Felon in HR

Creds326

There is a rumor going around our company that our HR director was fired so that a convicted felon could be brought in to administer our benefits. This person will have access to our banking info, SS #'s, etc.  As employees, do we have any recourse?

cappy

Are you serious? This would be like saying that the company is planning its own suicide. What managment would do that? 

fisHRman

Hey, this rumor sounds fishy unless the felon is related to the owners of the company!

Do you know why the HR Director was fired?

SPDSKTR

Ask to run a background check (if permission is required... I'm not sure what the laws are).  It's the only logical way I can think of to clear up this rumor.  Any felon can lie and say, "Jail?  What's that?  Jaayyyy-yaaallll.  Nope.  Never heard of it."

Then again, if he's related to upper management, then rumors are bound to be spread.  Not to mention the "He's going to be favored over us all!" fear.

Creds326

The fired HR director did run a background check & told management of this guy's past.  The president decided to hire him - as company administrator - anyway.  Then, not too long after he started, we realized that he wasn't coming to work.  We were told "family problems".  It was about 3 weeks later that the news broke that he was in jail.  (We verified this at the local county sheriff's website.)  The president still insisted that this felon come back after his release from jail.  Not as the administrator, but as the president's "personal assistant".  Most of us are of the opinion that this guy had something to do with the HR director's firing.  (We heard that at a previous job, he was in charge of payroll & that there were some inconsistancies.  After an internal investigation, he was told to leave immediately.  No severance pay, no unemployment, etc.  If he did not agree to these terms, then they would file charges.  This job was after his felony conviction, but prior to his being hired at our company.)  How can this guy keep getting these jobs?  Now it appears that he is working his way back to a management position - administrator & HR!!!.  And, by the way, no one in our company is related to this guy.

TXHRGuy

A lot of con artists are really good salespeople.

 

Sounds like he has your CEO snookered.

 

Good luck.

SPDSKTR

[quote user="TXHRGuy"]

A lot of con artists are really good salespeople.

[/quote]

I couldn't help but chuckle.

TXHRGuy... you don't think a side discussion with the CEO would help any, do you?  "Everyone's really uncomfortable with this situation."  Or something of the like.

Creds326

I just returned from vacation & it's official - the "felon" is now splitting the HR duties with the payroll clerk!  And, would you believe that one of his responsibilities is to conduct the background checks on new employees!!!!!  (It's like the fox guarding the hen house.)  He has also been declared the "eyes & ears of the president" and can fill in for him at meetings when he (the president) is not available. I've heard of some really strange things over the years but I think this situation tops them all.  I've been at this company for almost 10 years and don't want to lose 5 weeks of PTO, health benefits, etc.  We're all waiting for the president & his "felon" to do something that takes down the entire company.  Stay tuned! 

cappy

This is incredible. Could it be that the offense was not something that is relevant to the position? What was the conviction if you know?

Creds326

He was charged with failure to file (?#) consecutive months of sales tax returns & attempt to evade sales tax.  Prior to those charges, he was also charged with some type of illegal interstate commerce valued over $10,000.  As mentioned in an earlier reply, he was also let go from a company (after the felonies) due to discrepancies in payroll records but no charges were filed by that company.

sbrunn

Good grief.  I would update my resume and start looking.  This is a train wreck in the making.  I certainly understand the 5 weeks of PTO and benefits but it is not worth it when you have someone who is possibly not working in the company's best interest.  In addition, if it goes down, you don't want to be associated with this company. Good luck. 

tanksleyj

This is incredible and frightening.  I hope it all works out for you.  I'm new to this site and mostly reading.  The information provided here is invaluable. 

cappy

[quote user="tanksleyj"]

This is incredible and frightening.  I hope it all works out for you.  I'm new to this site and mostly reading.  The information provided here is invaluable.[/quote]

 Welcome! There are some really good heads in here. They have helped me a lot. I'm just glad they tolerate me! [:P]

I agree this is frightening. I would be looking unless I have missed something extraordinary that the managements knows that I didn't. I don't know what that could be unless it is an elaborate ruse to get people to leave and not have to pay unemployment fees. 'Course that is just my cynical mind speaking.