RICHMOND, Va. — Former Richmond finance employees, who took their jobs only a few months ago, said they were confused and upset after they were fired this week under what they believed to be unfair circumstances.
Janice Bishop, Deshawnda Johnson, and Jasmine Osborne all worked in the Finance Department’s business unit, despite being hired as regulatory auditors. They started their jobs in June, May, and February respectively.
Bishop and Osborne became employees through a city job fair, and Johnson transferred from the Department of Public Utilities.
Their responsibilities included processing meals taxes, personal property taxes, and business license applications. But they said they were subjected to chaotic working conditions and antiquated systems.
“It was the worst experience coming in,” Bishop said. “[I] was not trained in the position. I constantly asked to be trained.”
“I was completely astonished with the unorganization, with the lack of training, with this system,” Osborne said. “Just to see the amount of paperwork that was just there and there was no rhyme or reason to it, and you were just given a bin of paper, and they were like, ‘alright, get this processed.'”