It seems like every week, I have an employee issue that is “troublesome” to say the least. I will try to keep this as vague as possible as to not embarrass anyone here. Just in case you are new here, I own a couple of bars. One is here in town, it’s a sports bar/restaurant, and one is in Mexico.

Recently, we hired a person for the sports bar here and so far, so good. This person has been doing a great job as a server. Yesterday, my son Korey told me that he was completing his background check on this person and he discovered that they lied (by omission) on their application. This person was arrested a year and a half ago for burglary of a building. Well, that sucks, huh? Here’s the thing. I was trying to put myself in this person’s shoes. Would I be honest and put that on an application? Especially if it was fairly recent. I wouldn’t expect to be hired if I did. Ok, like I said. This person, at this point, is doing a pretty good job. So, I have two sides that I am contemplating. On one hand, what if this person is just checking us out to see our tendencies so that they can come back and steal from me later? OR, what if this person has changed and really wants to do right but they need someone to give them a chance? I think most people want to give others the benefit of the doubt. I know I do. And I know that people can change. But if no one gives people in this situation a chance, what do they do? Go back to their old ways? Any suggestions here would be appreciated. I guess what I do is to talk to this person and let them know that we know about this issue. And then at that point, if I feel comfortable, I give them a chance to prove themselves, right? Or, some people will say, “Cut bait” and let this person go. Ugh, decisions, decisions!