#932603 - 03/28/08 07:03 PM
teller arrested for drugs
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Anonymous
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Signed out to post anon this time.
A teller at one of our branches was arrested for possession of marijuana a week or so ago. He has not said a word about it, and we only know because of the police report in one of the weekly local papers. The county court records are available online, so based on the information there we're 99.99% sure it's our teller.
The teller is a senior in high school and this appears to be a first offense. He's been arraigned, and the case continued until May.
Based on our experience with him, we don't believe that he is a security risk and he is still employed here. We're awaiting a callback from our HR lawyer, and realize that our actions will be directed by our insurance and bonding, but aren't sure exactly what we should do right now. From what we've seen of other first-time offenses in the area, we expect that he'll likely be ordered into an education program with charges dropped upon successful completion.
Until we talk to the lawyer, we have two options in mind. First would be to confront him and fire him (we are a right-to-work state). Second would be to confront him, but basically follow the actions of the court. We would allow him to keep his job in a probationary status until the case is resolved. If he is assigned to an education program, then he would remain probationary until completion. We haven't really considered what we'd do if he is convicted -- at that point I think we'd have to fire him.
Has anyone else dealt with a situation like this? We really don't feel that he is a risk (although our bonding may dictate otherwise). He's a pretty smart kid, and if this is a first offense and he's smart enough to learn from it and get his act together then we don't want to just kick him out.
Thoughts, anyone?
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#937103 - 04/07/08 02:10 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Blessed
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Anonymous
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I think Audit gal's point is well taken, in that ANYONE could be accused; an arrest alone is not, in my opinion, a reason to fire someone.
That said, however, I don't think an employer, whether a bank or another type of business, should hold itself to the "proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt" standard used in criminal court. If it really does seem, in the employer's judgement, that it is "more likely than not" that an employee has done something that is likely to have a negative impact on his/her work, then I see nothing wrong with termination.
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#937155 - 04/07/08 02:48 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Jalen
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Joined: Oct 2006
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Cheeseheadland
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Maybe my I need to clarify my comment a bit...
What I was trying to ask and suggest, is will they take this stance with all employees regardless of the crime... illegal drugs are pretty serious, but DUI's and such, especially those of an officer or LO, are sometimes seen as not as important, or even as an "intrusion" into one's life.
So my clarified question to the Anon poster is, if one of your officers or LO's are arrested for DUI or such, will you also suspend them, and then terminate them if found guilty?
My experience is most bank's would not touch a case like that with a ten foot pole.
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#937400 - 04/07/08 06:47 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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I think some of you are blowing this issue way out of proportion. First of all, marijuana is not a 'violent' drug. I would be A LOT more concerned if it were heroin, meth, or coke (or anything else along those lines). I guess I would be curious to know how much the teller was found with? How would you handle a person that got a DWI?
I understand the concerns of the late hours at work and him having access to cash, but I think you need to look at the broader picture. What is his attendance like, does he balance, has he had any other convictions, so on and so on. Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. I would be more concerned about the employees that you have that frequent bars on a regular basis and drive drunk. I think the chances of that are much higher than the marijuana usage.
Now, if he had it at work, using it at work, or selling it from work then that would be a problem, for sure. But, it doesn't sound like that is the case.
I would just be VERY cautious on how you proceed with this. Also, keep in mind that you only found out because you read it in the paper. Think about all the employees that may have gotten into some legal trouble that didn't make it into the paper.
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#937402 - 04/07/08 06:48 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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I think some of you are blowing this issue way out of proportion. First of all, marijuana is not a 'violent' drug. I would be A LOT more concerned if it were heroin, meth, or coke (or anything else along those lines). I guess I would be curious to know how much the teller was found with? How would you handle a person that got a DWI?
I understand the concerns of the late hours at work and him having access to cash, but I think you need to look at the broader picture. What is his attendance like, does he balance, has he had any other convictions, so on and so on. Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. I would be more concerned about the employees that you have that frequent bars on a regular basis and drive drunk. I think the chances of that are much higher than the marijuana usage.
Now, if he had it at work, using it at work, or selling it from work then that would be a problem, for sure. But, it doesn't sound like that is the case.
