content: Employees are agents of their employers to varying extents. If a Denny's waitress gives you your money back because your food was not cooked properly, it's Denny's giving your money back not just the waitress. If she did it against company policy, that's between her and her employer; you should not be arrested for theft -- even if you used to work at Denny's. The potential problem with a ruling like this is in the title, "unauthorized by whom"? The reason that this is an issue is because prosecutors will interpret this opinion as broadly as they can.