Walmart Fires Employee for Defending Himself Against an Assault

[Teelie]

When push comes to shove, I'll bet you all shop at Walmart.

I avoid it whenever possible, so I rarely shop there except out of absolute necessity, seeing as they drove a lot of other businesses out of the area. Fortunately I have only been there 2-3 times in the past 5+ years.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

Walmart isn't the only place to treat its employees like sh**. That kind goes with the territory of working a job like that, that's why you're not suppose to make a career out of it.

Yep, Martins sucks too. Worked there for two weeks, went on a break one day, went to my car, went home, and never looked back. Best decision i've ever made, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Update:

A Michigan Walmart employee who was fired last week for intervening with a man assaulting his ex-girlfriend says he is rejecting Walmart's offer to come back to work.

Kristopher Oswald says he believes if he takes his old job back his bosses will simply look for another reason to fire him. "I wholeheartedly believe I'm being set up for the fall," he told the Associated Press. "I believe the only reason I was offered my job back in the first place was that I was on TV. They got three days of bad publicity, people going in and protesting, saying they wouldn't shop there anymore."

Oswald, who was attacked after trying to help the woman, says he's been offered other jobs but has yet to take any of them. He says he's focused instead on therapy to help him get over the anxiety stemming from the beating.

 

[Darthphere]

Was the her being an ex-girlfriend detail missing from the original news article because that seems like a pretty huge detail to leave out. It also kind of makes me consider Wal-Mart's stance here.

 

[Xeno]

Was the her being an ex-girlfriend detail missing from the original news article because that seems like a pretty huge detail to leave out. It also kind of makes me consider Wal-Mart's stance here.

The woman who was being attacked was the ex-girlfriend of the assailant, not the Wal-Mart employee. By his account he saw the woman being slammed against a car by the suspect and just asked her if she needed help before the man started beating him.

Good Samaritan fired by Wal-Mart says he won't go back

Wal-Mart fired Oswald, who had an $8.70-an-hour job stocking pet supplies overnight at Hartland, Mich., store, because it said he had violated company policy in helping the 18-year-old woman, whose former boyfriend was later arrested and charged with drunken driving, malicious destruction of property and domestic violence.


After Oswald's story was disseminated nationally and reaction against the company on social-media sites such as Twitter was scathing, the company reconsidered its stance Oct. 18 and offered Oswald his job back.

Oswald said he wants the company to issue a formal apology"and eliminate from his personnel record that he was fired for violating store policy.

Oswald said he tried to help the woman, but her alleged attacker, whom police identified as Dylan Tierney, 17, of Milford, Mich., assaulted him and threatened to kill him. The fight ended when Tierney and two friends who joined Tierney left after Oswald's co-workers came to his aid.

Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte said the dispute between Tierney and his former girlfriend began earlier in the evening at a party. The woman was walking down the road when Tierney tried to stop her and get her to return to the party.

Then Tierney tried to run the woman over, Bezotte said, but she was able to move out of the way before he struck her. The victim had a girlfriend pick her up and transport her to the Hartland Wal-Mart where she had parked her car, and Tierney and his two friends followed.

Tierney was taken into custody after tussling with Oswald when deputies stopped his vehicle, the sheriff said. Bezotte previously praised Oswald for getting involved and coming to the woman's assistance.

 

[Darthphere]

Ahh ok, I misread.

 

[warhorse78]

Even so, Walmart should catch hell for this because to me this is no different than them saying, "who cares if that woman was getting assaulted".

Walmart is not the only one. I have a relative that works at Publix, which is somehow always one of the most highest rated companies to work for. She came over from work tonight, and was really upset when I guess she was on her lunch break, and was heading out the store when she saw a car parked right outside the store, and not only was it running, but there was a little kid in the back seat. She had looked around to see if someone was at the atm, or maybe getting a grocery cart, but after about a minute, she got worried and went in to tell the supervisor. She was so upset when he looked out side, and said it wasn't his problem, and accused her of wasting company hours on worrying about the kid. Apparently, her supervisor didn't even know she was on lunch break, and when she told him, he said that she is not to be working when at lunch. She was so upset that he couldn't understand that a kid left alone in a car that is on, and just didn't seem to give a damn. She waited outside for about 5 minutes, and then saw the mother come out and go to the car. She was going to give the woman a piece of her mind, but then she said the store manager (not the supervisor who is just some dumb kid) stopped her and told her point blank that this is none of her business, and if she didn't get on with her lunch break, she would be fired for insubordination. So, according to this manager, when working at Publix, even when you are off the clock, they can dictate to you what you can and can't do on your own time????

