Assisting law enforcement with child abduction attempt resulted in termination

[evlreala]

Oregon

The Friday before Mother's Day, a drunk man assaulted a woman in the parking lot of my (former) place of employment, took her child from the back seat of her car and was making his way off the property with the child in his arms. My coworker called the police, and at their request, we kept our distance, did not touch and did not engage but we did follow at a distance so the police would know where to go by the time they arrived on the scene.

Because I went off property to see there he was going, my employment was terminated due to "violating safety policy".

I know this is a long shot, but do I have a case for wrongful termination?

Either way, a child's life was in danger, I believe ethically and morally I did the right thing.

 

[LdiJ]

Oregon

The Friday before Mother's Day, a drunk man assaulted a woman in the parking lot of my (former) place of employment, took her child from the back seat of her car and was making his way off the property with the child in his arms. My coworker called the police, and at their request, we kept our distance, did not touch and did not engage but we did follow at a distance so the police would know where to go by the time they arrived on the scene.

Because I went off property to see there he was going, my employment was terminated due to "violating safety policy".

I know this is a long shot, but do I have a case for wrongful termination?

Either way, a child's life was in danger, I believe ethically and morally I did the right thing.

I believe that morally and ethically you did the right thing as well. However, I do not believe that you have ant grounds for wrongful termination. Your employer is permitted to enforce policy, even though other people might disagree with them.

 

[CdwJava]

Yes, you did the right thing. I am sure that the public would disagree with your employer's bone-headed decision to let you go, but it may not be the kind of thing you want to raise a public stink about. Apply for a new job, and if the question comes up about why you were terminated, let the facts speak for themselves.

 

[Just Blue]

Oregon

The Friday before Mother's Day, a drunk man assaulted a woman in the parking lot of my (former) place of employment, took her child from the back seat of her car and was making his way off the property with the child in his arms. My coworker called the police, and at their request, we kept our distance, did not touch and did not engage but we did follow at a distance so the police would know where to go by the time they arrived on the scene.

Because I went off property to see there he was going, my employment was terminated due to "violating safety policy".

I know this is a long shot, but do I have a case for wrongful termination?

Either way, a child's life was in danger, I believe ethically and morally I did the right thing.

Thank You for helping that child....your boss is a fool.

 

[evlreala]

I figured it was a long shot, but I thought I should ask. Thanks for the replies!

 

[CTU]

Oregon

The Friday before Mother's Day, a drunk man assaulted a woman in the parking lot of my (former) place of employment, took her child from the back seat of her car and was making his way off the property with the child in his arms. My coworker called the police, and at their request, we kept our distance, did not touch and did not engage but we did follow at a distance so the police would know where to go by the time they arrived on the scene.

Because I went off property to see there he was going, my employment was terminated due to "violating safety policy".

I know this is a long shot, but do I have a case for wrongful termination?

Either way, a child's life was in danger, I believe ethically and morally I did the right thing.

You don't have to name the business, what was the nature of your ex-employer's business?

 

[evlreala]

I don't mind naming them. I worked for Home Depot.

 

[Ohiogal]

I don't mind naming them. I worked for Home Depot.

There is a legitimate reason for them firing you. you left the property and if you had been harmed while on the clock, you could have claimed worker's comp or sued them. They are making an example of you. They have a hardline reasoning. But it is NOT wrongful termination.

 

[Chyvan]

my employment was terminated

File for unemployment.

 

[commentator]

I agree, you should file for unemployment. But as Ohio pointed out, there's a pretty good case for calling this work related misconduct, though it may have been with a noble motive. You did leave your post, leave your work place without permission, and if you'd been injured during your good Samaritan work, you might have exposed the employer to liability. If you want to be a first responder, find the kind of place where that's your job. They were quite within their rights to fire you, though it was sort of a mean thing to do, given that things turned out well. But what I don't see was why was it necessary that both of you leave the worksite?

 

[CdwJava]

While the termination was legal, and I understand the employer's potential liability and thus their decision, I would have done the same exact thing if I saw a kidnapping. If word got out, the OP's employer would suffer some bad PR from this - as well they should. This was a ssmall child being forcibly removed from the mother!

It's damn easy to NOT get involved! It takes more to actually put yourself out there to make a difference.

I say, kudos to evlreala, and agree that you did the right thing, the decent thing, and the only thing a man or woman with a conscience could do under the circumstances.

 

[LdiJ]

While the termination was legal, and I understand the employer's potential liability and thus their decision, I would have done the same exact thing if I saw a kidnapping. If word got out, the OP's employer would suffer some bad PR from this - as well they should. This was a ssmall child being forcibly removed from the mother!

It's damn easy to NOT get involved! It takes more to actually put yourself out there to make a difference.

I say, kudos to evlreala, and agree that you did the right thing, the decent thing, and the only thing a man or woman with a conscience could do under the circumstances.

I absolutely agree.

 

[Ohiogal]

I absolutely agree.

I agree as well. I am not saying the OP did anything wrong. I was just explaining why an employer would act the way they did. OP should continue doing such things as he did to help.

 

[commentator]

Having watched employers in action for many years, where profit, their profit, is the ONLY thing that matters, it doesn't surprise me one iota that this person got fired. And I'm afraid they've skewed the employment laws and the whole point of view of the system to the point that the result is what I said, probably fired, unlikely to get approved for unemployment insurance. That said, I do agree that the OP did the right thing, and that a person should offer assistance if possible, and follow what they believe to be is the right thing. As to the legality of their being fired for doing that, unfortunately, that's the way we do things in this country sometimes.

 

[CTU]

All I'm curious about is how the OP knew which such certainty what was going on before the cops got there.