I would just be VERY cautious on how you proceed with this. Also, keep in mind that you only found out because you read it in the paper. Think about all the employees that may have gotten into some legal trouble that didn't make it into the paper.
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#937403 - 04/07/08 06:48 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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I think some of you are blowing this issue way out of proportion. First of all, marijuana is not a 'violent' drug. I would be A LOT more concerned if it were heroin, meth, or coke (or anything else along those lines). I guess I would be curious to know how much the teller was found with? How would you handle a person that got a DWI?
I understand the concerns of the late hours at work and him having access to cash, but I think you need to look at the broader picture. What is his attendance like, does he balance, has he had any other convictions, so on and so on. Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. I would be more concerned about the employees that you have that frequent bars on a regular basis and drive drunk. I think the chances of that are much higher than the marijuana usage.
Now, if he had it at work, using it at work, or selling it from work then that would be a problem, for sure. But, it doesn't sound like that is the case.
I would just be VERY cautious on how you proceed with this. Also, keep in mind that you only found out because you read it in the paper. Think about all the employees that may have gotten into some legal trouble that didn't make it into the paper.
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#937405 - 04/07/08 06:49 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
#Just Jay
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Anonymous
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I think some of you are blowing this issue way out of proportion. First of all, marijuana is not a 'violent' drug. I would be A LOT more concerned if it were heroin, meth, or coke (or anything else along those lines). I guess I would be curious to know how much the teller was found with? How would you handle a person that got a DWI?
I understand the concerns of the late hours at work and him having access to cash, but I think you need to look at the broader picture. What is his attendance like, does he balance, has he had any other convictions, so on and so on. Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. I would be more concerned about the employees that you have that frequent bars on a regular basis and drive drunk. I think the chances of that are much higher than the marijuana usage.
Now, if he had it at work, using it at work, or selling it from work then that would be a problem, for sure. But, it doesn't sound like that is the case.
I would just be VERY cautious on how you proceed with this. Also, keep in mind that you only found out because you read it in the paper. Think about all the employees that may have gotten into some legal trouble that didn't make it into the paper.
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#937430 - 04/07/08 07:15 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Anonymous
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 953
Tejas
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Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. It puts his job at risk if he works for me. Again... if you screw up, there are consequences. He screwed up. He chose to screw up. He needs to understand that choosing bad actions also means he chooses bad consequences. As far a loan officer goes, if they work for me and they put themselves in the same position, I would absolutely fire them. No favoritism here... everyone lives by the same rules in my book.
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#937467 - 04/07/08 07:50 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Milby
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Anonymous
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Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. It puts his job at risk if he works for me. Again... if you screw up, there are consequences. He screwed up. He chose to screw up. He needs to understand that choosing bad actions also means he chooses bad consequences. As far a loan officer goes, if they work for me and they put themselves in the same position, I would absolutely fire them. No favoritism here... everyone lives by the same rules in my book. So, if one of your employees is caught drinking and driving and charged with DWI or DWAI (which could be a felony in some states) would you terminate them?
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#937468 - 04/07/08 07:50 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Milby
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Anonymous
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Just because he was arrested for possession does not make him a criminal that would put his job or anything of the sort at risk. It puts his job at risk if he works for me. Again... if you screw up, there are consequences. He screwed up. He chose to screw up. He needs to understand that choosing bad actions also means he chooses bad consequences. As far a loan officer goes, if they work for me and they put themselves in the same position, I would absolutely fire them. No favoritism here... everyone lives by the same rules in my book. So, if one of your employees is caught drinking and driving and charged with DWI or DWAI (which could be a felony in some states) would you terminate them?
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#937913 - 04/08/08 04:05 PM
Re: teller arrested for drugs
Anonymous
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Tejas
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So, if one of your employees is caught drinking and driving and charged with DWI or DWAI (which could be a felony in some states) would you terminate them? Yep. Senator Kennedy need not apply. Unless you have a random drug testing policy/ procedure in place, I would be cautious as to how you proceed with this. It is not my job to police the employees' personal lives through random drug testing. We do have employees sign a waiver acknowledging we have the right to perform drug tests, but we rarely use this provision. However, if the employee is arrested by police and sentenced they will "reap the whirlwind."
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