A woman in Milwaukee is paying for a crime she committed 40 years ago by losing her job. Wells Fargo found out during a background check that she had shoplifted in 1972, and subsequently fired her. She thinks she’s already paid her time for that crime, but Wells Fargo’s policies disagree.

WTMJ-4 in Milwaukee says Yolanda claims she’s a good employee, and has plenty of certificates and photos to show her five years of service to the company.

“[I’m] very good at what I do for Wells Fargo,” she says. “I think there’s more important things in life than something I did 40 years ago,”

But last week her supervisor walked her out of the door, because of a Wells Fargo policy.

“We are bound by federal law that generally prohibits us from hiring or continuing the employment of any person who we know has a criminal record involving dishonesty or breach of trust,” a spokesman for Wells Fargo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“I did do the crime and, you know, I had just come out of high school,” says Yolanda, noting that her job in phone customer service doesn’t involve her handling cash. She wants her job back, but her termination letter says she’s no longer eligible to work at the bank.

“I think I should get it back because it’s something I did 40 years ago,” she says. “I paid for it. I’ve changed my life.”

*Thanks for the tip, Daniel!

Wells Fargo fires employee for 1972 shoplifting conviction [TMJ-4 News]

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