Wal-Mart Wrongful Termination After Reporting Possible Crime To Police Cockeysville Maryland

What we seem to have here is a lazy, incompetent Wal-mart employee (aren't they all) who most likely abused his break time regularly (don't they all) and had management looking for an easy reason to fire him.

He says he heard a child crying in a car. Was the employee break area THAT close to the parked car?

He says he thought it was an emergency because it was cold outside. -WHY DIDN'T HE BREAK A WINDOW AND PULL THE CHILD TO SAFETY?-

He says, instead he went inside and called 9-1-1. If he had the time to walk inside and call 9-1-1 IT WASN'T AN EMEMRGENCY.

He says the police questioned him. The police might have gotten his side of the story and contact information, but something tells me he isn't telling us what happened and what the police found when they arrived. Perhaps the car and child were gone? Perhaps he was imagining the whole thing? Perhaps he was abusing 9-1-1? He never told us any of that.

Then he tells us that the next day he was terminated. Well NO BIG SURPRISE here! If I were his manager, I'd have terminated him that afternoon.

To add a bit of evidence to the whole debate, notice that this "individual" tells people not to shop at Wal-Mart because of this policy, as if Wal-Mart's posted policies put in place to protect the corporate image had THE SLIGHTEST thing to do with them as retailers or in their ability to satisfy a CUSTOMER'S needs.

This is adisgruntled former employee with too much time on his hands, and you have all been taken in by him.

I live here. I watch alot of TV. No WalMart protest of any sort made it to the local news channels from Baltimore, nor DC.

If he's getting any job offers because of his protest, I'd love to know from whom. I cannot imagine any business owner wanting to hire someone who will turn around and picket them after being let go.

Especially since it would have to been enacted after the economic stimulus bill to specifically hold that back, since it's technically an *advance* on any rebate you may earn for taxes in calendar year 2008.

But your original statement against Steven was libelous at best, fortunately you corrected yourself, otherwise you could be liable to Steven for that.

I hope it works out for you, as Steven is right, employers do troll the internet mining for information of potential employees. I think the UK wants to enact legislation to ban that, but that's the UK, not here.

Thanks for your concern and support.

I am doing fine. I have had several job offers from employers who heard about the protest and will probably accept one of those offers. Wal-Mart has contacted me and has offered to settle the case out of court. They have also offered me my job back. My attorney wants to take it to trial though.

My inclination is to fire the lawyer, take one of the job offers and a settlement from Wal-Mart but not re-employment. There is no way I would ever consider working for them again.

You're confusing me with Steve in Bradenton though. But like you said I am not a racist and refrain from using racially charged dialog. But there is more than one definition for the word Hugh used. The other definition can be used to describe white, hispanic, or whoever you want. The word is still derogatory but can refer to people who are poor and/or uneducated. Do a google search on the word and go past the Wikipedia examples.

My only concern for you Jeff is that some potential employers may have seen the news reports and identify you as being the lead for the protests. Although you could possibly get some offers of people that feel sorry for you and want to help get you back on your feet, it could also go against you as well.

Good luck

"The United States does indeed have an online hate crimes law. It includes racist comments and hate speech. It does not cover speech protected by the First Ammendment

It was first introduced in 1996 but veteoed by then President Bush. The legislation was re-introduced and signed by President Clinton in 2000. A key provision, providing criminal penalties was passed in 2004.

The Justice Departmemt does not usually seek jail time against first offenders of the law but a warning letter is usually sent and future violators are prosecuted."

Since you don't know, the 1st Ammendment protects what you call "hate speech". It was not designed to protect inoffensive speech.

Clinton was President in 1996, not Bush. You are truly hilarious.

The justice department doesn't waste it's time with anything you say. Post this made up law you think exists.

The United States does indeed have an online hate crimes law. It includes racist comments and hate speech. It does not cover speech protected by the First Ammendment

It was first introduced in 1996 but veteoed by then President Bush. The legislation was re-introduced and signed by President Clinton in 2000. A key provision, providing criminal penalties was passed in 2004.

The Justice Departmemt does not usually seek jail time against first offenders of the law but a warning letter is usually sent and future violators are prosecuted.

And so theyy were probably mad not because you reported thechild left in the vehicle with no one to watch ( which is against the law in my state BIG TIME!) but they were just made because the kid wasn't holding its diaper up with one hand and making products for Wal-mart with the other hand while chained to his work station...

GO AHEAD AND SUE THEM.

Canada is probably more reasonable than the US WalMart.

The closest thing to the Criminal code you are attempting to quote is in fact, one from England. It was enacted in 1997. Good luck trying to prosecute someone in the USA with a Law from the UK.

You are right, It was Hugh,not Steve who used the racial slur. Yes, the Feds do watch these boards.

I am not at all interested in pressing charges but I have no control over what the authorities will do.

Using a term that is nearly every Rap song is bound to tget someone in trouble online, eh? Sure it will. Have you ever heard of the 1st Ammendment?

Jeff, I believe the guilty party to that was Hugh, not Steven. I been reading ROR for over six months now, and have never read any posting by Steven that would be considered racist. unless calling debt-collectors scum-sucking bottom-feeders falls into racism, in that case count me in....

Jeff, I believe the guilty party to that was Hugh, not Steven. I been reading ROR for over six months now, and have never read any posting by Steven that would be considered racist. unless calling debt-collectors scum-sucking bottom-feeders falls into racism, in that case count me in....

Jeff, I believe the guilty party to that was Hugh, not Steven. I been reading ROR for over six months now, and have never read any posting by Steven that would be considered racist. unless calling debt-collectors scum-sucking bottom-feeders falls into racism, in that case count me in....

Jeff, I believe the guilty party to that was Hugh, not Steven. I been reading ROR for over six months now, and have never read any posting by Steven that would be considered racist. unless calling debt-collectors scum-sucking bottom-feeders falls into racism, in that case count me in....

Steven,
You are the one who has gone too far. I hope that you realize that by using a racial slur online, you have violated the federal Online Harassment Act of 2005 and are subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and one year in prison.

The federal authorities monitor these boards and look for violations. Its my hope that this is the first time that you have posted a racial slur because if it is, the authorities have the ability to treat the matter informally.

Besides possible criminal penalties, other sanctions include the seizure of your computer and loss of your rebate under the President's economic stimulus package.

Destructo please quote the specific law that says that the OP has "THE RIGHT" to call 911. Is it in the constitution or Bill of Rights???

What do you do for a living (just wondering). Different companies have different policies pertaining to who does what. So was just wondering if you worked for a company that has guidelines.

I don't see where an emergency existed (except maybe in the OP's mind). The child was crying (most babies do you know). Not excusing the parents possible obvious neglect just wondering if the OP knew beyond a reasonable doubt that the child had been in the car for hours on end and faced dying of exposure?? If the baby was bundled up was probably warm enough and just crying cause it was asleep when parent(or parents) left the vehicle?? The OP seems to be leaving that part out.

Were the parents prosecuted???

There is no Federal anything dealing with calling 911. Many areas don't even have 911 assistance. So much for being a Federal matter. 911 is set up and administered by the local telephone companies, and emergency services. Call 911 and see if the FBI answers.

BTW, that protest made so much media play that it didn't even hit the local news stations. Good job! Are you from the county?

And I'm familiar with a lot of laws; there are plenty of urban legend laws out there.

I agree with Steven. While I don't think what Wal-Mart's manager did in the case was right, the company had every right to do so. There are good and bad managers at Wal-Mart, and unfortunately, like a lot of other things everywhere, the bad ones give the whole overall image a bad name.

Going back to re-read the original posting, I'm guessing the OP spent more time on break than what was alloted for a break time - I know how long it would take for a police response, and then to be questioned by the police upon arrival....but I don't see where Wal-Mart broke the law.

First of all, to the OP, you did the right thing calling the police. If this child was in danger, it may have taken too long to find a manager to call them. I think it's a stupid rule that only managers may call 911. If there is an emergency, anyone should be able to call. The law says if there is an emergency, you MUST call for help. The law takes prescedence over Wal-Mart rules, and they had no right to fire you. I do hope you pursue this to the end.

