She Faked a Carjacking to Get Out of Work [The Bad Hire Ep. 47]

She calls her boss in a panic and says she was just carjacked.

She’s so traumatized she needs the entire week off.

Thirty seconds later, her boss calls her actual phone.

She answers: “Hey, I’m driving. Who’s this?” The employee had borrowed someone else’s phone to make the original call and was fired shortly afterward.

In Episode 47 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Morgan, and Nathan react to workplace stories involving fake emergencies, dangerous decisions, failed health inspections, reference-check surprises, and one new developer who apparently thought the company’s entire source code was something he could take home.

If you hire, manage, or lead people, Episode 47 is full of examples of why judgment, verification, and a strong hiring process matter just as much as what’s written on a résumé.

• The employee who shot himself with a nail gun over a wasp
• A shocking client-referred hire
• The fake carjacking that fell apart almost immediately
• Alexandra on how bad company processes can create bad hires
• The Sonic employee who handed a used drink to a health inspector
• An employee who got fired for his reaction to an honest mistake
• Judith on the reference check that completely changed a hiring decision
• The developer caught downloading the company’s source code
• Why background checks and verification matter

• Don’t let a strong interview replace verification.
• Always finish your reference checks.
• An employee’s response to a mistake can tell you everything.
• Protecting company data starts on day one.
• HR and hiring managers both play an important role in making the right hire.

• 00:00 Cold open
• 00:54 Ken welcomes Morgan and Nathan
• 01:15 The $10,000 Bad Hire contest
• 03:30 How to submit your Bad Hire story
• 03:44 He shoots himself with a nail gun over a wasp
• 06:06 The client referral with a shocking criminal history
• 10:16 She fakes a carjacking to get the entire week off
• 13:31 Alexandra: when the company’s hiring process is the problem
• 17:24 Sonic employee hands a used drink to a health inspector
• 20:08 He drops a monitor — then curses out his manager
• 22:31 Judith: the reference check that changed everything
• 24:34 Why you should never skip reference checks
• 27:09 He signs a 20-page security policy, then steals the source code
• 28:46 Judith: why background checks exist
• 30:04 The importance of screening in schools and high-risk positions
• 32:01 Final thoughts + $10,000 contest reminder