S.T.
Is your job important to you? Is your career? Then why are you letting 2 "friends" come between you and your money?
You have a decision to make. You can fight for your rights in accordance with the written company policies or you can quit and possibly face a similar situation at a different job. Because, I'll tell you now, if you don't take this matter in hand, you will lose not only your career (you KNOW you won't get a good reference from either of those "friends") but you'll lose all the expense of the training you completed and the future income of that training.
It's a big gamble to take on company policy and make it work in your favor. My strong advice? Get yourself to an attorney's office for a 30-minute free consultation (go to several as each will have a different take on the situation). Get yourself as knowledgeable about the law and their policies as possible. Check the OSHA regulations as well. You have 2 options here. You can fight or you can quit. Which one is worth more to you? Supervisors and managers come and go but a good job is worth staying in.