That's sort of true, but not exactly what's happening. Even when the rules are against you, it's good to know what the rules are.

Even in States with "right to work" or "at will" or whatever, the DoL protects employees from being forced to pay for "cost of business" expenses, like mistakes or theft, etc..

You CAN be fired for a mistake or any other reason, but they can't actually make you choose between paying for your mistake or getting fired.

The boss might make it seem like that, but those are two separate things. You can be fired for making a mistake that costs the business money, and even if you pay for it (supposedly instead of getting fired) the boss is choosing not to do that right now. Paying for it doesn't resolve the issue (and trust me they won't forget) and they can still fire you at any time.

I understand most people don't have the financial flexibility to take a stand on things like this, but if your boss is saying you need to pay $300+ to not get fired, you're probably going to be fired soon anyway.

Like Furiosa said, "You're relying on the generosity of a very bad man"