Home Depot fires employee for assisting police in stopping kidnapping of child

[Flymph]

BiMart is definitely a store worth supporting, or continuing your support. Pretty much bought all of my rifle ammo from them.

 

[Alexx1401]

I had a family member who was terminated from Home Depot for stopping a thief. I honestly don't know the details but I know it is store policy not to confront a shoplifter. He did in some capacity and was fired for it. He was the store manager, sued Home Depot for wrongful termination and won a fair pile of money.

Not the kind of thing I would have done (just not in my nature to sue someone) but anyway, it happened

Those "rules" are laid at the feet of lawyers and the voters. There have been many cases where someone gets hurt. When the thief is hurt by a store employee they sue the store. Often store has to pay. If the thief pulls a weapon and hurts the employee, then the employee wants the store to pay. So many stores made it CLEAR to employee's. If you see a thief report it and do NOT physically try to stop them. Many employee's decide they don't like this and step in anyway. If they were clearly told not to, well then they should be fired. Now if it's some kind of gray area where the employer is not making the rules clear that's another story.

 

[The Heretic]

It is one thing to let the police handle a shoplifter, lives are not on the line.

It is a whole different thing when someone snatches a kid - I am not going to standby when that happens. If my employer fires me then they fire me - at that point I would not work for them ever again anyway, even if they apologize and offer me my job back, and yes, I would let it be known. I don't really care at that point whether other people think it was a wise action or not - whatever I did.

For me, the real question is whether this event happened or not. The letter looks official, the wording sounds like something the employment dept. would say, but OTOH I can find no recent references to a foiled kidnapping attempt in the PDX area.

 

[jbett98]

I witnessed a transient bum steal a bottle of fortified wine from a produce store on MLK and when I told a clerk about it, he said let him go, it's not worth getting stabbed in the guts over that cheap rotgut he's so desperate to drink.

 

[Alexx1401]

It is one thing to let the police handle a shoplifter, lives are not on the line.

It is a whole different thing when someone snatches a kid - I am not going to standby when that happens. If my employer fires me then they fire me - at that point I would not work for them ever again anyway, even if they apologize and offer me my job back, and yes, I would let it be known. I don't really care at that point whether other people think it was a wise action or not - whatever I did.

For me, the real question is whether this event happened or not. The letter looks official, the wording sounds like something the employment dept. would say, but OTOH I can find no recent references to a foiled kidnapping attempt in the PDX area.

Even if this did happen, and the guy was trying to prevent a kidnap. It's still not nearly as cut and dry as many would assume. Here is an actual example. Father grabs baby at hospital. He was by court order banned from having anything to do with baby. So kook Dad grabs up baby and makes run for it. Off duty Cop, employed by hospital, tasered Dad. Dad falls on baby. Baby is now brain damaged for life. Lawyers got a HUGE amount of money for baby. Now anyone want to guess who had to pay?
After that think about what can happen when the "hero" decides to step in. If the hero makes a huge mess it will be his employer who is on the hook for millions.

 

[The Heretic]

So just standby and let stuff happen because other stuff might happen?

Yes - in the USA today you can pretty much count on getting sued no matter what you do, right or wrong. Doesn't mean I am going to standby and let some aggressive drunk snatch a kid.

In this case, the person who claims this happened just followed the snatcher and let the cops handle the arrest - that is what they are trained for, what they get paid for, and what they have the authority to do.

Yes, things can happen, so a person should take care and try to get authorities involved, but that doesn't mean that I would just standby and do nothing. I spent four years risking my life to help other people who got into big trouble - it was my job and I was trained for it, but if I am able today, as a private citizen, I will still try to help people when I can. Others can standby, I won't.

YMMV

 

[Alexx1401]

So just standby and let stuff happen because other stuff might happen?

Yes - in the USA today you can pretty much count on getting sued no matter what you do, right or wrong. Doesn't mean I am going to standby and let some aggressive drunk snatch a kid.

