours and location to one further away and over night during his childrens' last week of visitation (which they knew about) causing him to have to sleep half the day to recoup. His schedule still hasn't returned to normal leaving us still feeling punished.

All that said, we hadn't heard from anyone. We had asked during that little meeting if we could use our own insurance to help pay for it. We were told yes but that the bigger boss would get back to us. We heard nothing. At all.

Until this morning.

There was a change in leadership in a dirty kind of way but that's another story all in itself so suffice it to say, the spineless Yes-sir dude got promoted to the boss position. He's the guy that calls this morning, asking for his payroll information to start this deduction. 

Husby kind of halts the call there and asks if they have already fixed the car because no one called him. We had our own places we wanted to take it to since we'd have to be paying for it and claim it on our insurance.

Now we can do neither. The guy throws out this gem "Well I was under the understanding that you got to keep your job because you agreed to pay for it."

To which re responded "I was under the understanding that someone was going to get in touch with me so I could take care of it." 

Now, RHU, he never, EVER signed any paperwork leaving him solely responsible for the working vehicles while on duty before taking control of them. He has never had a complaint or a problem directly against him with these people and he's been commended to top it all off for coming into work when they needed him on extremely short notice on multiple occasions- taking him away from home and our plans. 

This was quite literally an Act of God. This would have happened to anyone. There was no horsing around going on. He had both hands on the wheel. If that all wasn't enough, they had switched the work vehicles on him that week, giving him one that was lighter than the previous. 

What do we do?

--Fingers

 

 

 

Comments

[Bebinn]

There is no way he should be responsible for it. Any accident is still reportable. Doesn't matter how it happened or why. They should have called the insurance company right away. Sounds like something fishy is going on. Your local Labor board or whatever agency takes care of labor disputes would probably be the place to start.

[Bored at the Bookstore]

Okay, let's think about this. He was on duty, it was purely an accident with the aid of circumstances beyond his control, and the company has insurance for this sort of thing. But they can't be bothered to make a claim, because it might up their premium. So the poor guy who was driving at the time Mother Nature gave the cart a shove has to pay out of his own pocket??? I don't think so. I think the company should get their -um- paperwork in order and submit the claim to their insurance company. If the insurance company's investigation finds that the driver was some percent at-fault, then, yes, it should be submitted to your insurance for coverage. But the idea of making a worker (and especially a veteran, married to an enlistee) pay for an on-site accident is just wrong.

What if your husband had been injured? Would they "allow" him to apply for workmen's comp? And now I think of it, where's OSHA in this story? They should have been notified of an on-site accident, too. I think I read somewhere that they have an anonymous tip line...

Now I think of it, is there any possibility that the company DID file a claim and is using this as a punitive measure by making you "pay" for the repairs? If they're this chinchy, maybe they're double-dipping.

Sorry, folks, I have a devious mind... and I used to work for an insurance company once upon a time and saw plenty of attempted frauds!

[Bored at the Bookstore]

I just checked online, and here's the URL for OSHA contacts. I don't see any anonymous access, but ... could be useful to have on file, anyway.

http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/complain.html

Here's some important information. Notice that it specifically mentions being transferred or demoted...

"The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 gives employees and their representatives the right to file a complaint and request an OSHA inspection of their workplace if they believe there is a serious hazard or their employer is not following OSHA standards. Further, the Act gives complainants the right to request that their names not be revealed to their employers.

"Complaints from employees and their representatives are taken seriously by OSHA. It is against the law for an employer to fire, demote, transfer, or discriminate in any way against a worker for filing a complaint or using other OSHA rights.

"OSHA will keep your information confidential. We can help.

"If you think your job is unsafe and you want to ask for an inspection, contact us. It is confidential. If you have been fired, demoted, transferred or discriminated against in any way for using your rights under the law, you must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days of the alleged discrimination."

[Rain]

It's illegal for them to deduct that money from his paycheck unless they can prove he caused the damage deliberately, which he clearly didn't. Of course, they can fire him for any reason at all.

Essentially they want him to bribe them with $800 in exchange for allowing him to still work there. Since security guards get paid so little, it's probably not worth the bribe money. Other than finding a new job, I don't see a lot of options for your husband, sorry. If the former managers liked him, see if he can ask to use them as references when looking for a new job.

