Coworker is getting rumors spread about him?

I had about $150 of cash in my wallet, and I went to the vending machine at work to get a water. I had a 1 dollar bill wrapped inside a bunch of $20s and basically, when I tried pulling the dollar out, the bunch of money fell out of my hand and on to the floor. A coworker was behind me and he ran over to help me pick it up and I thanked him, got my water and walked away. When I sat down I looked in my wallet to make sure it was all there but I saw I was missing some $20's. I automatically thought what if my coworker stole it. I went back over to the vending machine to look around and see if there money still there but there wasn't. I ended up going to my manager and I explained to her my concerns and that ____ might have taken it when he helped me pick it up. She said he was acting suspicious after he came out of the break room so it was a possibility. Biggest mistake telling this manager, she went around and told everyone omg ___ stole ____'s money!! I ended up looking back under the vending machine again and to my surprise I saw the money pushed back. I must of missed it the first time I looked. So I go back to my manager and said nvm, I found it. By this time it's too late, she told half the store. My coworker found out he was being accused for stealing money and is very upset. Is this my fault? I heard he's saying he wants to file a complaint for defamation of character so will I get in trouble since I brought him u

Answers

linkus86

No, the liability (if any exists) is limited to the person who knowingly knew the information was false, and took it to the public. Thus you, nor the manager, is liable unless one of you knew for sure he wasn't a thief, but told the public he was.

Law

This one I'm not quite sure about because I don't really know about your company. There could be policies in place that are supposed to protect the anonymity of complaints by employees. Best bet is to be honest with the guy and make sure he understands your side of the story and would be willing to back him up as gesture of good will if it came down to him against the manager. If it comes to a lawsuit against you, you would be able to tell the judge that your complaint was based on a suspicion, and you made it in confidence that it would be anonymous but, the person you told is the person who actually went out of their way to inform the rest of the store. Possibly the best way to resolve the situation would be to get the manager to make an announcement before opening or something like that, where she explains there was a big miscommunication/mistake where ___ is by no means any sort of thief. Hope this helped.

Jeffrey

His only suit would be against the person who spread the story. You should explain to everyone that you were mistaken about the money being taken and that you are sorry that someone was accused of taking it.

Dances with Weed

Dude slipped the 20s under the vending machine after he knew he was caught. Classic thief trick.

Kat

It sounds like it is your managers fault for telling everybody. It's not yours. She shouldn't have spread that information. However, a sincere apology and a gift card for coffee (or offer to buy coffee?) might go a long way in repairing the rift and keeping the peace.

PAMELA

Yes, it was your fault, you should now make sure that everybody knows that he did not steal any money from you, that you found it,and next time do not jump to conclusions.

Susie

Your fault...Yes. The least you can do is apologize to him, make sure all your co workers know that you found the money, and learn for future reference not to jump to conclusions.

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