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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Wicomico County Liquor Control Board Fails To Terminate Abusive Employee


A Few weeks ago we provided an article that discussed a member of Sarah Foxwell's Family receiving an abusive phone call from a Wicomico County Liquor Store Employee. This individual started yelling at this Family Member using curse words and abusive language.

Even though they found the employee had in fact done what Mrs. Powell explained when she made the complaint, the Board refused to terminate the employee and stated "We have disciplined the employee in question, within the parameters set forth in our employee agreement."

Folks, if you had heard what this employee had said you'd be outraged. He called them thieves, he threw the F-Bomb out frequently and stated "you got what you deserved," referencing Sarah Foxwell's murder.

Mind you, he made the call from the Liquor Store while on duty. After your Niece had been brutally murdered, do you feel they handled this properly? Would you allow one of your own employees to make such an abusive call and then keep them employed?

This is what's wrong with America today Folks. One can only wonder what's next from this man. Wicomico County should be ashamed of itself.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just further evidence that no one involved in that entire operation is accountable to this county's citizens.It is beyond disgraceful.

Anonymous said...

I am a manager, and there would be no question. They would lose their job, and I have no doubt my supervisor would support me fully. This is wrong.

Anonymous said...

If they have cameras in the store, do they provide audio? If so, then the board should have been able to hear what the employee actually said. If they were to fire this employee, what terminology would they use to put it on file? If they did not hear the actual phone call, but they witnessed other rude behavior, they may not have a leg to stand on in firing this employee.

joealbero said...

They got the phone records from Verizon and confirmed the call was made.

Anonymous said...

It's not only Wicomico, Somerset is even worse. Somerset hires folks with known abusive behavior in their past. Somerset hired one person even after he had been forced to resign a few months earlier for abusive behavior. It's only a matter of time before this type of behavior will resurface again. It's like a sexual preditor in that it is never a one time event, they will always be repeat offenders.

Anonymous said...

You all seem to forget that Maryland is not a right to work state. You can be fired for any reason or no reason whatsoever. This jerk would be and should be unemployed immediately.

Boycott the Naylor Mill road store. Better yet, buy your booze in Delaware. Screw Wicomico County the same as it continues to screw it's residents.

Anonymous said...

9:26 Anon, you don't know what you're talking about.

In most states of the United States, all employees are considered "at will" employees.

"At will" means that you or your employer can terminate your job on a moment's notice for any reason - good, bad, indifferent -- or no reason at all. Unless the termination violates federal or state law, company policies, or an implied contract, there is very little that an at will employee can do to protest such action.

"For cause" employment means the opposite: the employer cannot discharge the employee without a legitimate reason -hence the term "for cause". Examples of situations where your boss cannot fire you without a good reason include:

(1) your company's employment policy requires for-cause justifications for firings

(2) you have a contract (either implied, oral or written) with the employer that contains such a provision

(3) you are a member of a labor union and protected by a collective bargaining agreement
(4) you are a government employee under the protection of civil service laws

(5) your state’s law prohibits "at will" terminations

Now if this employee is a minority, that may well be the reason for them not terminating, fear of the employee using race as a reason for the firing. Happens all the time.

doug wilkerson said...

Whats his name?

Anonymous said...

RICK just another nail in ur coffin.

Anonymous said...

"will never be tolerated" ??? seems keeping this person employed there is significantly tolerant.

Anonymous said...

It is illegal to have both video and audio on surveillance tapes. Video is fine, but recording audio is not okay. Just ask any security company.

Anonymous said...

9:40... I was not claiming to know everything. I was merely making a statement and hoping for clarification of the events or what could have happened.

Anonymous said...

I am assistant manager of a convenience store. I would have been fired immediately and I would have fired anyone that worked under me. My employer believes that the customer are right and they are the ones that pays my pay check. I don't know what the matter with people any more. You get more from a person talking to them nicely than you do by being abusive.

Anonymous said...

This is only the tip of the iceberg as what goes on with the dispensaries. But no one wants to touch them for whatever reason. It should have been privatized decades ago and the elected officials are still turning a blind eye to their wrong doings.

Anonymous said...

Audio is against the law unless:

You have it installed for legal reasons and to avoid abuse. As a customer service representative for four years, I was trained on the techniques. If the customer is getting abusive with you, you have to tell them from this point forward they will be recorded and if the person continues to harass or abuse, it is admissible in court.

Chimera said...

I would suggest Mrs.Powell also speak with the county liquor control board-in counties with dispensaries,an appointed or elected board oversees the operations of liquor stores.

Anonymous said...

ANON:I COULD WRITE A NOVEL ON THE WIC.CO.LIC.STORES.THERE IS SO MUCH THAT GOES ON WITHIN THOSE STORES AND THE MGMT. ALL THIS AND YET NOTHING IS EVER DONE TO CORRECT.I'D LOVE TO HAVE A ONE ON ONE WITH JOE AND BLOW MY GUTS.YOU TALK ABOUT THE GOOD OLE BOYS,THESE PEOPLE GIVE A NEW MEANING TO THE WORD CORRUPTION.

Anonymous said...

Why will nobody tell us this person's name? If they are employed by any governmental body we have the right to know who they are. Nothing wrong with saying so-and-so stands ACCUSED of x-y-z. Maybe Mr. Collis or the whole Board should be fired - what was the accused caller's disciplinary action anyway? By allowing this person's employment to continue, they are in fact endorsing and condoning what this person did - they know who it is and they know that they did what they did. Don't pee on me and tell me it's raining.

Bill Goldstein said...

One of my former college roommate recently told me a story in which a Wicomico liquor dispensary employee refused to sell liquor to another customer because he supposedly did not live in the county and that the employee told the customer that “Dispensaries are taxpayer funded so therefore they can only serve bona fide residents of Wicomico County.”

Now I have NO IDEA if this story is true or not but in the event that it is then Wicomico County can be looking at some serious legal problems because first off that is blatantly discriminatory, you can’t refuse to let someone enter a store or not sell them product based on residency unless the store is specifically is operated as a private club where a monthly or yearly membership is required and second it contradicts the State of Maryland’s Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations.