Author Topic: Unfair Firing (Read 1005 times)

poche · « **on:** October 18, 2013, 11:03:26 PM »

A Michigan man who was fired by Wal-Mart after he defended a woman who was attacked in a store parking lot during his meal break has been offered his job back, the company said on Friday.

Kristopher Oswald, 30, who worked at a Walmart store in Hartland Township, located northwest of Detroit, was dismissed on Sunday for violating company policy, company spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said.

"The protocol is when you do see something, you alert store management and call the police. That's in place for the safety of our associates so they don't feel compelled to get into a situation that may be dangerous," Buchanan said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said media coverage prompted its corporate office to review the parking lot security footage and police report. Oswald, a temporary employee who had worked nights stocking shelves, was contacted on Friday with an offer to return to his job.

"While Mr. Oswald did violate one of our policies at the time, we now have found his intentions were good," Buchanan said.

The company said it has not heard from Oswald about the rehire offer. Oswald did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

Oswald was sitting in his car around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, eating a sandwich, when he heard a woman scream, he said in an interview with television station WXYZ-TV in Detroit. A man was sprawled on the hood of the woman's car. When she tried to pry him off her vehicle, he attacked her.

"This was just intimidation, aggression and bullying I saw from a male, belligerent suspect on a defenseless woman," Oswald said in a video of the interview posted online.

Oswald said he confronted the man, who then began punching him in the head and threatening to kill him. Oswald said he was able to subdue the man, but that two other men then jumped on him from behind.

Livingston County sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene and quickly broke up the fight, Oswald said.

Oswald had been working for Wal-Mart for about seven weeks and was not yet considered a permanent employee.

http://news.yahoo.com/wal-mart-offers-rehire-employee-fired-aiding-attacked-225120236--sector.html

Finally some sense
:applause: :applause: :applause:

Zeitun · « **Reply #1 on:** October 22, 2013, 05:11:00 PM »

So it took Walmart 5 days to figure out he did something good?

poche · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2013, 10:44:41 PM »

Quote from: Zeitun

So it took Walmart 5 days to figure out he did something good?

They didn't figure that he did something good. They figure that they will lose business from firing him.

poche · « **Reply #3 on:** October 27, 2013, 12:17:29 AM »

A Michigan man rejected an offer from Wal-Mart Stores Inc to rehire him after he was fired for helping a woman who was being attacked in the store parking lot during his meal break.

Kristopher Oswald, 30, who worked nights stocking shelves at a Wal-Mart store in Hartland Township, located northwest of Detroit, said on Friday that he does not feel safe going back to work.

"I believe my job was only offered to me because of the negative publicity they received," Oswald said. "There is no way I can expect to walk in as if I was a new hire and everything would be OK."

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said the company has a strict policy against retaliation and offered to accommodate Oswald with safety measures such as an escort to and from his vehicle into the store.

"His position is still open to him now if he wants to come back to the store. We'd welcome him back," company spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said.

She also said the company offered to reimburse Oswald for lost wages.

Wal-Mart said Oswald's initial firing resulted from his violation of company policy that requires employees to alert store management and call police instead of intervening in dangerous situations.

Publicity about the firing prompted Wal-Mart's corporate office to review the parking lot security footage and police report, Buchanan said. Oswald, a temporary employee who had worked seven weeks for the company prior to the incident, was offered his job back.

"Everyone makes mistakes and so do companies," Buchanan said.

Oswald was sitting in his car around 2:30 a.m. on October 13, eating a sandwich, when he heard a woman scream, he said. A man was sprawled on the hood of the woman's car. When she tried to pry him off her vehicle, he attacked her.

Oswald said he confronted the man, who then began punching him in the head and threatening to kill him. He was able to subdue the man, but then two other men jumped him from behind.

Local authorities arrived on the scene and quickly broke up the fight.

Oswald said he is seeking therapy to work through the trauma of the attack.

"I'm being haunted by this incident because I'm not a violent person," Oswald said. "All I did was what anyone should have done in that situation."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/man-fired-aiding-woman-rejects-wal-mart-offer-234535475--finance.html