- Two former employees at a Lululemon store in Georgia have been fired for allegedly violating store policies.
- the women said local outlet They were fired two weeks after reporting the robbery to the police.
- One of the women who robbed a store was caught on video and three people were arrested.
Two former employees were fired for allegedly violating company policy after calling police about a robbery at a store in Lululemon, Ga.
said Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers. local outlet Despite the company’s policy that employees should not intervene in robberies, he called authorities after a group of robbers showed up at the Peachtree Corners store.
“We didn’t really feel protected and didn’t know what else to do,” Rogers told local television. 11 alive.
“We shouldn’t get in the way,” Ferguson told the media. “You kind of give a clear path to what they are going to do. And after that is done, scan the QR code. , because it can scare other people.” We shouldn’t call the police and we shouldn’t talk about it. ”
The two women said they were fired after making Zoom calls with local Lululemon officials, saying Lululemon did not have a “no tolerance policy” regarding the incident. 11 survival reports. Former employees said they were working out how to deal financially with the sudden layoffs and hoped Lululemon would consider changing policy.
A Lululemon spokeswoman told Insider in a statement that the safety and security of its employees and shoppers is “a top priority” and that the company “has policies and procedures in place to maintain a safe environment.” Stated.
“We take theft and vandalism very seriously and our current focus is on continuing to work with local partners and law enforcement, as well as supporting educators. do,” the spokesperson said.
Company policy, shared with insiders, further indicates that the women were likely fired not because they called the police, but because they recorded their interactions with the robbers.
In a video shared with local media, on social media Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Rogers were heard shouting to the robbers, “Stop and get out of the store!”local police Confirmed by NBC News The next day, the three robbers in the video were arrested and charged with felonies after witnesses reported a robbery outside Atlanta.
Rogers told WSB TV She believes the series of robberies are part of a larger plan to return the stolen goods to cash.
An attorney representing a group of Massachusetts retailers told NBC News that many businesses have no-intervention policies on robberies for the safety of their employees, discouraging them from reporting incidents to police for a variety of reasons. said it was possible.
“They don’t want to waste their time on the rudimentary problem of shoplifting, even though they could be doing other things, so the next time they need someone Because it’s not always possible to respond immediately.”Ryan Kearney” told NBC News.
