Location: Virginia, USA
My wife works as night auditor at a hotel. She and I recently ended up in a situation where we had a month between our old lease and new one when moving. We asked at her work if there was anything they could do, and were offered a room at reduced rate, and the management seemed fairly happy to assist as my wife is a good worker and is consistently helpful. We did have to sign a paper that was about a paragraph saying that we are subject to the same rules as any other guests and that we could be asked to leave at any point.
Two days into our stay, one of my wife’s coworkers apparently left their new iPhone in an office overnight. This office is off of the laundry room, which during the day is open to the rest of the hotel (employee only area, but a guest could wander in and has been known to). My wife and I were awoken to this woman screaming, claiming my wife stole her phone. She said it had to be my wife, despite there having been several other staff members with opportunity, and also the laundry room had not been locked so anyone could have walked in.
Management did not check cameras. Knocked on our door. My wife denied any knowledge of what happened (I was with her the entire time, she did not and would not steal the phone.). We were told to leave the premises, and that we could no longer stay there. Management claimed that “this has nothing to do with the accusation” but that seemed strange.
My wife is still working there, but nothing has been resolved and the phone is still missing. Everything seems hostile, and management is apologetic but far colder than they were before.
I am genuinely considering legal action for discrimination and defamation of character if this goes any further. The coworker was allowed to scream accusations against my wife without consequences (accusing her of a felony since the phone was worth more than 1k). Also, my wife was kicked out of the hotel promptly with really no explanation given. And the work environment is markedly hostile feeling to her and she doesn’t know if she’d even have a job if they weren’t so desperately short-staffed.
Do you think we have recourse?
Comments
NAL but an an HR person. Because there was no adverse employment action there is no case. Maybe you could argue being kicked out of the hotel was an adverse action but since you were explicitly told you had to keep the same rules as guests I doubt it.
You also don’t know what happened behind the scenes. They probably did check the cameras. Obviously they didn’t see anything because your wife still has her job.