On Friday, I was told to sit down for a phone call from my boss, and he proceeded to tell me that someone reported that I said “KILL EM ALL!” while working, and interpreted that as a threat on the workplace.
I don’t know what he thought he heard, but I never said that. So I’m guessing he misheard something I said to myself.
Anyway he told the head of security.
I’ve been suspended from work, my work ID’s been confiscated, and I’ve been told they’ll wait for an investigation to end before deciding if I’m fired or re-assigned to a different building.
Someone will call me on monday for questioning.
So I’ve never done this before. How likely is it that I’m fired?
And worse still, what are the chances that they’ll end up pressing charges for “making death threats”? I’m trans in a state that doesn’t let you take hormones while in jail (Really bad considering I’m post-op and need hormones to not be menopausal) I REALLY don’t wanna go to jail and get V-Coded.
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Please do not seek professional help here. Get a lawyer.
Stop talking about your situation online. Don’t share any more identifiable details.
Start discussing with a lawyer.
You need a lawyer.
I do?
If I was falsely accused of a crime by a coworker and looking at losing my job because of it I would be hiring a lawyer who specializes in employment law ASAP. That’s some serious shit that can totally fuck up your life.
Jesus fucking Christ what kind of backwards idiotic country do you people live in that you can be fired by a single colleague claiming you said something.
You can’t, we have a century of suppressing knowledge of worker protections though
Companies do illegal shit all the time, the world is full of petty tyrants who think they have more power than they do. Normally no one fights back, because it’s expensive and people are busy trying to keep their life together, if they even know they had protections that were violated in the first place
We have HR departments for exactly for this reason, to protect the company from employment lawsuits. But again, the whole suppression of knowledge of workers rights… Once a lawyer gets involved, they tend to backtrack so hard it makes your head spin
I’m trans in a state that doesn’t let you take hormones while in jail (Really bad considering I’m post-op and need hormones to not be menopausal) I REALLY don’t wanna go to jail and get V-Coded.
Absolutely. Get a lawyer ASAP.
Yes. And don’t say anything else to anyone except said lawyer - especially the internet.
Call a lawyer now. Do whatever they tell you.
Another recommendation for a lawyer.
It isn’t even about the criminal side, because there’s going to be a lack of evidence beyond what one person thought they heard (assuming you presented everything here accurately). But they’re going to try and fuck you every way they can. Because they can, nor because you did anything. Best case, they’re wanting to cover their asses, which means they’re hanging you out to dry. Worst case, they plan on doing everything in their power to prevent you from using unemployment, or any other benefit.
That’s what unions are for.
Sadly, you seem to be in the US.
So yeah, like @[email protected] said, lawyer upThis is what lawyers are for. Since part of the situation here is a conflict between two workers an Union would be in a complicated spot. With the right level headed people in the Union they might ensure a fair process for both sides - which is also what a competent HR would do - but I wouldn’t gamble my life on it.
Unless they can prove in a court of law you actually made that statement, the odds of them pressing charges is low. If they had a recording you would have been fired on the spot. Take jail and prison off your list of worries, if they filed charges they’d have to go through discovery and no company wants that.
Without knowing more about your work environment this also could be pretext to get rid of a trans employee. Something about falsely accusing a trans woman of violent statements just has “I watch too much fox news and am butt hurt about the midterms” vibes, that’s usually how bigotry driven violence goes.
It might be worth the couple hundred bucks to talk your case through with a lawyer that specializes in labor no matter what happens.
Hard to say. I’m guessing putting you on leave is standard procedure where you live for any possible threats of violence, pending a formal investigation. So my judgment is that it will probably depend on how well you can convince the investigation committee that you did not, in fact say anything like what you’ve been reported for saying.
Based only on the information given here I don’t think you’ll go to jail at least, since “kill em all” should be protected under free speech laws (I don’t believe it’ll count as a legal threat). But also I’m not a lawyer so I could also just be talking out of my ass.
Regardless, it sounds like maybe you should start looking for another job? Even if the investigation goes well, I can’t imagine that it’ll be comfortable continuing to work for this company
Your question can not be answered without knowing in which jurisdiction you are. In places with sane laws and some worker protection it would be impossible to fire you as long as they can’t prove you said that.
I live in North Carolina, which is an at-will employment state.
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t make promises, but I think you can breath easier about jail time. Criminal threat charges require real evidence that you meant it and/or were reckless about it sounding like a threat. One coworker saying they heard you say something you deny saying, with no target and no history, is a very weak case. It’s also a good sign that this went to HR and security, not the police.
For Monday, write down everything you remember about that day now: Where you were, who was around, and anything you might’ve said to yourself that could’ve been misheard. In the call, stay calm, be honest, don’t guess, and ask EXACTLY what was reported and when. They may not be able to tell you who reported it for safety reasons, but they should be able to tell you what was said.
If they do let you go, and you’ve had any harassment or poor treatment at work related to your transition, talk to an employment lawyer or file with the EEOC or your state’s civil rights agency. Firing someone for being trans is still illegal under federal law, even in at-will states, and there are deadlines for filings, so don’t sit on it.
Again, not a lawyer, but I think you’ll be OK. Good luck on Monday.
