02x64 - Short-Term Job Trauma

[bunniefuu]

Would you show me where
she called you a drug addict?

What she said was a lie.

You can laugh all you want.

You're gonna answer my question.

I was framed.

May I talk to her for a minute?

You're blowing it.

Was that helpful?

Yes, ma'am.

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Sharna Horn
is suing her former employer,

Kimberly Stewart for unpaid wages and
defamation of character.

[bailiff]
Court, come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge. Case #2103,
Horn versus Stewart.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Miss Horn, it is your allegation
that the Defendant,

for whom you worked for
a relatively short period of time,

- owes you some wages.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And in addition to owing you wages,
you are suing her

because you claim she defamed you
by calling you a drug addict.

And she wants my board telling them
that I did other acts.

Well, you can't tell me what she told
anybody else because that's hearsay.

Could I give you the evidence?

[Judy] No,
you have to wait until I'm finished.

That's your claim, that she owes you money
for wages that you weren't compensated for

and that she defamed you. The Defendant
says that you were an hourly employee.

You were, in fact, paid for the hours
that you worked.

I assume that you are claiming that
she paid for the hours that she worked.

She has a counterclaim, and her
counterclaim is that after you separated,

parted company, you posted some very
damaging and defamatory comments

on the Internet about her organization.

So, why don't we start with you,
Miss Stewart, and tell me,

what kind of an organization you have.

Your Honor, what we do is that
we provide opportunities for people

who have substance abuse behavior health
who may need education services,

such as getting their GED.
We do skills training.

We have employers
that will staff them as well.

And we also provide substance abuse
and behavior health services.

Is it a 501C3 organization?

No, we are a for-profit company
as a corporation.

[Judy]
And how many employees do you have?

We currently have seven employees.

And when did Miss Horn come to work
for you and what was she hired to do?

She was hired as the Clinical Director and
she started on July 21, 2022.

[Judy] Okay. Before I go to Miss Horn,
I want you to tell me,

what special training did you have
or is it required to have?

You're the director of this?

I'm the VP of Operations.

Okay. Is there any special training
that you had?

Besides having a Masters in Accounting,
I have my own accounting firm.

Okay. So, you have a Masters in Accounting
and you have your own firm.

[Kimberly]
Yes.

Okay, and you do Operations for this?

Yes.

And Miss Horn, I'd like you to tell me
what your educational background...

You were hired as the Clinical Director.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] So, tell me about
your educational background.

I've been in the field for 15 years.
I have a Masters in Counseling Psychology.

I have my LPC, which is
an independent licensure

And so, when she wanted to
do ill*gal practices...

[Judy] No-no-no, you're
getting ahead of yourself, Miss Horn.

[Sharna]
Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Did you answer an ad?

Yes, ma'am. I went for the interview,
and when I showed up for the interview,

she told me that I could not
oversee the clinicians

because she has case managers and
that I could not sign off on notes

because I had an LPC. I got the board
on the phone that day and she was...

You're getting far ahead of yourself,
Miss Horn, and I'm just telling you...

- Who is this person?
- [Sharna] My dad, Your Honor.

Okay. I'm just telling you
that what you're doing is,

by not just answering my questions,
you're not serving your cause well.

- Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
- Do you understand?

Okay. Don't tell me what she told you
she couldn't do.

You started working for her on what date?

The date that I actually started working
for her was July 27, 2022.

And were you an hourly employee?

No, I was a salary employee,
could I show you?

- [Judy] Yes.
- Thank you, Your Honor.

Sarah, would you bring up a July calendar
for me?

- I want to see the days in July.
- I have it.

[Judy] Okay. So, this is an offer
and it was a pretty nice job.

Paid on a bi-weekly basis,
$115,000 a year

with an increase the following year.
The work offer

was contingent upon a background check.

Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] A drug test.
- Yes, ma'am.

Participation in training and any other
safety measurements for staffing.

So, between July 21st and July 27th
when you started,

was a background check completed?

It was completed.

That's all I want to know, it was
completed. Was a drug test completed?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Not before she started.

[Judy] Just a second.
Between July 21st and July 27th,

was a drug test conducted?

Yes, ma'am.

