Archived Getting un-rightfully terminated?

[derek16450]

The minute I clocked in today, the ETL-AP pulled me aside and asked if we could talk for a minute. He brought me into the HR office and shut the door. He brought up a punch correction that I did a few weeks ago and explained that I committed "Time Clock Abuse".

Heres some back story;
The second week of July, I was doing plano/push every day from 8-4:30. The Tuesday of that week, I left two hours early (with permission from the ETL). I remember punching out the minute he told me that I can leave early. The next week, someone who worked in HR told me to do a punch correction for the week prior, I did not realize that it was referencing to the day that I left early (because I vividly remember punching out that day), so I put down 4:30 and thought nothing of it.

Anyway, the ETL-HR read me the definition of "Time Clock Abuse" and handed me my paycheck. The ETL-AP was asking me for some sort of explanation. I told him what happened and apologized for the mistake, I could tell by their expressions that they thought that I was just making up excuses. I even offered to give them 2 hours worth of pay to settle the issue. I wasn't hostile at all and I think that the conversation ended on good terms.

So my question is, can you get terminated on the spot for something like that? I have never had any warnings and have been on good terms with the store since I got the job. I even impressed the STL and a lot of the team leads with my work. Is there anything that I can do to work for Target again or is the game over for good? Any suggestions on what I should do now? I was thinking of writing an apology letter to the STL but I am not sure if that would be appropriate.

 

[gsa4lyfe]

The minute I clocked in today, the ETL-AP pulled me aside and asked if we could talk for a minute. He brought me into the HR office and shut the door. He brought up a punch correction that I did a few weeks ago and explained that I committed "Time Clock Abuse".

Heres some back story;
The second week of July, I was doing plano/push every day from 8-4:30. The Tuesday of that week, I left two hours early (with permission from the ETL). I remember punching out the minute he told me that I can leave early. The next week, someone who worked in HR told me to do a punch correction for the week prior, I did not realize that it was referencing to the day that I left early (because I vividly remember punching out that day), so I put down 4:30 and thought nothing of it.

Anyway, the ETL-HR read me the definition of "Time Clock Abuse" and handed me my paycheck. The ETL-AP was asking me for some sort of explanation. I told him what happened and apologized for the mistake, I could tell by their expressions that they thought that I was just making up excuses. I even offered to give them 2 hours worth of pay to settle the issue. I wasn't hostile at all and I think that the conversation ended on good terms.

So my question is, can you get terminated on the spot for something like that? I have never had any warnings and have been on good terms with the store since I got the job. I even impressed the STL and a lot of the team leads with my work. Is there anything that I can do to work for Target again or is the game over for good? Any suggestions on what I should do now? I was thinking of writing an apology letter to the STL but I am not sure if that would be appropriate.

Time card fraud is stealing from the company so yes they can term you on the spot no questions asked. Regardless if you’re being honest or not they still feel like you committed it so it’ll be tough to change their mind

 

[Fluttervale]

Yes they can term you for that. You are responsible for providing accurate punches, whether you use the time clock, my time, or verbally tell them.

If you clearly remember punching you could ask them to check the video. There's a camera at the time clock.

File for unemployment if you are sure you hit the time clock.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You could of done, a paper copy with etl to sign off on. I think spot has more on you.

 

[Bosch]

Yes its an auto fire.

 

[RedcardReba]

Crazy. They didn't even ask?

 

[planogirl]

Dam we have a tl who does this all the time to cover being late and shes still employed.

 

[unknown]

Dam we have a tl who does this all the time to cover being late and shes still employed.

Isn't it fiendishly clever of Target to let .... yes LET .... people work off the clock and work through their breaks, but fire people for the opposite? 👀 Always always always watch your own back.

 

[derek16450]

Crazy. They didn't even ask?

Nope, this whole thing could have been avoided if someone asked "Hey, I think you made a mistake, wasn't this the day you left early?" Then I would have realized the error and fixed it.

 

[derek16450]

You could of done, a paper copy with etl to sign off on. I think spot has more on you.

I did the paper one and the ETL-HR signed off on it right in front of me.

 

[Fluttervale]

Nope, this whole thing could have been avoided if someone asked "Hey, I think you made a mistake, wasn't this the day you left early?" Then I would have realized the error and fixed it.

Not to be a jerk because it seems like you are being honest, but it's 100% your responsibility to know. A manager can't keep track of the 100 to 500 people working in your store.

In previous work I've terminated several people for timeclock fraud, and all was clearly 100% intentional (trying to avoid discipline for being tardy, or sitting in the breakroom without punching repeatedly). If someone made a mistake...we just talked to them and fixed it before paychecks went out.

