by Burke Speaker | October 18, 2013 9:47 am
Walmart (WMT[1]) has fired a worker for breaking company policy by rushing to the aid of a woman who was being attacked in a Michigan store’s parking lot.
A spokeswoman told the Associated Press on Thursday the actions of 30-year-old Kristopher Oswald, while altruistic, violated company policy.
Oswald was on break on Sunday, the news wire reports, when he saw a woman being attacked.
He ran to her aid and asked if she needed help, at which point the man began attacking Oswald.
At that point, a fight broke out between the men, with two others joining in. Livingston County sheriff’s deputies arrived during that time — which broke up the fight.
Media reports have not stated whether there were any arrests made.
Walmart has policies against workplace violence, meant to prevent employees from assaulting co-workers (or they cannot, for instance, tackle a shoplifter). The policy, it seems, also prevents them from assisting in situations of imminent danger and self-defense.
The spokeswoman for the Arkansaw-based Wal-Mart had this to say:
“We had to make a tough decision, one that we don’t take lightly, and he’s no longer with the company.”
Amid what will likely be some bad PR for the company, there is strong economic news for the company.
Reuters reported yesterday that “Wal-Mart expects its overall sales to rise to $475 billion to $480 billion this fiscal year, a gain of about 1.9 percent to 3 percent over last year’s $466.11 billion. For fiscal 2015, which begins in February, it is targeting 3 percent to 5 percent growth.”
Declining unemployment rate, Walmart streamlined merchandising plans, and new stores and ecommerce plans have aligned in such a way that execs see strong signs of success in the next few months.
Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/10/walmart-fires-worker-helping-assaulted-woman/
Copyright ©2024 InvestorPlace unless otherwise noted.