A Georgia woman says her husband wound up in county jail on two theft-by-taking charges after taking merchandise from a damaged box that an upper manager had allegedly said employees could have because it was headed for the trash.
Here's what to know
In a Reddit post on r/legaladvice, she said her husband works as a trailer technician for a large retail company in Georgia. She described a damaged box of products, saying that "most of it was perfectly fine," and wrote that an upper manager told her husband and other workers they could take the items because the company planned to throw them away.
She said the situation changed when another person arrived, accused the men of theft, and pushed for arrests. According to the post, officers initially wanted to issue citations, but that person "insisted on them being arrested and charged."
When she wrote the post, she said her husband and his coworkers were in county jail on "two counts of theft by taking."
"My husband's not a thief," she wrote. "He would not take something without permission. He doesn't wanna lose his job if he still has one that is it just feels like a giant misunderstanding that was blown way out of proportion."
More background
In a follow-up comment, the original poster said she didn't think any written approval existed and believed the permission was given only verbally. She also said her husband was not the only employee involved.
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"There was at least three other coworkers who were told the same thing," she wrote.
A recurring question in the replies was whether the person who approved taking the merchandise actually had the authority to do that. A commenter with a law-enforcement background said that if someone accused of theft claimed a store employee had given permission, investigators would normally look into it before making an arrest.
Some commenters couldn't buy the story at face value.
"I can't help but feel there is more to this situation than what was presented," one commenter wrote.
The case also raised a waste issue. Merchandise that was allegedly still usable was apparently headed for the dumpster, but the rules on who could reclaim it were unclear enough to land someone in jail.
What can be done?
The clearest advice in the thread centered on documentation. One commenter said, "You need a 'Permission To Remove' form signed by your supervisor."
Written records came up repeatedly in the discussion. One commenter with experience dealing with damaged goods said, "There needs to be a paper trail so look for that," and said their process included photos of damaged goods, UPC codes, and a written list of what was disposed of.
"So once he's out, have him get it in writing," a user advised. "Document document document."
Where can I learn more?
Usable retail goods and what happens when store rules collide with efforts to keep them out of the trash often lead to controversy, if not legal peril.
• At Dollar General, workers say anything taken is considered theft, even from trash piles.
• At Walmart, customers found garden products destined for the garbage that staff would not sell.
• Outside a grocery store, a diver saw an obscene discovery thrown out yet again.
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