I work at a bank and recently found myself in the middle of my boss stealing 20 bucks from a customer (ie a liquor store employee who brought in too much cash for his deposits – he was over by at least $200) My manager gave me half of what she stole, even though I said I didn’t want it and openly tried to give it all back to the liquor store employee. I wanted to take more immediate action, but I felt uneasy because this manager is very friendly with me, has invited me to her wedding, ect. I’m a fairly new employee and just a student trying to pay for school. My instinct is to go to my boss and report it, but I fear the repercussions from this manager. Other than this event, she has appeared to be a great leader and manages people well. I called the “ethics hotline” I found on my company site, but they said all they could do was file a report.Not knowing what exactly would happen to the report made me apprehensive to file one. It was only 20 bucks, but I feel dirty having that 10 dollar bill in my purse and I know it was wrong.

Never allow someone to make you complicit in a crime.

I’ll say it again — never allow someone to make you complicit in a crime. Not for ten dollars. Not for ten thousand.  Either have the strength of will to refuse, or the strength of character to fully accept your role as an accomplice.

You realize what she’s done, right? That shady bitch bought you. Cheap. This wasn’t about the money. Now she owns your ass like the mob owns a dirty cop.

You’ve only got one move here. Take the ten dollar bill out of your purse, and give it back to her in full view of other employees. “You gave this to me the other day, and I don’t want it.” That’s all you have to say, and then just walk away.

Don’t bother with ethics hotlines. That kind of human resources bullshit is worthless. It’s corporate liability window dressing.

Don’t bother reporting it to your boss either. No one likes a snitch, and he doesn’t want to deal with a shit ton of hassle over twenty bucks.

Besides, once you hand back the ten dollar bill, the balance of power shifts back to you. If you were a bit more savvy and had a fucking backbone, you might be able to subtly use that to your advantage.

Good luck doing the right thing.