Secondly, Hugh, referring to someone as a parking lot "n****r" is just plain disrespectful. You also seem to have a deep seated hatered for ALL cops. While I agree that some are corrupt, most of them are there to help in emergencies. Are you saying that the OP should have just ignored this child and let whatever happens happen? Sorry Hugh, but what you said in your post is just WRONG! You obviously don't have any children, or you wouldn't say something so ignorant.

It doesn't matter whether he is on the clock or not, it was an EMERGENCY! You have the impression that a Wal-Mart employee isn't allowed to react, if there is an emergency. You're completely mislead.

You have the right to dial 911 at anytime, whether on the clock or not. It is a FEDERAL law. Wal-Mart is NOT above the law.

As previously mentioned, the OP should get a lawyer.

If he were Joe six pack in the store then you are right he has a right to call 911 if he wanted to. However he was an employee of the store at the time and was there working (as opposed to just going in to buy something as a customer).

I am sure the reason why they fired him is that they want managers to place such calls is because the manager on duty (or whatever they want to call them) represents the store for the company. I am sure they want the manager or some management person to make the call because they will have to answer to any problems that may result from the police and/or fire rescue dispatch.

Like I said before he is welcome to try to sue but his state is an "employee at will" state. Which as you know means they can fire him with no notice for whatever they want.

You are not the Police and it is not your job to call the Police for ANY reason while on duty at Wal-Mart. You were hired as a cashier, not a parking lot n****r. You won the battle but you lost "the war" When you start to give a s**t about people, thats when you either get a nervous breakdown or you join a Police department like every other wacko. I think that when you're a cop, you are either a lying framing idiot or you have seen it and not reported it. Only two kinds of cop and both are bad. Sorry to get off subject.

Tuesday was a long and successful day. There was a group of 5 that picketed the store. We notified the media and the police of our intentions to picket the store to let potential customers know that Wal-Mart does not consider the safety of its customers and associates important.

We were aware that there was the possibility of arrest even though we did not intend to trespass on Wal-Mart property so we all met and had a large breakfast. We arrived outside the store a little early and began our protest. We unfurled a large sign and the media soon arrived. The local newspaper and a tv station resonded. They interviewed me about the child that was locked in the car and that I lost my job at Wal-Mart for calling 911.

The police came and ordered us to disperse. It is obvious that they had spoken to Wal-Mart management. We decided that to get our point across it might not be so bad to get arrested so we politely declined to desperse. We were arrested for failure to obey officers and taken to the Baltimore County Detention Center for processing. The officers were very professional about their duties and I think that they may have been supportive of our intentions.
We were released several hours later without any charges being filed. I think Wal-Mart managers decided that pursuing charges would result in unwanted publicity.


The arrests were covered on 2 local stations and we managed to get out the word on Wal-Mart. It is certainly going to be a long process in pursuing my wrongful termination suit against Wal-Mart and I'm obviously going to have to find another job but would not do anything differently especially where the safety of a child is at stake.

You're told in your training that only Management may call 911... I know it's rediculous, but true. Of course, I'm a CSM, so it's only natural that I'm gonna use my instincts and know when to call 911... If I were at your store, after you made the call, you should have brought it to my attention so that I could vouch for you in the event that something like that happened again. I'm sure your CSM's may have felt about the same way that I did. but it was a wrongful termination.

Josh
Wal-Mart in Oakland, MD.

Please, continue with your plans and I wish you the best. I work for Wal-Mart and you will be surprise if I tell you I am an Asst.Mgr. for the Company. You right, the Company is anti-union. But, at the same time the company train the employee use the best judgment for the company and even, what they call the open door policy. Knowing how is this company, if I am a hourly employee, I will call a salary member of mgmt in situation like this, but depend what store is, sometimes, when you page a mgmt. is a big deal.

