Reprimand at workplace could lead to dismissal?

Question

My husband works at an office where he is privy to a ton of personal information. We also own apartments. One person we rented to, also is in his system at work where he is privy to her information. They are accusing him of accessing her private information for his own use to collect on a court order we have on this tenant who has since moved out. However, any and all information we have gotten was from a mutual friend and not from the confidential files. There are times he has had to access her information in order to complete paperwork on her behalf, but has never brought that information home. If he can not backup this fact and that we have only gotten information from our neighbor (she is writing a confirming letter for us as I type), can they really dismiss him?? He has worked for this company for 14 years and has never even been reprimanded in the past for anything. Doesn't that count for something?? We will lose all our income and I don't know what to do. I have never worked and to lose our income and go on welfare seems like such a foreign option for me. We have the apartments, but since they are a source of income, we wouldn't want to sell them. I am really losing sleep over this because it seems like they are accusing him of doing what he is suppose to do in the course of his job. We have always tried as hard a possible to not let our apartment business cross paths with his office job when we know that his work will deal with the people we rent to. This is the first time this has ever happened and they seem intent on getting rid of him. We have retained a lawyer and a Union representative. Is there anything more we can do except get the letter from our friend that supplied us with the information???

Update:

My husband's job entails him accessing information on a ton of people that he knows. He has NEVER brought any of that information home in anyway. He has even looked up and been privy to private information on relatives and has never been accused of anything like this before. He can't give over his work load to someone else every time a familair name crosses his desk.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Unless he has a work contract and his actions do not violate it, yes, they can fire him over this. In hindsight, he probably should have explained the conflict of interest up-front, so his supervisor would be aware your husband's job required him to access confidential information about a person with whom he had a legal issue unrelated to his job.

I would think that fourteen years of good work might leave this as a reprimand only, but there are no guarantees. I don't mean to be harsh, but he showed poor judgment in handling this information without letting his boss know the problem it posed.

Rudy H · Answer

There are no pre-emptive actions I can see. He shouldn't have accessed the tenants information at all, whether he brought it home or not. This creates a liability for the company. It might even be a huge liability if the tenants identity is compromised. That was a bad move, and he should have known better. I think you're just going to have to wait and see if the company overlooks the matter, or comes up with a solution other than dismissal. Good luck.

Maris · Answer

It sounds like you're doing all the right things, and it will probably come down to the rules and ethics of the company he works for.  If he worked for a finance/banking firm, something like this would be a huge security violation.  Since your husband hasn't been in trouble in the past, I would imagine he will receive a big slap on the wrist and will ensure nothing like this happens again.  Make sure the letter from your friend is detailed and complete, and let her know she may even need to speak to someone in person if the company asks for it - because a letter can be construed as just being heresay. 

Good luck - I hope everything works out for you.

Trending News

Reprimand at workplace could lead to dismissal?

3 Answers