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Union Square Whole Foods
Whole Foods deli clerk Ralph Reese, 57, was fired back in November for taking a tuna fish sandwich from the Union Square Whole Foods where he worked. Whole Foods fired Reese for misconduct, a cause that would have disqualified him from receiving unemployment benefits. So, employees get fired all the time (and rightfully so) for stealing , right? Reese’s case was a bit different and his primary issue was the misconduct charge.
In challenging the ruling, Reese explained that he was throwing 30 sandwiches out at the end of his shift and set one aside, in plain view, to be eaten later. His supervisor questioned him about the sandwich and Reese explained that he’d taken the sandwich from the group designated for the trash. His supervisor threw the sandwich out and Reese was fired two days later. A two year employee of Whole Foods, Reese explained that his former supervisor had allowed employees to take damaged food. Whole Foods can’t sell damaged food and writes them off as a loss. Reese never retrieved the sandwich from the trash.
Employee rights activists argue that employers in many states, New York included, have an incentive to reduce the number of claims they pay out due to the fact that their unemployment insurance rates are based on the amount of benefits former workers collect. In February, the administrative law judge handling the case ruled that Reese did not, in fact, eat the food without paying for it and did not take the food out of the store. Added to the fact that Reese had no prior record of warnings on file, the judge found his actions, while in poor judgment, were not misconduct. Reese, who is still unemployed, finally started receiving his unemployment benefits a couple of weeks ago.
Photo: Angela Jimenez for The New York Times
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