It was conducted, but on the 28th.
Her drug test was done

on the 28th of July,
after she had started.

Okay. So, you took it on the 28th.

Yes, ma'am.

I need from the 27th to August 3rd.

Yeah, the 27th was a Wednesday,
August third was the following Wednesday.

Okay. So, she worked Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday...

And then, the following Monday, Tuesday.
The third would be that Wednesday.

- Five days.
- [Sharna] No, ma'am.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
of the last week.

Her grand opening was
the Thursday of that week that I quit.

And what she is talking about,
I talked about at the beginning,

before I took the drug test
and they said that it was no problem.

I take medication
that's prescribed by doctors.

And I have proof that I take medication
by doctors, and I'm not a drug addict...

I don't want to get into what medication
you take that's prescribed by doctors.

I would assume that we're not talking
about blood pressure medication,

and we're not talking about
medication for migraines

and we're not talking about
stuff to take care of rashes on your arm.

No, ma'am.

Okay. So, let's say you worked there
for six days.

How much were you paid?

I was paid $55.29 an hour,
but I worked those seven days.

[Judy]
How much were you paid in total?

So, the last paycheck that they gave me,
$909.58.

May I see it?

Yes, ma'am. And I wanna send up,
I think I have the credit card

because she had owed me money,
and here are the days that I worked...

Circled.

Do you have a paycheck?

She did not give me a paycheck.
The first one was a paycheck,

the others were direct deposit.

I want to know how much she paid you
in total. Let's have it.

So, for just wages itself...
- [Judy] That's all I want to know.

I was paid...

[Judy] You want to tell me,
do you have records, Miss Steward,

about how much the Plaintiff was paid
by your organization?

She received two checks.
She was paid $1,903.38.

- [Judy] One thousand...
- Nine hundred three dollars...

And that was for?

When we did the drug test,
she was gone for over five hours.

Drug testing are supposed to be done
before or after work hours.

Then she returned back to the facility
between 4:30 and 5:00 PM that day,

and said that she had an emergency,
that her friend was in the hospital.

And so, she could not work any time.
Then after that, on the next pay period,

Sharna wasn't...

She really only was with you for one week.

Yes.

On what date did you tell her that?

About the 28th, yeah.

[Judy] On the 28th.
Did you tell her that on the 21st?

- I'm just asking you.
- No, because what happened that day

was it was a confused interview
where I was about to walk out.

Okay, well, I'm getting unconfused.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Sharna Horn
is suing her former employer,

Kimberly Stewart for unpaid wages
and defamation of character.

Kimberly is countersuing
for property damage and slander.

So, she really only was with you
for one week.

Correct. And then, on the next pay period,
because she was paid for those three days

and the time that she took off,
we put her on the hourly rate

because she didn't work
a solid two weeks.

At any rate, we paid her for
the time and days she was there.

And so, we don't owe her any money.
She was paid in full.

Well, you were actually paid almost $2,000
and you were there for five days.

What she said was a lie.
I never took off time...

[Judy] Just a second.
I said something.

Don't say what she said was a lie.
You were paid almost $2,000,

and you worked for five days.

Seven days.

[Judy] Well, when you went to take
your drug test, what time did you leave?

Well, the other person...

Just a second. What time did you leave?

I did not leave from anything,
I did it on my own, before I started.

So, is what you're telling me
that the Defendant was incorrect

when she said you were
gone from the facility...

Yes, ma'am.

Do you have anything to support that,
that she was gone for four hours?

Ma'am, she was gone for half the day,
because that's when she ran into my office

and said, hey, there's some stuff
that's gonna show up,

will I be fired? Or am I
going to have a job?

[Judy] When did you
have that discussion with her?

That was on the 28th of July.

Did you ask her what substances?

Yes.

Did she tell you?

Yes.

- For my information, Miss Horn,
- Yes, ma'am.

how much do you think, in addition to
the $1,903 that you were paid,

do you think you're owed?

Ten hours, ma'am.

Ten hours. Which ten hours?

That's from the week of the...
The second week, not the first week,

because I never left. I actually stayed
late the day before their grand opening,

because she ordered a sofa...

Are you charging her for those hours
that you stayed late?