It makes me think that maybe you have behaved suspiciously about time before and they were able to nail you for something and did. Do you punch out as soon as you stop working, or do you collect your things? Do you wait a few minutes by the timeclock before punching, especially if you finish work 10 or 15 minutes early? That kind of thing.

 

[allnew2]

I

Not to be a jerk because it seems like you are being honest, but it's 100% your responsibility to know. A manager can't keep track of the 100 to 500 people working in your store.

In previous work I've terminated several people for timeclock fraud, and all was clearly 100% intentional (trying to avoid discipline for being tardy, or sitting in the breakroom without punching repeatedly). If someone made a mistake...we just talked to them and fixed it before paychecks went out.

It makes me think that maybe you have behaved suspiciously about time before and they were able to nail you for something and did. Do you punch out as soon as you stop working, or do you collect your things? Do you wait a few minutes by the timeclock before punching, especially if you finish work 10 or 15 minutes early? That kind of thing.

I do punch correction 6 times every other week .

 

[allnew2]

I

I do punch correction 6 times every other week .

But I’m a Tl key carrier and have to sit at the door to have everyone in . But if I’m pissed off that day I make everyone wait 30 minutes . Because at the end of the day if you are not there at 3:35 am you can wait at the door when I come back for the 4 am crew.

 

[DBZ]

Why did HR ask you to do a punch correction? Do you miss punches often?

 

[EchoFoxtrot]

Dam we have a tl who does this all the time to cover being late and shes still employed.

had one like that for almost two years, was all kush for them such a nice position hardly any real "work" besides interviewing and managing people a year and change ago they were termed...shocked us all but damn did we love it =P only TL ive ever seen steal shit right in front of us...would fill up soda at the cafe every morning without paying and would punch correct to cover nearly 3 hours a week of not being there. No idea how they got the job in the first place.

 

[EchoFoxtrot]

Why did HR ask you to do a punch correction? Do you miss punches often?

doesnt every store have people who miss punches often? I forgot to punch out for lunch the other day because I got to chatting with a fellow tm on my way to the break room but I was definitely on lunch so I fucked up but my TLs dont treat it like a huge deal...I know asants but I had the idea that most stores have a lot of missed punches due to their hiring practices LMAO sorry-- jokes.

 

[can't touch this]

and would punch correct to cover nearly 3 hours a week of not being there. No idea how they got the job in the first place.

I had a manager at one of my old jobs who did that for several years before he got caught and the company took him to court lmao

Except in that case it was closer to 1-2 hours per day almost every day.

 

[gsa4lyfe]

doesnt every store have people who miss punches often? I forgot to punch out for lunch the other day because I got to chatting with a fellow tm on my way to the break room but I was definitely on lunch so I fucked up but my TLs dont treat it like a huge deal...I know asants but I had the idea that most stores have a lot of missed punches due to their hiring practices LMAO sorry-- jokes.

I forget to punch back from my lunch a lot but I always over estimate how long my lunch was just to avoid something like this

 

[can't touch this]

getting un-unemployed in this case seems unpossible tbh

 

[a1flow]

Did you check your time card for that week using mytime on the computer? It would have shown which day you forgot to punch. You say you remember clocking out so it would have shown if you actually did or not. Ultimately you did commit timeclock abuse by putting in the wrong time.

 

[Formina Sage]

I think the word is "wrongfully"

 

[Tessa120]

We had an HRTM who would hand us a completely filled out punch correction paper and tell us to sign, rather than telling us to fix it ourselves in the computer. There were a lot of times I didn't realize I had forgotten a punch until the form was handed to me as I was logging my equipment. So I can understand an accidental punch correction, someone trying to make sure people's pay was right and not realizing that day was early release, and the recipient of the form figuring the punch they are signing off on was an actual forgotten punch they simply didn't remember forgetting.

 

[Far from newbie]

Nope, this whole thing could have been avoided if someone asked "Hey, I think you made a mistake, wasn't this the day you left early?" Then I would have realized the error and fixed it.

Am I correct to understand that you wanted someone ELSE to remember you left early when YOU yourself did not remember ?
Oh, ok. Next time I lose my keys i’ll Ask you where I put them.

 

[Far from newbie]

I forget to punch back from my lunch a lot but I always over estimate how long my lunch was just to avoid something like this

Exactly. I’d rather miss a few minutes pay than have the time scrutinized and I come off on the ‘stealing time’ side.

 

[derek16450]

Am I correct to understand that you wanted someone ELSE to remember you left early when YOU yourself did not remember ?
Oh, ok. Next time I lose my keys i’ll Ask you where I put them.

I'm just saying, if they did a two-week investigation, checking security cameras and everything, they could have said something about anything instead of dropping the hammer instantly.