Wells Fargo Fires Woman who Shoplifted 40 Years Ago

[SandEagle]

A woman in Milwaukee is paying for a crime she committed 40 years ago by losing her job. Wells Fargo found out during a background check that she had shoplifted in 1972, and subsequently fired her. She thinks she's already paid her time for that crime, but Wells Fargo's policies disagree.
WTMJ-4 in Milwaukee says Yolanda claims she's a good employee, and has plenty of certificates and photos to show her five years of service to the company.


"[I'm] very good at what I do for Wells Fargo," she says. "I think there's more important things in life than something I did 40 years ago,"
But last week her supervisor walked her out of the door, because of a Wells Fargo policy.


"We are bound by federal law that generally prohibits us from hiring or continuing the employment of any person who we know has a criminal record involving dishonesty or breach of trust," a spokesman for Wells Fargo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.


"I did do the crime and, you know, I had just come out of high school," says Yolanda, noting that her job in phone customer service doesn't involve her handling cash. She wants her job back, but her termination letter says she's no longer eligible to work at the bank.


"I think I should get it back because it's something I did 40 years ago," she says. "I paid for it. I've changed my life."

http://consumerist.com/2012/05/well...-finding-out-she-shoplifted-40-years-ago.html

so what do you think? would you hire someone that shoplifted almost half a century ago? would you fire their stealing ass or what?

 

[brianmanahan]

i would not fire her

edit: ADD POLL

 

[gorcorps]

I don't know... I think of all institutions that need to watch out for stealing, it's banks.

I don't think it's right to hire her and then fire her after the fact. BG check should be done as condition of employment.

 

[Away]

I find this amusing since Wells Fargo has no issue with stealing money from their customers.

 

[gorcorps]

I find this amusing since Wells Fargo has no issue with stealing money from their customers.

It's not like you're forced to bank there

 

[mugs]

Either they're bound by federal law or they're not. They say they are. If that's the case, what's the issue here? It doesn't sound like they wanted to fire her, they had to fire her.

 

[sixone]

Horsefeathers.

She had five years of at least acceptable service to WF. That should count for a lot more than something bad she did forty years ago, and hasn't been caught doing since then.

I'd pull my money, if I'd given them any.

 

[tboo]

Did she not mention it in her application when she applied?

 

[Rudee]

My company fired an employee who had been with us for over a year after HR discovered he had lied on his resume about having a Degree.

 

[SandEagle]

My company fired an employee who had been with us for over a year after HR discovered he had lied on his resume about having a Degree.

that is a good reason to fire him.

 

[Crono]

It might be federal law, but something tells me (general human nature, myself not excepted from it) that none of the people at the top are completely squeaky clean, either, if people looked hard enough.

Forgiveness for something like shoplifting should be an easy thing. No reason to fire someone years after the fact.

 

[notposting]

Depending on the laws there, she should be able to look into getting it expunged, which for employment (and pretty much all) purposes is like it never happened.

 

[chusteczka]

Maybe the bank should continue following that trend and fire the board of directors and all executive management. Hypocrites.

 

[HeavyD]

There has to be more to this story.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/1000-2100.html#fdic1000sec.19

 

[Jadow]

It's called The SAFE Act

http://www.ffiec.gov/safeact.htm

 

[Dominato3r]

I find this amusing since Wells Fargo has no issue with stealing money from their customers.

I watched a PBS documentary recently that made them look like angels that did no wrong regarding the financial collapse.

 

[reallyscrued]

I find this amusing since Wells Fargo has no issue with stealing money from their customers.

How did it take 3 replies to get this?

 

[amdhunter]

Is she hot? Hot women deserve a second chance.

 

[airdata]

My company fired an employee who had been with us for over a year after HR discovered he had lied on his resume about having a Degree.

Good.

I've seen people on this board advocate such dishonesty and then on the other hand talk as if they know everything or are better than everybody.

 

[blackdogdeek]

i feel bad for the woman but i don't see how the bank has a choice since they are bound by law.

what i want to know is how did it come out only now 40 years after the crime and after 5 years of good standing as an employee.

 

[Raduque]

Well, I've already decided to fire WF as my bank, and this reinforces my decision to do so.

 

[Cutterhead]

Is she hot? Hot women deserve a second chance.

She graduated high school over 40 years ago...

 

[mtbiker99]

Is she hot? Hot women deserve a second chance.

According to the article, she did it right after high school so she she is atleast 60.

 

[rh71]

that rule is black and white, so yeah she's gotta go... sucks but valid.