Store Clerk With Mental Disability Fired For 'Stealing' 20 Cents

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Kyle Dowie worked at the Hy-Vee supermarket in Urbandale, Iowa, for 25 years. His job was menial; he handled the cans and bottles brought in for recycling credits. But as a 43-year-old man with a mental disability, Dowie was happy, until he was fired last November for trying to cash in 20 cents of credits that the manager claims were not his...

Store Clerk With Mental Disability Fired For 'Stealing' 20 Cents - Careers Articles
  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    If he has the STABLE mental capacity of a 14-15 year old, he shouldn't use retardation as an excuse. A 14 year old could easily do the job. But 20 cents is MINOR, and he DID earlier get far more legally, so they should just give him a reprimand, maybe dock his pay 20 cents, and be done with it.

    I have a step brother that is retarded, but HIS ability is apparently not stable I guess I wouldn't try to rate his intelligence. then again, nobody trusts him with money. He can be like a janitor, and helps defray costs by doing that type of work. BTW my step other pays the rest apparently.

    Steve
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  • I was curious what people would think of that. If, at 43, he has developed into a capacity of a 14 year old, I was curious where he was to begin with. True, his offense is minor - especially his work record and ethic...but I had never seen anyone with that age of development considered "mentally disabled" before - though it plays a central role in the story. There may be other considerations that cause him to be categorized in this way...

    Even if he were not considered disabled, his dismissal was still completely unwarranted. But, as in some states, a business can fire you for any reason whatsoever (he was making 13.00/hr, w/4 wks vac - not bad)...and you have little recourse but to appeal or get a lawyer...his mental capacity argument allowed him a motion to appeal.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by MoneyMagnetMagnate View Post

      I was curious what people would think of that. If, at 43, he has developed into a capacity of a 14 year old, I was curious where he was to begin with. True, his offense is minor - especially his work record and ethic...but I had never seen anyone with that age of development considered "mentally disabled" before - though it plays a central role in the story. There may be other considerations that cause him to be categorized in this way...

      Even if he were not considered disabled, his dismissal was still completely unwarranted. But, as in some states, a business can fire you for any reason whatsoever (he was making 13.00/hr, w/4 wks vac - not bad)...and you have little recourse but to appeal or get a lawyer...his mental capacity argument allowed him a motion to appeal.
      TECHNICALLY, if they say that he is at the level of 14YO, it COULD mean a 14YO with a 90IQ, which is about a 12YO with a 100IQ. There is about a 30 point spread around 100 that is still considered in the normal range. Anyway, 12 or 15, he WOULD be disabled. even a normal 12 YO has the ability to be far more intelligent, but this guy really doesn't. So he IS disabled. That DOES limit his ability to work at a job. But the skills required to score as high as he did would be enough to handle currency and a simple job such as the one he has.

      $13/hr in most areas for that is VERY good!!!! Maybe it was union and in a high priced area. 4 wks vacation is ALSO good. I was in san jose about 7 or so years ago, and school bus drivers got paid SO much that they flew in from LA ALL EXPENSES PAIDm HOTEL INCLUDED! I asked them WHY, and they said that they were aid a LOT more in san jose. A coffee server at star bucks got $20/hour!

      Steve
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