Posting on a throwaway because I'm embarrassed of myself
Working a part time job handling cash where I gave a customer more than they were entitled to, about $1,600. Usually shortages are paid back through a certain percentage of your future shifts or lump sum. There is video evidence of me giving the excess cash but that evidence also includes me taking out cash for a previous customer and the transaction not completing, hence I must have just added that pile to the next person by accident. I pretty quickly realized my mistake and even went looking for the person (also on camera). A few shifts after said incident, once the financial department figured everything out, I signed a form agreeing to pay said amount through a portion of my future shifts in front of my supervisor.
While signing this, I had a conversation with my supervisor about my next shifts and they offered to give me more in order to help me out. One particular date was discussed and while I do have my availability set to include that date, I verbally expressed that that specific date would be hard to do and that I'd let them know if I could be present for it, and supervisor basically said something along the lines of "alright, let me know" and I said I'd let them know if I could.
Yes, this is my fault but I got really sick and called in two days early. Normally we are sent an email every week for our schedule, and the date which I called in for was one day after the aforementioned date that I had a conversation about.
Being lazy and irresponsible, after calling in for my shift and noticing no email (no email ever arrived), and somehow all the other normal ways that we check out schedule online weren't updated either, I just didn't check because of the aforementioned conversation. The only way for me to have checked the next week's schedule would be to either call someone who is in person or go in person myself to view the timetable. But of course I didn't do that. smh.
I just spent the next few days in bed, drinking soup, doing what sick people do.
I realized maybe a day or two later what had happened. This was the second time in two years that I had no call no showed, and from previous conversations I pretty much knew my head was on the chopping block, so I was prepared to get fired, pay the amount, and return to being unemployed since I am a teenager and pay no rent and have no real financial responsibilities.
I then received an email claiming I my actions constituted willful misconduct under the ESA, but I don't really understand that. The shortage doesn't feel like willful misconduct to me, and neither does me missing work, but I did fuck up pretty hard doing both in such a short time span and definitely don't deserve to have that job anymore.
They said they "reviewed" the incident. Are they claiming that I purposefully took out the exact amount someone asked me for, made him decide not to go through with it, and planted him so that I could actually give the next person extra money to make it seem like an accident? I don't even have any connection or know either person. This doesn't make any sense to me, why would I want to have to pay a fine?
I understand that this is completely my fault, but does this really meet the requirements for willful misconduct? Any thoughts?