Got Fired For Code of Conduct Violation
wrongful termination attorney Nevada Aug 17, 2026
Location: Las Vegas, NV. I am seeking opinions regarding my recent termination and potential claims involving both my former employer and a company partner located at the job site where I worked. I was the only employee of my employer assigned to this particular job site. Another company also operates at the location and is a business partner of my former employer. The situation involves large-format event graphics belonging to or controlled by that partner company. An employee of the partner company approached me regarding several graphics and told me they were going to be thrown away. He specifically asked whether I wanted them before they were discarded. I said yes. I did not remove the graphics from the company’s area myself. The following workday, the graphics were left next to my desk. Based on what I had been told and the fact that they were subsequently placed at my desk after I accepted the offer, I understood that they had been given to me rather than that I was taking company property without permission. There was also prior history that contributed to my understanding. More than a year earlier, a different employee of the same partner company, who was a department lead, similarly offered me another graphic after telling me it was going to be discarded. I accepted that graphic and later donated it. To my knowledge, that earlier incident did not result in any disciplinary issue or notification that accepting discarded material was prohibited. My employer subsequently placed me on suspension and conducted an investigation regarding the more recent graphics. During a remote HR interview, HR asked if I knew where the graphics were. I told them they were next to my desk, where I had left them. While still speaking with HR, I went to look for them and discovered they were no longer there. I do not know who removed them, and I do not want to speculate about who did so. Following the investigation, HR called me to inform me of the company’s decision. HR began the conversation by specifically telling me that the investigation determined that I did not steal the graphics. Despite that finding, HR informed me that my employment was being terminated because the company concluded that my actions violated its Code of Conduct by jeopardizing the company’s relationship with its business partner. I reviewed the Code of Conduct available to me. I found provisions concerning conflicts of interest and accepting gifts of certain values, but I have not found a provision specifically addressing employees accepting material that another company has designated for disposal. The graphics were not presented to me as business gifts; I was expressly told they were going to be thrown away and was asked whether I wanted them before that occurred. After my termination call, I sent HR an email memorializing my understanding that the investigation determined I did not steal the graphics, requesting the specific Code of Conduct provision the company determined I violated, and requesting applicable personnel/employment records and termination documentation. As of this writing, I have not received a response. I would like your opinions regarding several potential legal issues: Whether the circumstances surrounding my termination create any viable claim against my former employer under Nevada law. Whether I may have a claim against the partner company if its employee offered me property represented as designated for disposal, I reasonably relied on that representation, and the resulting situation ultimately caused me to lose my employment. Whether ownership of the graphics legally transferred to me when I accepted the employee’s offer and the graphics were subsequently placed at my desk, and whether their later removal from my possession raises a potential property/conversion issue. Thank you in advance.
