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phantom power

(25,966 posts) Sat Dec 5, 2015, 11:21 AM Dec 2015

Wal-Mart worker fired after 18 years for turning in cash he found

I'm guessing if he had just kept it, he'd still have his job?

Wal-Mart worker fired after 18 years for turning in $350 cash found in Niskayuna store parking lot too slowly

Michael Walsh of Schenectady, a Wal-Mart maintenance worker for 18 years, was fired on Nov. 6, a few days after he turned in $350 in cash he found in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.

He was called into a manager’s office, interrogated and terminated for “gross misconduct.”

His offense? He waited about 30 minutes before he turned in the money.

“The only thing I did wrong was hesitate,” Walsh said, who is 45. “I didn’t steal anything. They didn’t give me any warning. They just fired me.”

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Boycott-begun-against-Wal-Mart-in-support-of-6667590.php#photo-9045870

6 replies

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Wal-Mart worker fired after 18 years for turning in cash he found (Original Post) phantom power Dec 2015 OP

The real reason those F****** fired him was because he made $14.35/hour book_worm Dec 2015 #1

... Walsh said he found a $5 bill in the parking lot and immediately went inside struggle4progress Dec 2015 #2

This message was self-deleted by its author Baitball Blogger Dec 2015 #3

"Walsh, who speaks haltingly and has anxiety issues."I kind of froze and didn't want any trouble? BlueJazz Dec 2015 #4

He should have turned it in right away, like he did with the other 'find'. Sunlei Dec 2015 #5

"Employment at-will." There's the culpable factor. Do away with the "Master & Servant" bullshit. . . Journeyman Dec 2015 #6

book_worm

(15,951 posts)

1. The real reason those F****** fired him was because he made $14.35/hour

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Sat Dec 5, 2015, 11:39 AM

Dec 2015

working full time--much too expensive to keep. They can hire somebody else part time for far less.

struggle4progress

(118,285 posts)

2. ... Walsh said he found a $5 bill in the parking lot and immediately went inside

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Sat Dec 5, 2015, 11:49 AM

Dec 2015

and turned it over to a manager. When he went back outside — his job involved picking up garbage and collecting stray shopping carts — he found a small stack of bills, $20s and $10s, in the parking lot. It was not in an envelope and bore no identification.

He completed his task and when he got a moment, he counted the cash: $350. He stuffed it in his pants pocket. He went back inside the store, which is adjacent to a Berkshire Bank branch, and was about to turn in the bundle when he heard a commotion.

"A woman was yelling at a manager, freaking out that she lost her money and I got nervous," said Walsh, who speaks haltingly and has anxiety issues. "I kind of froze and didn't want any trouble."

Walsh returned to his job, which included cleaning the bathrooms, and he gave a manager the $350 in cash about 30 minutes after he found it. The manager took the money and Walsh heard nothing more ...

Wal-Mart worker fired after 18 years for turning in $350 cash found in Niskayuna store parking lot too slowly
Paul Grondahl Updated 8:46 pm, Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Response to phantom power (Original post)

Baitball Blogger This message was self-deleted by its author.

BlueJazz

(25,348 posts)

4. "Walsh, who speaks haltingly and has anxiety issues."I kind of froze and didn't want any trouble?

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Sat Dec 5, 2015, 11:59 AM

Dec 2015

And he still did the right thing.
And got fired.
Walmart is the scourge of the American landscape. What an utterly disgusting organization.

Sunlei

(22,651 posts)

5. He should have turned it in right away, like he did with the other 'find'.

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Sat Dec 5, 2015, 12:07 PM

Dec 2015

Journeyman

(15,031 posts)

6. "Employment at-will." There's the culpable factor. Do away with the "Master & Servant" bullshit. . .

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Sat Dec 5, 2015, 01:19 PM

Dec 2015

and there'll be fewer instances of this type of gross misbehavior.

Absent that, our only recourse is public shaming and economic shunning, which all too often result in a fruitless effort to rectify these issues.

It seems Michael Walsh was a victim of his insecurities, rather than his criminal proclivities. I hope better minds prevail now that the story has been exposed.

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