Atlanta garbage man spends 30 days in jail for going to work too early

Residents called 911 on him

A garbage collector outside Atlanta has been sentence to 30 days in prison for start his work too early.

Kevin McGill, 48, who works for Waste Management Inc, took a guilty plea deal after violating an ordinance in Sandy Springs, north of Atlanta, that bans collections before 7am.

He turned 48 on Friday, but reported to a local jail at 6pm after being allowed to serve his time on the weekends so he can still work collecting wealthy residents' trash so he can support his wife and two children.

The bin collector didn't have a lawyer when he was sentenced and has filed a motion to withdraw his plea, McGill's new attorney Kimberly Bandoh told Daily Mail Online.

She said that Waste Management, which had amassed thousands of dollars in fines with the municipality in the last year, suspended McGill for violating its policies before he went to court.

So it seems this employer has violated this policy BEFORE hiring this employee. This employee has only been on this route for 3 months. I doubt all those thousands in fines were during that 3 months. In my opinion the person needing punishment would be on the employer, not the employee. And truthfully, I'd go after all the idiots who bombed the 911 system over a piddling garbage truck! Morons! Seriously! I hope his new lawyer gets his completely off!

He turned 48 on Friday, but reported to a local jail at 6pm after being allowed to serve his time on the weekends so he can still work collecting wealthy residents' trash so he can support his wife and two children.

Apparently he doesn't collect trash for non-wealthy residents? Talk about a skewed piece of crap article.

Jail seems excessive, but early trash pickup annoys even non-wealthy folks like me who value their sleep.

originally posted by: Metallicus

He turned 48 on Friday, but reported to a local jail at 6pm after being allowed to serve his time on the weekends so he can still work collecting wealthy residents' trash so he can support his wife and two children.

Apparently he doesn't collect trash for non-wealthy residents? Talk about a skewed piece of crap article.

Jail seems excessive, but early trash pickup annoys even non-wealthy folks like me who value their sleep.

Jail time though?

Welcome to Amerika!

No reason to put a guy in jail what so ever!

This is lunacy. A month in the hoosegow can mean you lose everything to the average Joe.
I would like to see this judge spend one weekend in a cage.
I'd bet he would think twice about handing out such stiff sentences like it was nothing.

a reply to: skunkape23

A month in the hoosegow can mean you lose everything to the average Joe.

He will serve his time on weekends.

Now he has to spend the next 14 weekends in jail, while he works during the week... after 7am.

6abc.com...

originally posted by: Metallicus

He turned 48 on Friday, but reported to a local jail at 6pm after being allowed to serve his time on the weekends so he can still work collecting wealthy residents' trash so he can support his wife and two children.

Apparently he doesn't collect trash for non-wealthy residents? Talk about a skewed piece of crap article.

Jail seems excessive, but early trash pickup annoys even non-wealthy folks like me who value their sleep.

I can see a fine maybe, but he has to get his keys from his employer. If anyone should be I jail, it should be them. Someone told him to report at that time. I doubt very highly he just said, you know what, I'm going to be a jerk today and show up at 5. Because I'm sure if he could sleep in, he would. My guess is, a lot of those fines the employer got the year before was for similar things of showing up early. But to fine the employee, who's doing the employer's bidding is a bit excessive if you ask me. The employee doesn't set the hours, they just follow the employers rules and schedule that is set for them, so if anyone should be in jail, per se, it should be the WM company, not the employee. That's my opinion on the situation, I'm sure others may have a differing view.

originally posted by: seeker1963

Jail time though?

Welcome to Amerika!

No reason to put a guy in jail what so ever!

I agree. Community service would have been a better option. Have him collecting garbage for 30 days perhaps.

I hope no one will take that route to pick up these peoples trash. Jail time for working is crazy.

If he has to serve jail time, then the ones who ABUSED the 911 EMERGENCY telephone system should be right in the cell too. Those are the real perpetrators.

a reply to: Anyafaj

This is retarded time to physically throw these government officials out of office and take all the valuable assets they have acquired while in office and reposes them, sell them and pay off anyone who they have sentenced to 30 days in jail for doing their job better than whats expected of them.

Although I feel sorry for the guy I think I have to commend the judge in this case.

The company is obviously breaking the rules and paying the fines as it is benifical to them.

By punishing the employee it gives other employees good reason not to work out of hours and stop the company breaking the rules in the first place.

As I said it's a bummer for the individual but looks like the judge took the only way they could see to stop it happening.

a reply to: seeker1963

Welcome to Amerika!

No reason to put a guy in jail what so ever!

Welcome to Atlanta.

a reply to: Anyafaj

The sentence is indeed harsh.
But you have pointed out exactly the reasons given as to why it was harsh. Fining the company didn't work because the sanitation engineers didn't care about fines the company was assessed.

What makes you think the company required him to collect trash at 5 AM?

a reply to: nerbot

Have him collecting garbage for 30 days perhaps.

He will be doing so...on weekdays.

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
I hope no one will take that route to pick up these peoples trash. Jail time for working is crazy.

I agree, personally if it were me, I'd leave their trash to rot for 30 days and see if they like it there. Thankfully I'm not one of those kind of people though. If I were, I would. It's a shame I'm a nice guy.

originally posted by: nerbot

originally posted by: seeker1963

Jail time though?

Welcome to Amerika!

No reason to put a guy in jail what so ever!

I agree. Community service would have been a better option. Have him collecting garbage for 30 days perhaps.

How about just a nasty phone call to his employer?

Problem solved?

originally posted by: AreUKiddingMe
If he has to serve jail time, then the ones who ABUSED the 911 EMERGENCY telephone system should be right in the cell too. Those are the real perpetrators.

I completely agree!

2nd

It's ridiculous that he gets the jail time because, as the lame ass prosecutor said, "...fines don't work," meaning, I'm assuming, fines against Waste Management, Inc. He's an agent of the company. Throw, at the very least, the supervisor who sent or allowed the truck out early into jail, if that's even the thing to do here. I bet he could win on appeal. Then again it is the GA justice system. Sigh...

ETA Rant: Sandy Springs has a very seriously massive traffic problem. I know because I drive through it every single work day. And this ridiculous law is probably part of the reason why. You can't get around the trucks on some of the side roads. And I bet I know almost exactly where this is too. And these trucks aren't even all that noisy anymore. Big, selfish crybabies is right, if you ask me.

originally posted by: nerbot

originally posted by: seeker1963

Jail time though?

Welcome to Amerika!

No reason to put a guy in jail what so ever!

I agree. Community service would have been a better option. Have him collecting garbage for 30 days perhaps.

Since that is his regular job, there's no reason to make that his community service. His BOSS on the other hand, should be doing his employee's job as a community service for forcing his employee to work a schedule that got his employee in trouble with the city, knowing it would cause a fine or worse.

originally posted by: nonspecific
Although I feel sorry for the guy I think I have to commend the judge in this case.

The company is obviously breaking the rules and paying the fines as it is benifical to them.

By punishing the employee it gives other employees good reason not to work out of hours and stop the company breaking the rules in the first place.

As I said it's a bummer for the individual but looks like the judge took the only way they could see to stop it happening.

My solution? Put the Company owner in jail because it's his responsibility. Can't take that truck out of the yard without his consent.

Why the employee who is only to eager to work at 5am in the morning?

Owner gets to pay a fine that he can clearly afford as the cost of doing business but the employee was most likely ordered to start at that time. When does an employee call the shots?

Peace