OK, that's just weird!

 

I was astonished to read that a California employer hired a fake "priest" to persuade its staff to confess "sins" against the company.

Eduardo Hernandez, Hector Manual Martinez Galindo and Alejandro Rodriguez hired a "priest" to hear employee confessions at work. According to the witness, the supposed priest would encourage employees to "get the sins out," asking if they had ever stolen from their employer, had done anything to hurt the company, been late to work or had any bad intentions toward the company.

. . .

"Under oath, an employee of Taqueria Garibaldi explained how the restaurant offered a supposed priest to hear their workplace ‘sins’ while other employees reported that a manager falsely claimed that immigration issues would be raised by the department’s investigation," Marc Pilotin, regional solicitor of labor, said in the release.

There's more at the link.

I suppose poorly educated or superstitious individuals might be fooled by such a "priest", but certainly nobody who knew the Catholic faith and its teachings and practices would be taken in.  On the other hand, perhaps many Catholics don't attend church often enough to understand that.  In the profession, we used to refer to the "hatch, match and dispatch" crowd - those who would be found in church only for baptisms, weddings and funerals.  I suppose they might be considered low-information believers!

At any rate, I'm glad the practice has been stopped, and the company has been fined.  However, if the owners would stoop so low as to do this, I'm willing to bet that they haven't changed their approach.  They'll just find some other way to put pressure on employees, and continue to thumb their noses at the law.  See leopards, spots, and the changing thereof . . .

Peter