In others stores, had been the case where the hourly let know the situation to other hourly and somebody call the police, when the police arrive, ask who call, but nobody know you call, so the police found the issue of the call and the same police take care the problem, like that the company are not affected and none hourly get on trouble, the police don't know who did the call. I call this team work!

Anyway, I think you did good job, the company maybe let you go because (the parents of the child, Do you find out what they said to the store mgr. or what they did? You know the company get scare when the "media " get involve. Do not explicit your plans, because, they going to haunt you later for bad. (Don't let the enemy know your plans, don't alert them). Do your plans quiet and you will win. Next time, before you sign for the green paper ask use the phone for call h*o and dial for the dept. of ethics and explain to then what's going on and to your Regional Human Resources, documents everything is possible.

If the only reason they let you go is because you was responding like a good citizen, I believe you have a lot people behind you giving you support. Something else, you wrote in your complaint you was in your break, when you heard a child crying, and you call the police, in this break you clock out or not?

There is no corporation, manager or President that can take your right to dial 911 away. The right to dial 911 is a law at FEDERAL level. It doesn't matter whether Maryland is a "at will" state, they cannot deny you the right to dial 911 in an emergency, and having a two year old myself, this was definately an emergency.

To the OP, I hope you find a lawyer. Infact, I hope this is something they pursue without looking back.

I wish you luck with your lawsuit. I am interested in the outcome, although it may take years. There is no excuse for child abuse, which is what this is. The reason Walmart gets away with the crap they do to employees is because they are not union. I am an employee of that place and I have seen some horrible things and have been treated like a doormat by the so-called managers. I am there for the insurance, but since I have another job, I am going to quit as soon as I can. All I can say is I would have done the same thing. We must do the right thing no matter the consequences. That manager is wrong in his actions and speech. He should be ashamed for what he said to you, especially about not caring. I wish there were more people like you in the world.

I wish you luck with your lawsuit. I am interested in the outcome, although it may take years. There is no excuse for child abuse, which is what this is. The reason Walmart gets away with the crap they do to employees is because they are not union. I am an employee of that place and I have seen some horrible things and have been treated like a doormat by the so-called managers. I am there for the insurance, but since I have another job, I am going to quit as soon as I can. All I can say is I would have done the same thing. We must do the right thing no matter the consequences. That manager is wrong in his actions and speech. He should be ashamed for what he said to you, especially about not caring. I wish there were more people like you in the world.

I wish you luck with your lawsuit. I am interested in the outcome, although it may take years. There is no excuse for child abuse, which is what this is. The reason Walmart gets away with the crap they do to employees is because they are not union. I am an employee of that place and I have seen some horrible things and have been treated like a doormat by the so-called managers. I am there for the insurance, but since I have another job, I am going to quit as soon as I can. All I can say is I would have done the same thing. We must do the right thing no matter the consequences. That manager is wrong in his actions and speech. He should be ashamed for what he said to you, especially about not caring. I wish there were more people like you in the world.

This was a true emerency where every second counted. Ever try to locate a manager or assistant manager in Wal-Mart? This can take 5 minutes or longer. The child could have died in the amount of time it would take to find a manager.

I have contacted the local newspapers and television stations but have gotten no response. I do have an appointment with a lawyer next week and I also plan to picket the store this coming Tuesday at noon. Am taking several friends with me in hopes of getting some media attention.

I don't care what Maryland's laws are - this was a crime plain and simple. Every second counts when something medical is wrong. What if in those few minutes between the employee trying to find a manager and getting the cops called and the cops showing up the child died. Then what? I couldn't live with myself had that happened. Also, the parents will get charged for child endangement and this now former employee is a key witness. So, yes, get an attorney.

To the original poster, keep us up to date, I wouldn't be surprised to see this situation end up in the paper.

Maryland is an employment "at will" state. Walmart can fire you because they didn't like the way you said good morning if they want to.

Why didn't you go back in and flag down or page a manager or someone of that nature??? What is Walmarts policy on who can call the police or fire department.

No doubt your intentions were good but you should have gone the extra step to make sure you handled this properly. Maybe next time you will do so.