To begin, my grocery store got 4 self checkouts recently. I hadn’t worked with them until this evening, when I went in at 6pm. I was told that there was no one scheduled who knew how to manage the self checkouts, and I was deemed the best fit. I was given a 15-20 minute rundown on how they worked, then set on my own. I was told how they worked, and that I was supposed to show customers how to use them, and if need be, do it for them. After about an hour of this, an old woman came up and I began showing her how, since she had a decent sized cart. A man walked up to the adjacent register and began checking out, eventually asking for my assistance to verify is purchase of alcohol. I okay’d it, asked if anything else was needed, and went back to helping the old lady. A few minutes later, we finished, and I turned to notice that the man had left without paying. I immediately ran out to see if he was still in the parking lot, but he was gone. I told the evening shift manager, who called the store manager. He demanded someone pay the $101 bill, or (to the evening manager) “his ass was grass”. My coworkers and I agreed that we would equally chip in, but we had to call another employee in to make the purchase, since the oldest person working was 18, the rest being 17 or 18. After she made the purchase, we each paid her back. My manager wants both me and the evening manager in tomorrow morning, to talk to us. I’m preparing for the worst, due to his attitude tonight. If he were to fire me, would it be grounds to sue on wrongful termination? I am a 17yr old.
TLDR: Can boss fire me for a customer stealing on my watch when I wasn’t properly trained?