Complaint Review: Steele Creek Animal Hospital - Charlotte North Carolina

I was hired as the Practice Manager at Steele Creek Animal Hospital in Jan of 2007, through a veterinary consulting firm (VMC, Inc) on a year contract. Within a week of locating my family all the way down the east coast, Dr. Young told me that she could not afford to pay me. During my short 5 weeks at SCAH, I experienced a very hostile environment,, backstabbing, and an Assistant Manager (Moana Leone) that obviously had it out for me.

One morning, 4 weeks after I started, I noticed the bank deposit from the previous night was not where it usually was. It was the Assistant Manager, Moana, that was on the night before. Of course, she didn't know what happened to it. Dr Young accused me of stealing it.

I'll skip to the chase. Dr. Young FIRED me after 5 weeks there, stating in the termination letter that I wasn't doing my job up to par, so to speak (and I still have emails from the consulting firm stating that I was doing a great job). She gave me a zero dollar final paycheck (it should have netted $2000), and then got a friend cop of hers to call me and threaten to prosecute me for stealing the deposit.

The cop called me incessantly, threatening that he knew that I stole the deposit and that he was working on getting a warrant if I didn't come in for questioning. I called a few lawyers (of course, I didn't have money for one...Dr. Young took my last paycheck). The advice I got was to NOT go in for questioning. Nobody has to go in for questioning. If the police had a warrant, they wouldn't have to call me in for questioning. I believe in obeying the law, but I felt like I was being set up and I had never been in trouble with the law, so I wasn't sure how things worked.

Then...somehow, the police did get a warrant. Not for stealing the deposit, but for false pretense..Dr Young alleged that I gave her a fake moving receipt for exchange for the moving money she gave me (which didn't cover half of my moving expenses). The receipt was not fake. Keep in mind, the cop was a good friend of hers.

Dr. Young told unemployment and the EEOC (I called because of my final paycheck) that I had been arrested for false pretense, and told the consulting firm that I was hired through, and even told my church pastor and my previous employers!!!!!!! I have essentially been blacklisted in my field of work.

Recently, the charges have been dropped. Apparently, the prosecution realized the truth...a little too late, considering my children and I have been drug through the mud. Now, unemployment and the EEOC say the statute of limitations have expired, apparently, the statute of limitations have expired for defamation of character, as well. How does that work, considering everyone told me (before the case was dismissed) they couldn't do anything as long as there were criminal charges against me, even if they were false allegations? So, after all she has done to me, I'm supposed to just go on with my now meager life, and leave it alone? Is there no recourse?

By the way, Moana Leone is now the Practice Manager (what I was hired for). Ironic?

Obviously, Dr. Young consulted a lawyer, and they told her to press criminal charges against me so I couldn't do anything to her. There must be something that protects employees from this stuff.

Queenb

York, South Carolina

U.S.A.