Robert McKevitt, a 27 year-old veteran of Spirit Lake, IA, was fired by Polaris Industries in Milford, IA for using a forklift to retrieve a Twix candy bar from a vending machine.
McKevitt said the incident occurred after his second shift at the company's warehouse, according to USA Today. He said he decided to get a snack, and after putting in $1 in the vending machine, the candy bar was held by a spiral hook.
"I was like 'Oh, man'," McKevitt said. "So I put in another dollar, and then it wouldn't do anything."
A legal document filed by the administrative judge with Iowa Workforce Development stated a supervisor observed McKevitt lifting the vending machine one to two feet in the air with a forklift and then dropping the machine to the ground, Local10.com reported.
McKevitt was reported to have repeatedly lifted up the vending machine and dropped it approximately six times, USA Today reported. By the final drop, three candy bars had fallen out. McKevitt told a supervisor who confronted him that he was just trying to get the snack he paid for. Five days later, McKevitt was fired.
McKevitt, who served in Afghanistan with the Iowa National Guard in 2011, was denied his claim to unemployment benefits by a state administrative judge in a ruling made public in January. The judge said McKevitt's actions show a willful disregard for his employer's interests, USA Today reported.
McKevitt said he did not lift the machine and drop it, but instead trying shaking it, according to KMBC reported. McKevitt stated he tried putting in another dollar, which didn't work.
"I could see the candy bar dangling and I was already having a rough day. My girlfriend was nine months pregnant and it was rough," McKevitt said. "I shook the machine and the candy bar dropped so I was happy about that. But then I was upset that I had spent two dollars on a 90-cent candy bar. Then I took it upon myself to move the machine back with the forklift."
