Do I qualify for a wrongful termination lawsuit?

[gideon]

I was a server at a corporate restaurant and I was fired for theft. I did not commit any for of theft while I was employed at the restaurant. Basically what happened was a coworker came into the store and the bartender had already cashed out and was counting his drawer. The co-worker asked if I could ring in a beer for her and I agreed. I could not ring in the beer because of technicalities with the terminal (which the manager was aware of). I went ahead and collected the money for the beer from the co-worker and proceeded to grab the beer for her. We have a procedure in the store that if you need something for a table you can go ahead and call for it, and ring it in as a no-make later. I informed the bartender that I was going to get the draft beer and that the co-worker had already paid. He said it was alright and I went ahead and poured the beer. When I was about to walk out of the bar area to deliver the beer, my manager saw me and stopped me while standing inside the bar. He asked to see the ticket for the beer and I informed him that I could not ring it in because of the problems with the terminal. I placed the beer on the counter of the bar. I DID NOT DELIVER IT TO A TABLE. He would not correct the problem with the terminal and accused me of attempting to steal the beer. I refunded the co-worker her money and the manager removed the beer from the bar. I was terminated today for "Theft". Both myself, two witnesses, and the co-worker who purchased the beer wrote statements claiming that I had in fact collected the money for the beer and that it was not being stolen. The manager did not submit any of these statements to the regional manager and in his write up on me he stated that "I was taking the beer for myself as there were no tables sat in the restaurant."

Do you think I could potentially have a case for a Wrongful Termination or Defamation lawsuit? I didn't want to go spend money on a lawyer if there was no chance that I may have a case. Thanks in advance!

[jabarl]

you work in an at will state that means you can be let go for any reason or no reason, suspicion is any reason, the workplace is not a democracy.
move on with your life

[bronsin]

you work in an at will state that means you can be let go for any reason or no reason, suspicion is any reason, the workplace is not a democracy.
move on with your life

No you don't have a case for wrongful termination or defamation. You might have a small chance of getting unemployment if you appeal and tell your version of what happened.

[barraq]

Unfortunately, I agree. Even if you win the case, what's it going to get you? That manager's a piece of crap, but I don't think there's much you can do about it, legally.

Good ol' America.

[golding]

Sorry, but in the US "wrongful termination" is a myth.

[leland]

Don't even bother. That manager was laying for you and wanted to find a way to fire you. The only people who win in law suits are the judges and the lawyers because it is their game and they enjoy it. You pay out a lot of money, wait forever, and by the time the case is over the business is closed and you cannot collect a thing but you still owe your lawyer.

[adusa37]

Wrongful termination lawsuit is not worth the time and money it would cost to pursue but I would contact the corporate headquarters and speak to the Human Resource Manager about the problem. You do not want them to mark your employment record with a notation of theft. Good luck