A near homeless ex-con supporting two teenaged children was fired from his $9 an hour job at WalMart over returning discarded bottles and cans for a $2 refund.
A New York man was fired from his job at WalMart because he went into the store to turn in and redeem for cash several bottles and cans he had found in the parking lot in the course of his job. The total amount he was redeemed for came to $2.
Thomas Smith, 52, had been working hard to get his life together and to try and set as good as an example for his teenaged children as he could, reports The Washington Post. In May, he was released from prison after finishing a 15-year sentence for an armed robbery he participated in.
He was homeless for a time and then landed a $9 an hour job at the East Greenbush, NY, at a local WalMart, rounding up the stray shopping carts in the parking lot and returning them to the store. Smith was excited about his new job because it offered a steady paycheck and an opportunity to provide a stable and loving environment for his children.
Smith found a stray cart near the store that contained some discarded bottles and cans. After seeing the person who was using the cart drive away, he scooped the bottles and cans and took them into the store for the nickel deposit on each one. He was immediately grabbed by WalMart security people, interrogated, forced to sign a statement he couldn’t read, and was then fired.
WalMart officials say that Smith was fired over a human resources situation that they would not discuss with the media. The company called it “gross misconduct.” Smith was forced to sign an admission of guilt that he couldn’t read because he did not have any glasses. He said he signed it because he did not want to chance violating his parole. He was told he was fired for taking property into the store itself. The company explained that the discarded bottles and cans were WalMart’s property and did not belong to Smith. In WalMart’s eyes, Smith stole their empty bottles and cans, along with the $2 deposit refund from WalMart.
After his firing on Wednesday there was a huge cry of protest and a social media campaign that attracted thousands of replies and protests against WalMart. Smith is angry but knows he can’t do anything about it. He said that he worked hard for the company but got a bad deal in the end.
A campaign was launched on Thursday at an online crowdfunding site that looks to raise money for Smith. So far, 227 donors have given $8,500.