In this case, the person who claims this happened just followed the snatcher and let the cops handle the arrest - that is what they are trained for, what they get paid for, and what they have the authority to do.

Yes, things can happen, so a person should take care and try to get authorities involved, but that doesn't mean that I would just standby and do nothing. I spent four years of my life risking my life to help other people who got into big trouble - it was my job and I was trained for it, but if I am able today, as a private citizen, I will still try to help people when I can. Others can standby, I won't.

YMMV

I am not saying I would not stop the guy. I am saying I can see why the store would take the stand they did, if they did. For anyone to say they don't care they are only blowing smoke. They know full well they are not going to be out. Their employer is the one who the lawyers are going to come after. They will of course say they did not mean to harm someone. They were "trying to help". When the business has to pay out millions because they tried to help, they will still be indignant that they were fired. They sure as hell will not be saying they will move out of their home and donate it to the fund to pay for the mistake. It sucks that this is the legal system we have made but, this is what people have voted for.

 

[Alexx1401]

BiMart is definitely a store worth supporting, or continuing your support. Pretty much bought all of my rifle ammo from them.

Looking like we're finally getting one or these here. I read they are opening one in Kitsap.

 

[Camelfilter]

In the case cited above in regards to the father kidnapping his son, whom had a court order not to have any contact with, the father should be the one and only culpable party.

That's the problem with the legal system.

 

[Alexx1401]

In the case cited above in regards to the father kidnapping his son, whom had a court order not to have any contact with, the father should be the one and only culpable party.

That's the problem with the legal system.

Yep it sure as hell is. Sadly it's what people have voted for and we're stuck with. Personal responsibility is a thing of the past now

 

[RicInOR]

I worked for HD 7 years back. (Garden Center stock)
They told us during orientation that we were not to stop any problem - shoplifter etc.
They had employees in loss prevention who might.

I have worked at other firms with the same policies.

Observe, report. Use the phones/radios to do that immediately.

I worked for Securitas (the rent-a-cops) for a couple of years. Right before my stint hauling s*it at HD. One of my co-workers (same client / job location ) got fired - because he was too close.
A woman who was acting out in the parking lot. This employee drove the security vehicle (owned by the client) to the area to observe. Over time the woman came by and struck the vehicle with her purse. Several hundred dollars of damage. We were told he got too close. We didn't ever get training on stuff like that. Observe and Report. What I learned is that Securitas wants you to do nothing and see nothing. I think that is most often the case. Hillsboro PD dealt with the woman.

I do know people who worked in loss prevention who had a hands-on policy. Would track you down and throw you to the ground kind. Mostly shoplifters don't know to file assault charges. And, easily fired after they do that if some legal challenge does appear.




What I see from the OP is that for some unexplained reason, the State of Oregon approved unemployment for a Fired termination.
The state on the side of a person?!
That is the real discussion.

 

[The Heretic]

What I see from the OP is that for some unexplained reason, the State of Oregon approved unemployment for a Fired termination.
The state on the side of a person?!
That is the real discussion.

*IF* the letter isn't fake - and I tend towards taking it at face value - then the emp. dept. determined that he actually did help the police with the attempted kidnapping (sounds like he was while "observing" at a distance) at that he was at no fault from their POV with regards to employment law.

Employers may have almost any policy they want, and OR state is an "at will employment" meaning that an employer can fire an employee for almost anything (that isn't protected such as gender, age, etc.), but that doesn't mean that the employee won't get UI benes if they the reason doesn't meet OR state criteria, which the letter indicates HD did not.

I went thru this with an employer in Seattle; they did not tell me what they wanted me to do, despite me asking repeatedly, so I did what I thought (and still think) would be of value to the employer and they did not agree. They disputed my right to UI benefits, I appealed, and I won.

