VA EMPLOYEE REINSTATED

A VA Canteen Service employee was fired for failing to pay for fifty cents worth of store merchandise. The employee’s manager told employees that he was going to throw out a supply of greeting cards that were no longer being sold. Due to a VA policy, the cards were supposed to be discarded and not resold. The manager offered the cards to employees for ten cents each. The employee took five cards and placed them in the stock room. The manager saw the cards and instructed her to put them away. Fearful that the manager would throw the cards away, the employee placed the cards in her locker with the intention of paying for them at the end of her shift. Later in the day, the manager searched the employee’s locker and asked her if she paid for the cards. The employee acknowledged that she had not paid for them, and the manager told her he would write her up. Although she offered to pay the fifty cents for the cards, the manager refused to accept payment. The employee was fired for failing to pay the fifty cents for the cards. At the time of her termination she had received numerous performance awards, had once been an “Associate of the Month,” and had no prior discipline.

The union took the case to arbitration, and argued that removal was too severe in light of the mitigating circumstances. The arbitrator agreed with the union, and mitigated the removal to a time served suspension. He found that the offense charged was unintentional and inadvertent. The employee was reinstated. After appealing the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals, the employee settled with the VA for a reasonable amount of back pay.