'[I] threw it in a dumpster out back': Employee throws out coworker's smelly sweater, coworkers conducts formal investigation, gets fired

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  • 01
    Font - 8800 "I went to his desk and smelled the sweater and confirmed that nasty stank." KALE
  • 02
    Font - AITA for throwing away my coworkers sweater My coworker 55m has a sweater that he wears everyday at work and leaves in the office overnight. He NEVER takes it home to wash and over the last month it has developed a distinct smell. At first I tried to make innocuous comments to him ("Do you smell something musty?" etc )
  • 03
    Font - But he didn't catch on so last week I said to him "Hey that sweater is starting to give off a stench, could you take it home and wash it?" He replied "Nah that's not my sweater" and walked away which effectively ended the conversation.
  • 04
    Font - After he left one night I went to his desk and smelled the sweater and confirmed that nasty stank and it was so putrid up close (I have no idea how he lives like this) So I took the sweater on my way out and threw it in a dumpster out back.
  • 05
    Font - The next day he was looking around for it and asking everyone if they had seen it. I just shrugged and said "Nah haven't seen it today" (which was technically not a lie) I feel kinda bad but I can't live like that. We work in a 7 person office with no HR and our boss is not effective at dealing with issues do I felt like this was my only option. AITA?
  • 06
    Font - CLARIFICATION: when he said "that's not my sweater" he was referring to the stink not being his sweater. The sweater was in fact his (he's a bit of an oddball, but I can't imagine even he would wear a random stinky sweater that he didn't own)
  • 07
    Font - Edit: I see a lot of people suggesting that I had other options, and the ideas being brought up are frankly asinine. "Just spray some freeze and call it a day!" Have you ever sprayed febreeze is a bathroom where someone took a dump? Then you know it just combines with the smell and almost gives it a sort of power up. Next!
  • 08
    Font - "Tell HR about it" Some people have trouble reading it seems. I already said it's a small office with no HR. And our boss is incapable or unwilling to address situations like this. I did in fact bring it up to him and he said to "find a compromise" such as allowing him to wear the sweater 3 days a week. Not a problem solver this guy
  • 09
    Font - "Take it home and wash it for him" I don't think this one even warrants a response. I suppose I should ask the rest of the office if they have any laundry for me to take home so I can do it all at once?
  • 10
    Font - Edit 2: I see many people bringing up the legality of this and the police being called or this going to court. May I remind everyone we're talking about a sweater? I'd love to hear how that 911 call goes. "Officer! I need to report a missing sweater! Please send your forensics team out ASAP and track this lunatic down before the sweater thief strikes again!
  • 11
    Font - Or God forbid I get taken to sweater court! I hope the honorable Judge Cardigan takes pity on me and offers a reduced sentence if I do people's laundry while in prison. Get real people. Were talking about office squabbles, not grand theft sweater
  • 12
    Font - UPDATE: Hey all, before the update I just wanted to apologize for getting so defensive in my original post. I've been feeling really stressed about the situation and I think my guilt expressed itself as anger. Even though I still don't agree with the alternative actions people offered I should have been more chill about it.
  • 13
    Font - So the update: We have a Monday morning meeting every week. I had planned to pull my coworker aside at lunch to tell him what happened and explain why I felt it was necessary. At yesterday's meeting my coworker took the opportunity during Other Business to bring up his sweater. He said that he felt disrespected and as multiple people have complained to him about the smell he hasn't been able to narrow down his suspects so he needs a full confession or he will be taking further measures. I
  • 14
    Font - A couple hours later he returned with a guy who he said was his cousin and a police officer (though he was in normal clothes and had no badge or ID?). He said his cousin was going to be interrogating people individually all day.
  • 15
    Font - At this point my boss finally stepped in and said that wasn't happening and brought my coworker into his office. I don't know what happened in there but it got loud towards the end and I didn't see him for the rest of the afternoon.
  • 16
    Font - I found out the next day he was fired. Not exactly the outcome I wanted but it does solve my problem!
  • 17
    Font - 15 Swirlyflurry YTA I felt like this was my only option How? How was this your only option? (Edit) Options: • Tell your boss that the two of you tried to reach a "compromise", but coworker refuses to admit his sweater smells, and you need boss to get involved. • Ask boss to mediate a discussion between you and coworker so that you can find the "compromise" that boss wants (but doesn't want to find himself)
  • 18
    Font - Bag up the sweater (so you don't have to smell it) and hand it off to coworker. Tell him you had to contain the smell for health reasons, and it needs to be washed before coming back into the office. • Bag up the sweater and hand it to boss man. Tell him that coworker refuses to take it home, and you cannot handle the smell anymore as it is a health issue. Let boss tell coworker to take it home.
  • 19
    Font - • Take the sweater home and wash it (no, you aren't obligated to wash anyone's clothes. You also weren't obligated to touch the sweater at all, or to clean up the office, yet you felt justified grabbing the sweater and throwing it away. Not saying you had to or should have taken the sweater home and washed it, just that yes, it was an option.) • As someone mentioned, take the sweater to a cleaners to have it cleaned. The sweater didn't ever have to come into your home. 8.6k Share
  • 20
    Font - reggiesnap ESH. Throwing stuff out that's not yours is even if your boss is ineffective this is something you should have attempted to bring to them. But I also don't know why this guy is wearing a stinky sweater that doesn't belong to him and then is mad when an item that doesn't belong to him is missing? 5.0k Share
  • 21
    Font - [deleted] YTA - You should have put it in a plastic bag and later spoken with your manager about it. You don't throw away people's belongings. 2.9k Share
  • 22
    Font - Material-Aardvark736. YTA. You can't steal someone's property, period. It may have felt satisfying in the moment, but that's an actual crime. If he finds out it was you and this goes before HR, they're absolutely not going to accept "I thought it smelled bad" as an excuse. Also, everyone is hung up on the guy saying the sweater "wasn't his," but I think he was saying that the sweater wasn't causing the stench, not that the sweater didn't belong to him. 1.6k Share

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