A knife incident at work (I'm semi-invoved)

J

jk904jk

Joined
Jun 20, 2006
Messages
139
The short version of it all.....

This morning at my fast-food job, I gave a co-worker an old gerber folding knife. It's a plain old aluminum handle/thumbstud opening knife around 3"blade length. I sharpened it before bringing it to work to give to her. I leave before her to go home, then get a text message when I get home saying...

"richard and I were messing around, and I cut myself with the knife, and now I'm going to the hospital to get stiched up".

the second text message stated that I was going to get written up for bringing a knife to work. I don't know wether or not the employee handbook/manual states any info about having knives at work (I never received a handbook or was even offered one). It seems to me that since we work with chef's knives and smaller pairing knives, that having a small folding knife would be no big deal. Right?
 
jk904jk said:
"richard and I were messing around, and I cut myself with the knife, and now I'm going to the hospital to get stiched up".
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Save that message. The statement "richard and I were messing around" should hold some bearing.

As for getting written up. Once you gifted the knife to Miss Clumsy, it was hers. If you get written up, so should she.

That said. I'm not a lawyer, so I'm clueless on these matters.
 
Lesson learned. My knives and firearms NEVER leave my possession! I EDC a folder, like most of us on this site do, but if someone needs a task performed with it, I do it personally. Then the knife gets returned to my pocket, immediately. Occasionally, I am asked by fellow members at a sportsmens' club to try one of my firearms. I am happy to oblige, but I closely supervise the whole process, from the time that the weapon comes out of its case until the time it is returned to its case. I keep all knives and firearms that are not being used locked in a small arms locker. Liability lawsuits in this country are out of control. Each of us must take precautions to limit our risks.
 
The trouble is, you are talking about company policy rather than law. So the result is going to depend on how smart and fair (or stupid and biased) your supervisor is. Companies can make their own rules on this, and employment is always "at-will."

Since you use knives for work already, I think your coworker may be mistaken. Let's hope so anyway.

I once worked at a place where "weapons" were not allowed at all (though scissors and razor blades were abundant), and "weapons" were never defined explicitly other than guns. Well one person had a pocket knife in his pack that he forgot was there, and got reprimanded by the district manager (who is from out of state) despite the fact that in the state in question, pocket knives are explicitly excluded from "weapons" by law. Company got to make it's own rules on it though.
 
glistam said:
Company got to make it's own rules on it though.
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While I know little about american laws, I doubt that a company can redefine a legal term.

They CAN say you´re not allowed to bring knives, but the CAN´T use the term "weapon" to include something that, by law, isn´t considered a weapon. So it´s all in the small-print. If it says "weapons and knives of any kind" then it´s ok, but if they say "weapons" period, it should be assumed that they mean the legal definition of a weapon.
 
jk904jk said:
The short version of it all.....

This morning at my fast-food job, I gave a co-worker an old gerber folding knife. It's a plain old aluminum handle/thumbstud opening knife around 3"blade length. I sharpened it before bringing it to work to give to her. I leave before her to go home, then get a text message when I get home saying...

"richard and I were messing around, and I cut myself with the knife, and now I'm going to the hospital to get stiched up".

the second text message stated that I was going to get written up for bringing a knife to work. I don't know wether or not the employee handbook/manual states any info about having knives at work (I never received a handbook or was even offered one). It seems to me that since we work with chef's knives and smaller pairing knives, that having a small folding knife would be no big deal. Right?
Click to expand...

Hmmm... why did you give an obviously irresponsible woman a knife anyway!?:confused:

I almost -hate- people who don't respect knives because neglect often leads to harm to themselves and OTHERS.:grumpy:

So you give her a knife and she dobs you in to save her own cut neck? Not a good friend at all...

Just deny that you gave it to her. They won't be able to prove it unless it's on video.

Just deny it and you'll be ok.
 
Arkeld said:
While I know little about american laws, I doubt that a company can redefine a legal term.

They CAN say you´re not allowed to bring knives, but the CAN´T use the term "weapon" to include something that, by law, isn´t considered a weapon. So it´s all in the small-print. If it says "weapons and knives of any kind" then it´s ok, but if they say "weapons" period, it should be assumed that they mean the legal definition of a weapon.
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im america the laws are set up so that regular citizens can get screwed by their employers and/or educators. because you agree to the terms of a contract when you begin employment, you have to go by their definitions, not legal ones, since them terminating your contract based on a weapons clause is a contractual matter rather than a criminal matter.

you have rights, but you are free to sign them away. now its true that a cop couldnt arrest him for having it, but the company can fire him if they want to, and I doubt that you would have any sort of wrongful termination case against them unless they fired you for having a pencil as a "weapon" or something else rediculous like that.
 
Arkeld said:
While I know little about american laws, I doubt that a company can redefine a legal term.

but if they say "weapons" period, it should be assumed that they mean the legal definition of a weapon.
Click to expand...

You know little about American laws. Definitions are kept as precise or imprecise as the lawmakers like, knives especially are subject to different laws in different jurisictions -- Federal, state, municipal -- and any employer is free to use any dictionary term as he pleases, or even make up his own.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
any employer is free to use any dictionary term as he pleases, or even make up his own.
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exactly, if in the definitions section of your work contract (and trust me, in the US, you WILL have one) it states:

(a)Definitions
1. golden goose refers to any cell phone not manufactured by apple inc.

...

(c)Justifications to terminate contract
1. possession, transfer of ownership, or use of any golden goose.

and you take your sony ericson phone into your place of employment than you can be fired.
 
300,000,000 people, of extremely diverse backgrounds, spread out over a major national landmass, different parts of which were settled at different times under different circumstances, under a Constitution that emphasized local authority.

We like to make up our own minds, despite an increasing tendency of central governments to try to make all the big decisions for us -- THAT would REALLY be messed up, by American standards. The price we pay for diversity is ... diversity. We have to pay more attention to those details over which we expect to hold more local options.

Freedom isn't free!
 
This isn't an issue I would debate with the management while working at a fast food place. Probably a lesson in there somewhere about not giving dummies knives. ;)
 
1. Are you allowed to have personal knives at work? (Rules at my work specifically ban knives over 3". So 3" or less would be permissable).
2. If they are prohibited then you should be written up since you brought it and were in possession at one point.
3. The employee who had possession at the time of the incident should also be written up.

I reality unless your a screwup they are not going to fire you regardless. Its just an effort to give themselves cover since an employee was injured at work.

I personally would not make a big deal out of it but I would find out the exact rules so you could stay inside them in the future.
 
Georgia (the state, not the Republic) is a "Right to work" state, this boils down to: they can fire you for A. A good Reason; B. A bad reason; or, C. No reason at all.

But I'm Glad we ain't got no dam Unions!
 
You guys are all putting too much thought into this.

It's a fast food job-- who cares -- they can write up the OP all they want to -- worst scenario you find another minimum wage job.
 
The big question is, does the OP want to stay in the clumsy ladies "favor" ;)
 
The question is, was the knife large enough to qualify as 'dealing' or was it purely for personal use? :D

Its a crazy world indeed...
 
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