Safeway employee fired for trying to stop alleged shoplifter
SAN MATEO (KRON) — A former Safeway employee, Antoinette Baez, says she lost her job in San Mateo for trying to do the right thing.
Surveillance video from February 2023 shows Baez and another worker confronting a suspected shoplifter. The person’s arms were filled with $500 worth of groceries that Baez claims they did not pay for. The confrontation cost Baez and the other employee their jobs.
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“They would rather let people just steal from the store than have an employee in anyway interfere with the theft so it’s basically an open house for thieves,” said Baez’s attorney, Neil Eisenberg.
Safeway fired Baez in May 2023. Over the next several months, Baez was unable to collect unemployment benefits because Safeway said she was terminated for misconduct.
Eisenberg said Safeway has been cracking down on employees instead of thieves.
“She’s a single mother. She’s had no income and no health benefits for the last year, and she hasn’t been able to be employed because her only job experience is being a cashier at Safeway,” Eisenberg said.
Baez and Eisenberg took her fight to the Employment Development Department (EDD). This month, a judge ruled she was let go for performing her duties. The ruling means she will now get unemployment benefits from the time she was terminated.
Eisenberg says after 22 years of working at Safeway, Baez deserves better. “She was an exemplary employee and they simply kicked her to the curb,” Eizenberg said.
Eisenberg said he’s planning to file a lawsuit against Safeway seeking punitive damages of up to $1 million dollars for his client. He says it’s not about the money, but the message that Safeway employees should be treated better.
KRON4 reached out to Safeway for comment and received the following response from a spokesperson:
“Safeguarding our associates and customers is our top priority. We have policies and procedures for interacting with suspected shoplifters that are designed specifically to protect the safety of our customers and associates. The incident was thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action was taken. For privacy reasons, we cannot provide additional details regarding the associates involved.”
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