Wednesday, March 6, 2019

It Makes You Wonder



By now, you know the story of the big box discount store chain that employed a man in the Selinsgrove area, with cerebral palsy, to be a greeter.   The company decided to change the requirements for the job, adding responsibilities the man could not physically perform.

The public cried "foul."  The company relented and created a new position-- self service check out host.  The man keeps working.  Happy ending.

Here's what gets my goat.  The same story was repeated at other locations around the country.  It's stunning to believe that in these days of social media and quick public outcry that a company can be so insensitive and tone deaf to the needs of its community.

The head of the company finally put out a directive that steps should be taken to make sure current employees still have a job, even if the duties change.  Why didn't you think of that in the first place?  Did you really think that kicking current employees with special needs to the street was a good policy?

I should add that the store closest to me recently installed even more self checkout stands.  I wonder if that will translate into fewer jobs.

I'm sure some good did come out of this.

I'm proud of the work done by WNEP's Nikki Krize, who helped bring the Selinsgrove story to light.  Many of entered the news business to help people.  Nikki's reporting was exceptional.

The big plus?  A big company learned to be less stupid in the future.