Yes, because that's work.

Now, okay, what else? Right now,
we're just playing with time.

I passed everything and
I was told I would be fine.

- Just a second. Who told you that, she?
- [Sharna] Yes, ma'am.

When did she tell you you would be fine?

I went to her, I said,
there's gonna be a drug test,

here's the medications that I take.

On what date did you tell her that?

About the 28th, yeah.

[Judy] On the 28th. Did you
tell her that on the 21st?

- I'm just asking you.
- No, because what happened that day

was it was a confused interview
where I was about to walk out.

Okay. Well, I'm getting unconfused.
So, you went in to her,

before she got the results of the test
and asked her, specifically,

these are the medications that I take,
this is what's going to show up,

is it going to be a problem?

- This is common, Your Honor.
- [Judy] Is who?

This is common in my field,
to take drug tests for all the field.

- [Judy] You're gonna answer my question.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] My question is, if you knew
that it might have been a problem,

you did not tell that to her
on the 21st of July,

or the 22nd, or the 23rd,
or when you started.

But not until, either right before or
right after you took the drug test.

That's when you said
you went into her office and said

these are the medications that I take,
is it gonna be a problem?

Yes, ma'am.

Mr. Horn, actually,
I'm glad you're here with your daughter.

- May I talk to her for a minute?
- [Judy] No.

- Okay.
- [Judy] You may not talk to her.

Could I show you a picture of
the inside of the facility

of what happened in that facility, please?

- No. You left.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And I find that the records are so,
actually... You don't have records.

Unless that's something that
you want to show me.

You want to show me something
about your employment hours?

You were paid almost $2,000
for the few days you worked there.

As far as I'm concerned,
it didn't work out.

You hated it there and
she wasn't crazy about you.

Because I had to leave because
I was gonna be violating state law

and federal law, which
she's already done, Your Honor.

I'm gonna ask you... You've been
doing what you're doing for 15 years.

Yes, ma'am.

Tell me what job you had
that lasted more than three years.

I've moved, Your Honor.

Tell me who you worked for in
the last 15 years, more than three years.

I can't, because I was in graduate school
and then I went to do my PhD.

So, you weren't in this field
for 15 years, you were in school.

I've been seeing clients since 2007.

[Judy]
Privately.

No.

Well, what I asked you is,
who did you work for in the last 15 years

more than three years?

University.

Is that where you went to school?

Yes, ma'am.

Is that where you went to school,
for how many years?

Five years.

Your father wants to have a word with you
before I'm finishing up with this case.

You want to have a conversation with her?

You're blowing it.

You answer her questions directly and
don't go anywhere else.

Okay.

- [Judy] Was that helpful?
- Yes, ma'am.

Okay. We're leaving the salary
that you think you're owed.

You say that the Defendant
called you a drug addict

and thereby, limited your ability
in your chosen field.

So, show me, tell me. May I see?

I would like to submit the board
allegations, because everything...

Just a second. Just...

And may I provide the timeline
for what happened?

What I want to know is,
what is this?

That is a falsified document...

Just a second. It is a document.

It's my board stating
that I did things I did not do.

I highlighted the bottom...

To your board or to The Board?

Ssh! Okay. So, this says
a complaint was filed against you

with the Arizona Board
of Behavioral Health.

The complaint alleges that
you may have committed an act

of unprofessional practice...
Somebody filed a complaint against you.

- [Sharna] She lodged a false complaint.
- Ssh! No.

- Somebody lodged a complaint against you.
- Yes, ma'am.

It doesn't say who lodged a complaint
against you,

It says a complaint has been filed.
You didn't file this document.

[Sharna]
Yes, she did.

Excuse me?

It's her signature at the bottom.

The types of documentation that were filed
was List of Medications,

Harassing and threatening emails
and text messages,

and Budget left in desk.
I don't know what that means.

She said I had all of my possessions,
but how did she only have my budget?

Just a... I'm telling you
that this is what it says.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay? The CEO filed this document,

and you swore to the accuracy
of this document.

Well, this report says that
you were complaining

that the person who was doing intake
had to have a Masters level.

Don't look at any papers.
That's what you were complaining.