Employers can do most anything, but if they don't want to pay higher UI taxes because they have a high turnover rate due to letting people go for bogus reasons, they can't just fire them and then make stuff up.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Just a spitball here, BUT this employee may have been terminated for "abandoning his post" as it were. If he was, say, the lighting dude, and he leaves his assigned work area ( if there is such a thing) by going out the doors into the parking lot ( Is he authorized to exit the store while "On Duty?) Did he/they communicate events to the M.O.D? This may be the sticking point for H.D. to terminate him! Right or wrong, I would have done the same thing and probably much more, NO BODY Messes with kids on my watch!!!

 

[Member 5605]

Still waiting for the media report...


Police report maybe?

 

[Diamondback]

What's really stupid is Home Depot could have milked this sucker for MASSIVE Good PR points if they played their cards right... MY employee busts up a kidnapping, he's getting a commendation and a bonus.

(EDIT: Perhaps this attitude is part of WHY my business is so "micro"... I really want to open a position for the girlfriend so I could sponsor her for an H-1B as "foot in the door", but there's barely enough revenue to support just *me* as a one-man shop.)

 

[Alexx1401]

What's really stupid is Home Depot could have milked this sucker for MASSIVE Good PR points if they played their cards right... MY employee busts up a kidnapping, he's getting a commendation and a bonus.

(EDIT: Perhaps this attitude is part of WHY my business is so "micro"... I really want to open a position for the girlfriend so I could sponsor her for an H-1B as "foot in the door", but there's barely enough revenue to support just *me* as a one-man shop.)

If ANY business did what you suggest the insurance co that covers them would promptly dump them. The store would be encouraging the next huge FUBAR. Some employee would "think" he was saving the day and someone would get hurt. Then again the store would be out millions. The bottom feeders do not come for the people with no money. They go for the business since that is where the cash is. In this case they would have a slam dunk. The business openly encouraged their employee's to do this.
If I worked there and some scum was trying to take a child I would STOP said scum. I would then fully expect to lose my job if the company had made it clear I was not to do what I did. I would walk away and find another job. I know why the company has to do this the way they did.

 

[Diamondback]

Then they might as well peel those "Code Adam" ( Code Adam - Wikipedia ) stickers indicating they WILL respond in missing/abducted kid cases off the door and post ones saying "welcome kidnapping scum, come one come all"...

 

[Flymph]

a lot of companies will post overhead announcements expecting their employees to drop what they are doing to search for missing children. It seems like a standard practice. This employee did that, furthermore abided by the observe policy towards shoplifters. Whereas the policy of stores I have worked at regards shoplifters, it does not mention assisting in preventing crime not done against the company on the premises of said company while employed and working for said company. I'm not sure how this differs from Home Depot's policy and agreements, but I can't imagine them having so much foresight as to have every employee sign a document stating this instance as grounds for termination. All in all, I think the guy should sue Home Depot and get a huge settlement.

Sorry if this is overboard, but...

Obscenities will follow...










Home Depot is pretty much stating "we'll fire our employees if they try to stop you from abducting children, so come on down! We sell everything you need to store abducted children. You might get lucky and even find a child while shopping for your dongeon supplies! Heck, we'll even sell you the concrete to dispose of last years model!" At least least the impression I get from Home Depot's decision...

 

[Flymph]

Then they might as well peel those "Code Adam" ( Code Adam - Wikipedia ) stickers indicating they WILL respond in missing/abducted kid cases off the door and post ones saying "welcome kidnapping scum, come one come all"...

Beat me too it...

 

[Member 5605]

What's really stupid is Home Depot could have milked this sucker for MASSIVE Good PR points if they played their cards right... MY employee busts up a kidnapping, he's getting a commendation and a bonus.

(EDIT: Perhaps this attitude is part of WHY my business is so "micro"... I really want to open a position for the girlfriend so I could sponsor her for an H-1B as "foot in the door", but there's barely enough revenue to support just *me* as a one-man shop.)

This would only be true if the story was true.

So far everything is theory based upon one guys story.