A friend of mine was at work the other day (a nail salon), and the store had not been opened yet. She had her purse and her digital camera with her on the counter while she was cleaning the store. The manager of the store had one of the other workers move my friend's things to the back. The worker didn't take the camera with her to the back because she thought it was someone else's. The camera ends up disappearing (perhaps it was taken by someone, the worker or the manager maybe). The manager did not ask my friend's permission to move her stuff. My friend said that she would move it in a minute, but the manager said no. Who is responsible for the camera being lost? The manager, the worker, or my friend? What should my friend do in order to get compensated for the loss? She already spoke to the manager and the manager said that it's her fault because she shouldn't have been leaving her things around, but I feel that that's arguable. What would you do if you were her? This is a very touchy situation. If your friend becomes too accusative, then she'll be fired. The manager is correct that she shouldn't leave personal property around. Its a work environment and should be treated as such, not a place to lay personal things around. However, if the camera was taken before the store had opened, then someone that was there prior to opening should be questioned. If the camera was taken after opening, then there isn't much your friend can do. Perhaps she can look at the camera footage (if available) and see who took it.
Now, only time your manager or owner may be responsible is if she stored her items in a locker or drawer and they were subsequently stolen. They have to have a safe working environment.
Everything is debatable, but nothing is really substantial. She's screwed, the manager is right.
If you leave your personal property in the public domain of a business you're at fault for it being stolen, not the store. She should have put her things away herself when she arrived at work. The manager and worker don't have a duty to safeguard your friend's possessions, she does. They merely left the camera where you friend placed it. If you are asking that their inaction (not putting the camera away) creates liability, unfortunately the answer is no.
On the flip side, if they moved the camera w/o permission to an area that was more dangerous, they might be responsible. E.g. if your friend hid it in the back, and they put it on the counter. |
