Wrongful Termination of a 16 year old?

[Step615]

I live in Georgia.

My daughter was recently (July 1st, 2015) hired to work part-time for a retail store in the mall. She did everything her job asked of her with no issue. She came home one day and told me that ALL 3 of her managers had been fired because of a discrepancy in an audit. She didn't know much about what was happening and continued to work when scheduled. When the new schedule was released, she did not see her name on any day and assumed it was because school had started back. In a group text she started to hear rumors about everyone at her store being fired, even those hired after her. She decided to go to the store and ask what was going on and she was told the Loss Prevention decided to terminate every employee at the store, including her. She got this information from the new manager (hired 2 days prior) and was told they would be making phone calls soon. Of course, she was highly upset and did not understand why a part-time employee was being punished for something she knew nothing about. At this point, I stepped in and asked to speak to the district manager and whoever else decided this. I spoke to HR compliance personnel and was informed that if a loss is big enough L can decode to terminate the entire staff at the store. I understand policies as I once worked in the corporate world, but I have a few issues with this and how it is being handled.

1. She has not been formally contacted by any higher level managers.
2. No one has explained or given her a formal reason for HER termination.
3. She was hired less than 2 months ago and the audit was for time periods over that.
4. among other things...

As a mother, I am upset because my child did not deserve this. But more importantly, this is her first job and unfortunately she was introduced into the work field with the lesson of even if you do right and be a loyal employee you can still be punished along with others who decide to do wrong.

Does she have ANY legal rights?

 

[cbg]

She has the right to look for a new job. The store is within their legal rights.

I'm not going to try to tell you this is fair; we both know it isn't. But the law doesn't care if it's fair - the law only cares if it is legal. This is. It is not a wrongful termination as defined by law.

 

[xylene]

Calling corporate and demanding answers?

You may be are being a helicopter parent on this one.

Firing everyone was harsh, but admit it you don't know if it was unfair. And no I'm not calling your daughter a thief. Just that "bad apples spoil the bunch" is a lesson learned way before 16, so I'm sure she will be ok.

 

[anteater]

But more importantly, this is her first job and unfortunately she was introduced into the work field with the lesson of even if you do right and be a loyal employee you can still be punished along with others who decide to do wrong.

And your point is?

Maybe it i for the best that he learns that early on.

 

[commentator]

If you once worked in the corporate world, the one thing you should have learned and be ready to pass on to your child early is that the employer is like the big old gorilla, they can do pretty much anything they want to, fair or not. Wrongful termination has just about nothing to do with the sort of thing that employers do in "at will" states every day, and being wrongfully terminated is about as rare as a reindeer siting in Florida. Your daughter has the option to get out and find another job, and learn that yes, they can do this to me. If she were working more hours, or had been working long enough, I'd suggest that she file for unemployment benefits, as this is her only recourse when she has been fired unfairly without the company having a valid misconduct reason to fire her personally. But in her situation, I strongly suspect that she's got no monetary status to apply for unemployment, therefore there is nothing she can do at all.