 

[Pink Ranger]

Walmart is not the only one. I have a relative that works at Publix, which is somehow always one of the most highest rated companies to work for. She came over from work tonight, and was really upset when I guess she was on her lunch break, and was heading out the store when she saw a car parked right outside the store, and not only was it running, but there was a little kid in the back seat. She had looked around to see if someone was at the atm, or maybe getting a grocery cart, but after about a minute, she got worried and went in to tell the supervisor. She was so upset when he looked out side, and said it wasn't his problem, and accused her of wasting company hours on worrying about the kid. Apparently, her supervisor didn't even know she was on lunch break, and when she told him, he said that she is not to be working when at lunch. She was so upset that he couldn't understand that a kid left alone in a car that is on, and just didn't seem to give a damn. She waited outside for about 5 minutes, and then saw the mother come out and go to the car. She was going to give the woman a piece of her mind, but then she said the store manager (not the supervisor who is just some dumb kid) stopped her and told her point blank that this is none of her business, and if she didn't get on with her lunch break, she would be fired for insubordination. So, according to this manager, when working at Publix, even when you are off the clock, they can dictate to you what you can and can't do on your own time????

I agree with your relative's actions, and think her manager was being a dick. However, even when you are on lunch break, in most places your employer still has some say in your activity, particularly if you are still on store property. If the situation had gotten out of hand, somehow, then you're still in a scenario where something happened on store property with someone wearing a store uniform.

 

[Darthphere]

I agree with your relative's actions, and think her manager was being a dick. However, even when you are on lunch break, in most places your employer still has some say in your activity, particularly if you are still on store property. If the situation had gotten out of hand, somehow, then you're still in a scenario where something happened on store property with someone wearing a store uniform.

Yep, pretty much. If you're wearing the uniform and are on their property you're representing the company.

 

[RockSP]

I'd say if you see somebody shop lifting, suspiciously carrying a weapon, stalking or assaulting somebody - it's your job as a human being to do something. Maybe it's just comic books that instilled in me a hero's code, but I just don't see the nonsense of companies preventing people from doing what's right.

The shoplifting is whatever as far as I'm concerned. If a mofo comes in with a gun, yeah that's a different story.

 

[Darthphere]

Hahaha, its your duty to stop shop lifting? They can take the whole ****ing store as far as I'm concerned. I'm not risking my ass for a corporation.

 

[Immortalfire]

I long for the day when Walmart collapses into dust.

 

[warhorse78]

I long for the day when Walmart collapses into dust.

Heh, it will probably be from a Chinese owned company tired of using Walmart as the middleman, and just come over and set up the stores and sell stuff half as much as Walmart, since they are the direct supply. All I can say, it's going to be some sort of karma, in a sense.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Hahaha, its your duty to stop shop lifting? They can take the whole ****ing store as far as I'm concerned. I'm not risking my ass for a corporation.

I think those are the early adventures of Batman that didn't sell very well.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Walmart is not the only one. I have a relative that works at Publix, which is somehow always one of the most highest rated companies to work for. She came over from work tonight, and was really upset when I guess she was on her lunch break, and was heading out the store when she saw a car parked right outside the store, and not only was it running, but there was a little kid in the back seat. She had looked around to see if someone was at the atm, or maybe getting a grocery cart, but after about a minute, she got worried and went in to tell the supervisor. She was so upset when he looked out side, and said it wasn't his problem, and accused her of wasting company hours on worrying about the kid. Apparently, her supervisor didn't even know she was on lunch break, and when she told him, he said that she is not to be working when at lunch. She was so upset that he couldn't understand that a kid left alone in a car that is on, and just didn't seem to give a damn. She waited outside for about 5 minutes, and then saw the mother come out and go to the car. She was going to give the woman a piece of her mind, but then she said the store manager (not the supervisor who is just some dumb kid) stopped her and told her point blank that this is none of her business, and if she didn't get on with her lunch break, she would be fired for insubordination. So, according to this manager, when working at Publix, even when you are off the clock, they can dictate to you what you can and can't do on your own time????

I too live in the sunshine state and people act like Publix is God's gift to FL. They do stock options and are supposed to be this place where shopping is a pleasure but I think something shady is going down there