Woman Fired Over Something That Happened 40 Years Ago

[Shem]

Imagine getting fired for a crime you committed not one, not two, not three, but four decades ago.

 

That’s what happened to one Milwaukee woman. Wells Fargo fired Yolanda Quesada after a background check found that she shoplifted in 1972, a local NBC affiliate reports. Though Quesada acknowledges she committed the crime, she says shoplifting shortly after high school shouldn't be something that influences her job standing.

 

Read the rest here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/07/yolanda-quesada-wells-fargo_n_1496273.html?1336411923

 

I think it's a little extreme to fire someone who did something stupid at the age of 18. I mean, she's 58 now and people do change over that time, especially since she hasn't done it again since.

[JediAthos]

It does seem a bit extreme to me as well...the only caveat I could imagine is that on most employment applications there is a question that asks if you have ever committed a crime. If she said no and didn't declare it then they could have grounds to fire her on falsifying her application.

 

The story doesn't say that though and I were her I'd try to fight this somehow.

[mimartin]

especially since she hasn't done it again since.

 

Maybe, but then again maybe she has just not been caught again.

 

Part of me does feel bad that she got fired over something that happened so long ago, but another part of me is saying that is the way it should be. Too often in today society we are not held accountable for our actions, everything is societies fault. Kid get caught cheating, instead of punishing his son, dad sues school district… It is time that we learned that the choices we make have consequences and when we make those choices we should be the one that is held responsible for the consequences.

 

So as a young adult she stole, she hasn’t been caught stealing since then, but I have no way of knowing if she learned her lesson or not. So if I’m a bank, I’m not comfortable without really knowing her. Also that is something that should have been found out on the application. At least on a standard application “have you ever been convicted of a crime” is a standard question and if you answer no, but the background check pulls up a yes, then that is grounds for dismissal.

 

Now from the business side, most banks require employees to have an dishonesty bond, this would most likely preclude her from the ability of getting bonded.

[Totenkopf]

Unfortunate, but mim and Athos make valid points.

[Darth Avlectus]

Haven't read anything but OP, and don't care to.

 

Seemed rather petty at first until I saw it was a bank, then looked at her crime. Ehh... Don't take it the wrong way but as an aspiring entrepreneur myself I probably might have done the same thing in Wells Fargo's position since she wasn't honest and upfront about it. Sort of like how I wouldn't trust a weapons or medieval store to someone who had a prior history of violence. Lots of things to consider. Discretion is key. Some areas I'm gray on, others I'm black and white. Basically Dishonesty+monetary crime=termination of bank job.

 

Now if I truly believed the person under consideration was a changed person (honesty counts and in today's market you can never be too careful), then I think I might look past a discrepancy. If I didn't believe that person has changed, I see no reason I should continue to keep that individual employed.

 

Still, that was 40 years ago and perhaps some more consideration should have been given to that end: The bank obviously did do a thorough check. If on the one hand they found *nothing* else, then it is perhaps a bit overly harsh and confronting her on the issue would be in order (and watching her with a hawk's eye). If on the other hand she had her slate riddled with small things like nuisances, negligence, and fines, then they would be just as well divesting themselves of a potential liability IMO.

 

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If it makes you feel any better Shem, I think during one time when I was drunk after a high school dance, I "relieved myself" into one of their boiler exhausts.