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"LOYAL TROOPER GETS BURNT WHEN FELLOW WORKER STEALS"

Dear Kathryn:

After a twenty year successful and stable career, a thieving employee managed to slash and burn my life in one day. I was the lead teller, responsible for routine audits. On this particular day, I discovered a shortage in a particular teller's cash drawer. When I counted the money, she had a hundred dollar bill on the top, eight one dollar bills and then another one hundred dollar bill on the bottom of the strap. Obviously, a planned step on the teller's part to make it look like there was $1000 in the strap marked $1000! I decided to audit the ATM and discovered that to be short over $10k.

The proper authorities were notified and the teller was terminated. She signed a notice and waiver of rights and in doing so, she stated she acted alone in the planning and execution of the thefts. No problem until both myself and the Assistant Branch Manger were fired! Here I was the one who discovered the theft, reported it to proper authorities and was cooperative in the investigation, only to get shafted. The reason personnel states for my termination was that I "didn't meet bank standards." All of my written reviews are excellent and prove otherwise!

I have heard of guilty by association, but I wasn't associated with this thieving person! Even though CT is at "employment at will" State, can this injustice be done to me?!

CONFIDENTIAL, PLEASE! NEW HAVEN, CT

Dear "Confidential":

Gee, to go down like that would surely get anyone's goat! Since I felt you needed the best guidance here, I immediately contacted Attorney Brian Clemow, head of Shipman & Goodwin's labor department. Here's what he said.

If the circumstances are as you explained and the bank truly didn't have any performance related reason to terminate you, you have a claim that Clemow feels could be successful. You'd need to hire a private attorney as issues such as these wouldn't be handled by any state or federal agency.

While an attorney will obviously cost you, with one filing he can file two claims. Under CT State Statue Section 31-51m you'd receive protection under the CT Whistleblowers Statute. An employer cannot retaliate against an employee for spilling the beans about another employee's illegal actions. In addition to that claim, your attorney can charge "wrongful discharge", a violation of public policy.

Assuming you'll be pursuing a new job, have a few contacts make reference calls to the bank inquiring about your work performance and overall rehire eligibility. My guess is that they'll stonewall the reference inquiries but I'd want to be sure given your recent experiences. If you're confident the information you're outlining is correct, pursue the attorney route. After a successful career where you've been the upstanding employee, it's more than unfair to suffer your experience. Good luck.

Dear Kathryn:

Some people think that if you win a labor law suit, you're golden. They couldn't be farther from the truth. I was doomed if I told the truth about my horrible experience, and doomed if I didn't.

Both myself and my co-worker were sexually harassed by a visiting vice-president of our company. I was a wildcat when the vice-president accosted me, and I promptly reported the incident to personnel. His knuckles were rapped and the incident was pushed under the carpet. The goon moved onto another victim and was even more physically assaulting with my co-worker. After hearing of her horrific experience, I felt we should do more then just report to personnel, so we saw an attorney.

With our attorney boosting our confidence and morale, we filed the suit and the company offered both of us out-of court settlements of the back pay we had lost since we've not been working. A small "keep your mouth shut" settlement has been offered as well. The problem, then? We both have no jobs and are experiencing a nightmare when interviewing. When interviewers are asking us why we left our jobs, we have been saying personal reasons. In my last interview, I got sick of lying and stated the truth. The interviewer ended the interview in record time.

So, here we are, no job, an "unacceptable" reason for leaving as told to us by recruiters and no reference. Where do we go from here? Aren't we owed more then this?

SH & TR, Glastonbury, CT

Dear Whipped in Glastonbury, CT:

You don't indicate whether you were fired or quit voluntarily. If the employer let you go in retaliation for filing the law suit, you'd have additional issues to pursue. If you left voluntarily, you don't have reason to complain that you're out of your job.

As to your employer declining to comment in reference checks, consider this a usual course of action. If your attorney didn't arrange to get a reference letter as part of the settlement, it's probably too late now to try to get one. An employer doesn't owe an employee a reference. As to the reality of job hunting, the recruiters that advised you that leaving a job due to sexual harassment is an unacceptable reason, are not far off the mark. It's a tough explanation you're faced with and when a potential employer hears any kind of trouble associated with you and a former employer, it's a natural reaction for them to be gun shy.

While some folks will shudder when I tell you to soft pedal your explanation as to your reason for leaving, I am a realist. I'm also the direct recipient of literally thousands of employers who've reacted negatively to a candidate outlining their sexual harassment story. My recommendation-"I left the company as the environment had become vastly less professional then when I had started. I felt that I'd be happier in a more professional environment and have targeted your company as one that has the reputation of being so." A potential employer will take well to that response.

For references? Find someone who held a supervisory role that might have left the company. They won't have the same reasoning for staying mute about your work performance.

Last idea-get your performance reviews if they were in written format. An employer must make them available to you (with a copying charge), but they'll help to substantiate your work history. Good luck.