- That's your first complaint,
- Yes, ma'am.

that the person doing intake.
And somebody said to you

that the person who was doing
intake was just taking basic information.

And once the basic information was taken,
they would be assigned to somebody else.

But Your Honor, she said that she wanted
to get some substance use information.

My state board gave me this paper
that I'd like to submit.

Just a second. I don't care
about your state board, actually.

The question is
does she owe you any money?

She doesn't owe you any money for salary.
I've already determined that.

I see what she was supposed to pay you.
It's not that you were working there

for days, you have hours that
you think you want to be paid for,

that's not happening.
You were paid almost $2,000.

in what I gather,
was a very acrimonious few days.

I mean, you're talking maybe the five days
or seven days, you were compensated.

Forget it.

Do you have any security footage of her...

- I do...
- [Judy] Put your hand down!

- She said she had...
- Put your hand down!

You're gonna see the video.

Not the video. She stated in a document
she had video of it.

I don't think you understand
the court process.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Sharna Horn
has accused her former employer,

Kimberly Stewart, of defaming her.
Kimberly claims

Sharna caused property damage
and slandered her business.

The only other thing
that I have to determine is

whether or not she called you
a drug addict.

Now, would you show me where
she called you a drug addict?

It wasn't just the drug addict,
it was the false documents that I, I...

No-no-no-no, she's allowed to
file a complaint against you, madam.

But I never had a police officer
come to me, question me or anything.

So, if I did it, they would have
come to me.

Just a second. What I'm telling you is,

she is allowed to file a complaint
against you.

Yes, ma'am.

They have a responsibility to look into
the allegations of that complaint.

Did they either sustain the allegations
in this complaint?

Well, this is just August, so I assume
they haven't completed the investigation.

- Or have they?
- No, ma'am.

[Judy]
Okay. So, they have not.

That's why I'm filing defamation,
because this...

She's doing it on purpose.

[scoffs] I'll let you have
one more go at it.

You say she's doing this on purpose.
Do you have...

Yes. I have my father, who's a witness
from court one day.

[Judy]
What court?

Can I explain?

[Judy]
Don't speak.

We were in court because they tried to
file an injunction for harassment,

and the judge, my dad...

[Judy] Just a second. Went to file
an injunction against you for harassment?

Yes, ma'am, right after I went to police.

[Judy] Just a second. And
were you served with a document?

No, ma'am.

Well then, how did you end up in court?

I saw the document on my door,
and unlike the Defendant,

I went to the court to take care of it.

You can laugh all you want,
but I took care of it.

- She served...
- You have to be served with it.

I'm actually finished.
I asked one question.

And you tell me that you have the answer
to that question.

We're going to repeat the question.
Whitney's gonna...

And don't go off on this question.
Just stick to what the question was.

She said they did this thing in sort of
either retaliation or on purpose or...

She said, "That's why
I'm filing defamation

because she's doing it on purpose.

On purpose. Okay, and it was
the on purpose and you said

you wanted your father to testify
to that and on purpose. Now go.

Stand up next to your daughter.
You are limited to the following:

You are limited to telling me proof that
you have, on behalf of your daughter,

that the Defendant has filed these charges
against her,

not on purpose, because she absolutely
did them on purpose,

but I assume that you meant maliciously.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Now I'll hear you.

Okay. I'm gonna keep this succinct.

[Judy] Maliciously. What evidence
do you have that the Defendant

filed this complaint,
and swore to this complaint, maliciously?

I have no proof, but...

Then you have no proof.
Then you can sit down.

Right, but that's not the question
she asked.

All I want to know is, maliciously.
Now you can sit down.

Okay. Now we're gonna get to
the last question that I have for you

and then we're done. Do you have
anything in writing

where she called you a drug addict?

Your Honor, in the complaint
to my board...

Okay, we're done. We're done.
So, now we're on your case.

Now we're on your counterclaim.
Your counterclaim is for property damage.

What property?

I will show you the documentation
to the counterclaim.

[Judy] Just a second. Don't tell me
that you have documentation.

It's a shattered window.
When was the window shattered?

The window was actually shattered on
August the...

and let me make sure I get you
accurate dates, I'm sorry.

