Case Study: A Christmas Greeting

Sally Smith has worked for a large national grocery chain in Newfoundland for $22$ years with a clean record. She is a general clerk whose job is to stack shelves and assist customers.

On the day in question, Smith was near the end of her shift. She went to the gift section and picked out a Christmas card and some wrapping paper. The total cost of these items was $$5\mathrm{.}00.$ With the items in hand, she went upstairs to the employee locker room, collected her purse and other personal items, and went back downstairs. While holding the card and wrapping paper, she walked out of the store without stopping to pay for the items, going by a dozen check$-$out counters in the process.

Unknown to Smith, she had been observed by an undercover security officer. He watched her take the card and wrapping paper from the shelf and walk out of the store. He followed her to her car. As she got in$,$ he tapped on the window, identified himself as a store security officer, and asked her to come back into the store with him. He said that Smith looked frightened, averted her eyes, and didn$$t say anything, but she followed him into the store.

After returning to the store Smith was interviewed by the store manager and the security officer. She seemed to regain her composure and explained that she had been in a hurry and had simply forgotten to pay for the items. She asked, $$Haven$$t you ever forgotten to pay for something$$is it a crime to be forgetful?$$

Smith was asked to empty her purse. Inside was a roll of bright red store stickers with the word $$PAID$$ on each sticker. These stickers are used to mark items that customers bring into the store from the outside to indicate that they have already been paid for. The stickers are kept at the customer service desk; Smith did not use them in her own work. She swore that she had no idea how they had gotten in her purse and denied that they belonged to her. She began to weep.

The store manager ended the interview at this point. He confiscated the gift wrap, Christmas card, and roll of stickers and told Smith he would contact her after he had considered all the facts.

After considering the facts, the next day, Smith was called to a meeting and asked to bring her steward with her. At the meeting, she was given her dismissal notice$$the reason: theft of company property. It was alleged that she had violated the strict company policy against any type of theft, upon penalty of dismissal.

Questions $-$

$1.$ What is the role of the specific industry in determining the seriousness of the offense? Is there a strict policy against theft?

$2.$ Is the employee aware of this policy? Have all employees been treated in a fair and even$-$handed way?

$3.$ Can the company insist on inspecting her purse? Is she aware that she was under surveillance?

$4.$ Can the company interview her without union representation?

$5.$ Was her defence credible? What about the $$PAID$$ stickers?

$6.$ What weight would you give to her $22$ years and clean record? Would a lesser penalty be more appropriate?