[Chicajojobe]

Oh hell no!
I'm sorry, but you guys should have never agreed to pay for it in the first place.
If a piece of equipment in the lab breaks while I'm using it, unless my school can prove I was mishalding it in some way, I'm not responsible for paying to fixing it.
Same for your husband, the golf cart belongs to the company, their insurance covers it, he uses it for his job but allowing him to do so was their decision, and what happened was an accident caused by the weather. They don't want their insurance rates to go up? That's just tough shit! They can fix it and risk the insurance rates going up, or they can be without a golf cart, but it's their problem to deal with not yours!

Iif they want to fire him for this there might or might not be something you can do about it. The laws are complicated, though I certainly feel like you should (ideally) have a case to complain.
But I almost feel that it'd be better to refuse and lose the job, than to have them bully and cheat you out of 800 dollars. Especially if you're enlisting soon. Even in bootcamp you get paid right, so you'll have in come?

[trekkiebabe31]

Yeah, I agree with everyone else. This doesn't sound right, I would get ahold of OSHA or even threaten to go to the police, it sounds like they're trying something illegal.

[Hapax Legomenon]

I'd go job-hunting now if I were your husband. They're trying to get him to quit. And when he gets that new job, report the old one to OSHA.

[Fingers]

We hit a stroke of luck this afternoon. Shortly after sending this in, we went up to the local workforce commission office and talked to the veteran's affairs. The guy actually set up an interview for within the hour at another location for another company doing similar to what he's doing now for similar pay (with option for overtime should they need it).

We had agreed to pay for it at the time under our conditions because we needed the job (he started looking right after that little 'meeting' for a new one) but we had never heard back from the guy. When nothing was ever remarked about it again and no one called AND the vehicle was fixed, we figured they decided it wasn't worth the effort.

He starts orientation on Tuesday so he gets the added bonus that we all wish we could have. He gets to call bullshit on the company without fear of being jobless! We had friends over tonight to celebrate this fortunate event (Thanks, Freeman!) so work outs resume tomorrow at nine am, sharp without a worry in the world! Hopefully, I will be heading off to basic in October so we're excited about that, too.

Thank you all so much. We will check out the OSHA thing for retaliatory actions from the company's perspective to ensure that they don't steal from his last check.

-Fingers

[Gadebalran]

I would send in an OSHA complaint either way. That 'road' the cart slid on is clearly a hazard when it rains. They need to get some actual pavement on that thing or at least lose the cedar chips and get a decent amount of gravel on there so there is some sort of traction. Sounds like a serious accident just waiting to happen.

[Chicajojobe]

I'm glad it worked out, and I'm glad you reported them to vertans' affairs because even if they're run by vets, they obviously don't have the best interest of vets in mind, so it wouldn't do to continue sending people looking for a job there.

[L]

Wow, if I was liable every time the security vehicle I'm given to drive at my job was damaged, I'd be broke! I get sideswiped, run-over nails, stuff that isn't my fault and it's repaired by my work by the insurance. Your accident was an accident, pure and simple, and your husband isn't liable. That company sounds a mite shady to me. Glad he found a better job!

[K]

I'm a Human Resource Manager and let me tell you that you are not responsible. They cannot withhold your payroll and cannot force you to pay for anything. DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING!!!

[Fingers]

Yea, he told the guy point blank that he wouldn't be signing any of it because of all of those reasons listed. And just to clarify, it was the car that got damaged, not the golf cart. Normally, he would just use the golf cart instead of the car (for reasons just like this) but without working lights on it during the evening hours, the car has to be used.

In hindsight, we should have probably been curious when the Veteran's Affairs guys hadn't even heard of this company which actually has 'Vets' in the title of it it.

[Versatile Vegetarian]

I'd be contacting a lawyer in a hurry!

[hiya]

You can contact the Dept of Labor if they withhold his last check. Or even to investigate, if you're feeling punchy.

[NC Tony]

Definitely report them, because if they pulled this on you, what's to stop them from pulling it on someone else when they have an accident?

[CharlieWhiskyMike]

Who is responsible to keep the ways and the golf cart in an acceptable an safe shape. What would have happen if your husband was hurt and his ability to work was hurt for the rest of his life?

[Skittles]

It's almost always bad when you work in any company that you have to be part of a specific group to get ahead in. Regardless of what that group is. That being said the best place to take any issues over his final check is usually the "Department of Labor Relations" although that usually just deals with union issues or the "State Labor Board" for your state. It varies depending on which state you are in.

[find out more]

amarital sexual explorations, encountering a card salesman (Card Man), who turns out to be something of a nonentity, and Halim, a Syrian security guard who is rather more interesting. Halim's sexual interest in Our Woman seems closely related to his interest in the biological realities of reproduction