- Did you witness it being shattered?
- [Kimberly] No, ma'am.

If you didn't witness it being shattered,
what proof do you have that if...

- Put your hand down!
- Yes, ma'am.

- Put your hand down.
- I don't have it up.

Well, put it down.

- [laughs]
- [Judy] Very good. Better.

[Kimberly]
We don't have witness, we...

If you don't have a witness,
you don't have proof.

Any other property damage?
Shattered window... Anything else?

There was a broke lock. The day that she
was, um, can I say this, the day that...

No-no-no. I'm very easy.

No, I'm saying the day that
she came out to and sent the police

to our facility on a Saturday,
the lock, I saw her leaving that day,

and our lock was broken off of our gate.

All I want to know is,
did anyone witness her, either...

- No.
- [Judy] Then the answer is no.

Do you have any security footage of her...
Put your hand down!

- She said she had...
- Put your hand down!

- You're gonna see the video...
- [Judy] No-no!

Not the video. She stated in a document
she had video of it.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- Oh, gosh.

I don't think you understand
the court process.

So, I'm now gonna tell you,
I dismissed your case

and I'm getting very close to
dismissing hers.

I'm dismissing those parts of her
complaint which allege property damage

because she has no witnesses that
you in fact committed property damage.

There's no reason for you to continue
looking up papers, your case is dismissed.

- Do you understand?
- Yes, ma'am. It's about her case.

Now, the last part of this case has to do
with the Defendant's allegation

that you in fact
defamed her organization.

I'd like to see, in writing,
what you have to prove to me

that the Plaintiff
defamed your organization.

I want you to...

I didn't ask you for anything.
Now it's her proof. Do you understand?

What I'm telling you, Miss Horn,
is your behavior is a little off.

I'm telling you.

Because I was framed.

Just a second. Your behavior is off.
And I've told you why.

I've given you specific reasons why.
You had two parts of your complaint.

One is for wages, which I dismissed,

and the other one for calling you
a drug addict, which you could not prove.

- No.
- [Judy] You're not hearing me.

I asked you for proof that she called you
a drug addict. You didn't have it.

Now, proof that she
defamed your organization.

May I have it, Kevin?

This is from her and her father.
And, um...

Just a second. Her father isn't a party
to this action.

Can I speak to the counterclaim
'cause I have proof?

From her. Her texts.

- How... [laughs]
- It's her texts.

This is from him. I'm not interested
in anything from him.

Sue him, if he said nasty things to you.

Your Honor, it's just not nasty things.
Um, this all came about

because of everything Sharna has done,
she doesn't realize is that...

- Listen to me.
- [Kimberly] Yes.

None of this comes from her.

She's on it. Her name is on there.

I don't care whether her name is on it,
none of this comes from her.

They cc'd her.

This is proof.

Put everything away.
Put all your papers away.

I'm not coming back to you, unless I
in fact see that there's any validity

towards her counterclaim,
then I'll come back to you.

Right now, your claim is dismissed.
Both counts of your claim is dismissed.

I've dismissed her claims for
shattered window and a broken lock.

And these emails do not represent
any form of defamation.

If you have nothing else,
your claim for defamation is dismissed.

Do you have anything else?
The answer is yes or no.

- No, Your Honor.
- [Judy] No.

We're done. Thank you, bye.

- [bailiff] This court is adjourned.
- Thank you.

Our facility and myself
have done nothing wrong.

I think I got flustered, which is fair.

We're doing everything according to
the Arizona State Board and laws.

- I actually thought that they paid her.
- Mm-hmm.

She complained that she
hadn't gotten her second paycheck.

If you look at the documents,
the documents say that they went right in

and bookkeeping corrected that and
sent her out the second paycheck,

so that was nonsense.

And there was absolutely zero proof
that they called her a drug addict.

Except for in a valid document that they
filed, which they had the right to do.

It wasn't the type of slander we usually
see where it's plastered on the Internet.

Or anything like that.

And certainly, the Defendant
didn't present any proof

other than some nasty emails
back and forth by her father.

Maybe he's just being a supportive parent.

Anyway, I hope she finds a job
that's comfortable for her.

And some peace.

[narrator] Want Justice?