Sears review: harassment/wrongful firing ( 2 comments)

I used to work for Sears on two different occasions, the latest being from 10/2008 to 9/2009. Sears as a whole do not care about their employees or customers. My story:

The manager of the Shoreline Sears (Laina Lundgren) is a screamer, extremely loud and shrill. She will think nothing of screaming in front of you for an honest misstep. This happened to me one month into my employment with her, when she screamed at me in full view of customers for asking a customer to go to another cashier because my card reader wasn't working. The customers told another assistant manager because of how Lundgren treated me and what they witnessed, they would never come to that store again. I got hauled into the office to be screamed at again for the same dang thing. I think she was mad she got called on her behavior by customers.

I did my best at my job to avoid her whenever possible; I needed the money. Then in June 2009 (the same day Michael Jackson died), I was just getting off work and I was headed down to the first floor in the store's elevator. I was not distracted in any way and was looking straight ahead when the doors opened. I injured my right foot stepping off because the elevator had stopped about 1 1/2 to 2 feet above the floor. I had to ask three times for an accident form before I got one.

A doctor visit and an MRI later said I had to stay off my foot until the follow up, which was going to be around the beginning of August 2009, but the harassment started within a week after my actual injury. With me being a bus rider and on crutches (I don't know how to drive a car) made it impossible for me to obtain a ride to work to receive the light duty they were offering. They kept griping at me every couple days even though I had a doctor's note and showed them and everything.

Finally, in mid-July I was bothered again, with me again repeating I had to follow what my doctor said. Less than 2 hours later, Laina Lundgren called me herself and threatened to fire me if I didn't show up the next day. I decided to try and come in because I needed the job. I showed up in crutches and aircast and shorts (because I couldn't fit pants over the aircast). The HR lady asked if I could at least take my cast off and I told her no, the doctor says I must wear it--and if I was going to be in back shredding papers anyway, who's going to see it?

The paper shredding went on for three weeks, until my follow-up, which went fine. I was back to being a cashier until the beginning of September, when I was called into LP to discuss money I supposedly stole. They informed me they saw me putting money into my pocket, but they did ask me if I remember the customer in question. "Oh yes, it was a guy who had an estimated 34 cents coming back which I offered him, and he waved me off, saying "Keep it." I said "Sure? It's 34 cents..." But he said "I don't need it." So yes I did put it in my pocket because I have always been proud of keeping an even till. (The most I've ever been off in my entire life is about 20 cents, but almost always my tills have always counted even.)

LP claims that any extra change becomes property of Sears and that it should've been put into the drawer, and that it says so in the COC. Believe me, I've looked the whole thing over and nowhere does it say so at all. I believe they were just trying to find a reason to fire me because I was the only one who complained about the elevator malfunction--as it turned out, another problem happened after my accident and also people have hurt themselves on it in the past before me, but never said anything about it.

I got sent home for the day while they "investigated." Three days later the LP lady called me from her own house and told me she was instructed to let me go. What--the boss lady didn't have the guts to do it herself? I filed for unemployment, for which I was approved a few months later--then they appealed, saying my firing was just. We had to do some court thing over the phone, but they never showed up, so I won by default. At least I was prepared with what I felt was a solid argument, but I am glad my stuff with Sears is over because of all their harassment BS.

This kind of thing shouldn't happen to ANYONE. If I had the means and the money, I would sue for wrongful firing and harassment concerning my injury. The funny thing is, I would let the lawyer KEEP anything that was won, because for me this would be a matter of principle, and that's my honest word. I don't want money from this if anyone can take me on--I just want to stick it to Sears to make sure they think twice before doing this to someone else.