Retailers telling employees to look the other way during theft
- Two Lululemon employees were fired for chasing robbers out of their store
- The retailer defended the firings, saying their actions went against policy
- Some argue the police of ignoring theft doesn't make sense
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(NewsNation) — Retail theft cost stores an estimated $86.6 billion last year. This year, it is costing some employees their jobs.
As retail theft remains rampant, employers are urging their staff to look the other way rather than trying to stop thieves and getting hurt or killed in the process.
The policy has received backlash, but corporate America is not backing down.
“It is only merchandise. At the end, they are trained to step back and let the theft occur and that there is technology, there are cameras and we are working with law enforcement,” said Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald.
McDonald faced backlash after firing two employees of an Atlanta store after a viral video showed them chasing masked robbers out of the store after they grabbed armfuls of Lululemon clothing.
Both employees were fired for violating company policy.
“The (employees) knowingly broke the policy, engaged with the thieves… that was what resulted in the termination,” McDonald said following the backlash from the firings. “In this particular case, we have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators on around engaging during a theft. Why? Because we value the safety of our team or our guests front and center.“
McDonald says his company, like other big retailers, is investing in other ways to stop the billion-dollar losses.
Companies like Walmart, Target and Walgreens are closing stores where shoplifting is rampant and the stores are underperforming. When retailers stay open, they adopt these same zero-tolerance policies designed to protect employees.
“Some of these employees know what is right or wrong and feel this is wrong, think it is their duty to not let this crap happen, but employers don’t want their employee injured or god forbid killed,” risk management consultant Mike Jelletich said.
Two managers at a Big Lots store in Oildate, California, were fired for going after a man taking a cart full of Tide out to his car without paying. The two managers, who filmed the man before going after him, say the thieves eventually ran and the store regained its merchandise.
Employees at that store say theft happens four to five times a day.
In California, an employer’s insurance carrier can be held liable for workers’ comp benefits. Big Lots has not responded to NewsNation’s inquiries about their policy on theft.
