Kroger Employee Fired After 31 Years On The Job For Stopping A Shoplifter

A veteran Kroger employee in Michigan has filed a lawsuit against Kroger after the store fired her for trying to stop a shoplifter.

After 31 years working at a Kroger location in Lincoln Park, Kroger fired Beverly Bennett after she stopped a shoplifter from stealing a cart full of alcohol. The situation happened on Sept. 16, 2021, when Bennett was working as a cashier and saw a man trying to leave with a basket full of alcohol.

In the lawsuit, it stated that Bennett was also assigned to take on theft prevention issues within the store.

When Bennett approached the thief, she asked him for a receipt to show proof of purchase. When the man couldn’t provide her with a receipt, Bennett called for backup and tried to stop the man from pushing his cart out of the store. In the legal document, it states Bennett put herself in “great peril” and “brandished a standard carrying basket from the store to ensure that she was not attacked, injured, or otherwise harmed.”

Bennett even told the man not to touch the cart. “You’re not getting this cart,” Bennett told Local 4, Fox Business reports. While later that day, she was regarded as a “hero” and thanked by her fellow workers and supervisor. Two days later, she was hit with a temporary suspension. What followed after was her getting fired, despite her years working at the grocery store.

The lawsuit stated Kroger “was truly utilizing the actions taken by (Bennett) as a mere pretext to getting rid of an old employee who they essentially wanted to simply discard.”

Bennett, who is protected under the Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act 453 that protects employees from discrimination, including age-based discrimination, called the entire situation “devastating.” She added that she’s lost income and has had to give up her pension and benefits on top of suffering emotional damage, Fox Business reports.

Kroger says it doesn’t comment on pending litigations.