Legal Question in Workers Comp in Iowa

No. Iowa is a right to work state which means a person can be fired for any reason, good reason, or no reason at all unless there is a contract of employment and there usually is not.

I�ve rephrased the question in a way you probably meant to ask it. The way you presented the facts makes me wonder what and why you�re asking it. The quick answer is no, you stole, were caught and fired and that�s a valid reason to fire you.

If this case came into my office I certainly would not take the case. There are several reasons why I�d reject it.

First, stealing is wrong and I don�t care why the employer would not fire someone who was stealing money.

You mentioned stealing time and how you were stealing time isn�t really clear to me. Since I don�t have the opportunity to ask for clarifications, I�ll use my creative license and make an assumption about what it is you�re asking me. An employee who punches in (is on the clock) or has another employee who punches in for a co-employee who isn�t working, are both stealing but it�s not just time you�re stealing. The commodity you�re stealing is called money; not time. After all I�m not sure you can really steal time, since time is something you can�t physically take off the premises. If you waste my time I say you�ve stolen my time, but that�s more of a figurative form of speech rather, an opinion, not really a fact. It�s fraudulent to take a paycheck for time you did not work to advance the employer�s business interests. You�re hired to work in the employer�s business, to help the employer make a profit so that they can stay in business. The entire workforce for that employer counts on you to do right not just for the employer but for all your fellow workers. You owe honesty to each other as well as to the employer.

If you�re jealous of what the employer is perceived to make on your labor, then be jealous, but don�t steal from him. Instead, do what he or she did and start your own business. Stealing in this way is insidious and although to you it may seem minor, its still larceny. Those who are doing it have a huge character defect; and make moving the business to China more likely and desirable.

I�ve spend quite a few days discussing what I call the Participation Trophy Syndrome. It is being made to feel like a winner when the team lost the game. Boiled down to it�s essence a participation trophy is really about stealing. The losing team is stealing the thunder from the team that put in the hard work and did win. As a former soccer coach I know that only losers want and will accept a participation trophy, winners want to win one.

If you�ve stolen from the employer then do yourself a favor and pay it back. That will show more character and in the long will do more to mold the type of character needed to start a successful business. And after you start your own business, you won�t have to write to me to ask if you should fire the worker is stealing your time.

Is that clear enough?