A Walmart employee in Albany, New York was fired from his job after redeeming $2 worth of discarded cans he found while gathering the store’s shopping carts. Walmart didn’t have a problem with the $3.10 worth of empty beer cans Smith had found in the parking lot, but did have an issue with the $2 he received from cans and bottles left in a shopping cart located just inside of the store’s entrance.
According to WNYT, 52-year-old Smith is a formerly homeless convict who got out of prison in May after serving more than 13 years for a bank robbery. His job at Walmart was a chance at a new beginning and would help him support his two teenage kids. Smith was almost at the end of his 90-day probation period with the company when he was terminated. Walmart claims that by turning in the $2 worth of cans that were technically located inside store property, he violated Walmart policy.