Employee gets fired for taking recycled computer mouse nobody was using: 'It’s against company policy to take things from the electronics bin'

Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor

Apr 2, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

There is absolutely no reason why this employee actually needed to be fired over this. First of all, the company policy about taking recycled supplies from the electronics bin was simply unclear and unenforced. Why suddenly enforce it now?

This employee took his sister to the office and was showing her around when they came across the electronics bin. The Redditor acknowledged that most employees take leftover supplies from the bin all the time, so when his sister inquired about an unused computer mouse, he said she could take it. This came back to bite him on the behind when HR ended up doing an entire month-long investigation afterward that ultimately resulted in the employee getting fired.

Our suspicion is that they must be using this totally minor offense as an excuse to get rid of the employee. It's too minor an issue. What do you all think happened here? Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions in the comments section. For more, check out this post about a coworker who got back at their lunch thief.