Bizarre! Two US employees fired for reporting store robbery to police

Two women in the US state of Georgia have claimed they were fired by their employers when they called the police to report a robbery at the store.

The peculiar incident took place at Lululemon's store in metro Atlanta and has invited global attention after the former staffers claimed their decision to ring 911 was deemed as "breaking the company policy". Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers said they did not feel protected when the robbers barged into the store and called law enforcement to seek help.

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"We didn't really feel very protected or know what else to do," Rogers was quoted as saying by local media outlets.

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A video of the incident has gone viral which shows the moment thieves entered the store earlier this month. They could be seen grabbing fistfuls of athletic clothing as Ferguson - the assistant manager of the store at the time, is heard shouting: “No, no, no, you can march back out."

The robbers, who had previously looted the store almost a dozen times, momentarily looked at Ferguson before getting on with their business of looting more clothes.

“Seriously? Get out,” a frustrated Ferguson says to the men. “Chill, b–tch, shut your ass up,” one of the thieves can be heard responding.

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We're not supposed to talk: Ferguson

Ferguson informed that store policy dictates that they are not supposed to stop the thieves and should allow them to do whatever they are doing.

“We are not supposed to get in the way. You kind of clear path for whatever they’re going to do. And then, after it’s over, you scan a QR code. And that’s that. We’ve been told not to put it in any notes, because that might scare other people. We’re not supposed to call the police, not really supposed to talk about it," said Ferguson.

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Netizens were confused as to why the store had implemented such a policy, even if it had good insurance coverage.

One user said, "I understand why a company implement a zero-tolerance policy on chasing or physically engaging with a thief as it would be too dangerous to do so. However, it is so odd if a company doesn't want its staff to call the police. If they don't call the police, how can the company claim insurance? Strange!!"

Meanwhile, another added, "This company is contributing to the breakdown of civil society. Until retailers stand up, the problem will continue to grow. Shopping on line will replace brick-and-mortar stores complete."

Several US states have been facing the menace of increased store robberies. Video clips of Walmart, Walgreens, Target and other retail franchises being looted by thieves without any repercussion continue to do the rounds of the internet every few weeks.

(With inputs from agencies)

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