SAN MATEO, Calif. – A California judge has ruled in favor of a longtime Safeway employee who was fired after she attempted to stop a shoplifter from stealing more than $500 worth of groceries, her attorney said.
Last year, the grocery retail chain terminated Antoinette Baez from her job at a Safeway in San Mateo, claiming she violated the company’s shoplifting policy. The policy, according to lawyer Neil Eisenberg, prohibits employees from chasing, touching, or pursuing a suspected thief.
The termination stemmed from an incident in which Baez intervened during an alleged shoplifting attempt on Feb. 2, 2023.
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Baez was nearing the end of her shift as a cashier manager when she noticed a woman with a packed shopping cart acting suspiciously in the self-checkout area.
(Neil Eisenberg)” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/_.u_XyMEgr3IiMoqBSqZWw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ktvu_fox_local_articles_961/437e81b52cd7d5140f406431f96c1e9b” class=”caas-img”/>
Antoinette Baez said she was fired from her job at a Safeway in San Mateo, Calif. when she tried to stop a would be thief from shoplifting $500 worth of merchandise.
(Neil Eisenberg)
She said she asked the customer twice if she needed help, but the woman declined. Baez then left the area to clock out of her shift and then returned to the front of the store to wait for her ride home.
She said that’s when she noticed the woman she saw earlier, attempting to leave the store without paying.
She radioed the store supervisor, David Arevalos, and confronted the woman.
In a video released by Baez’s attorney, she recounted the events that unfolded. “I said, ‘Your transaction is still on the screen. You haven’t paid for anything,” Baez recalled telling the woman, who denied the allegation and tried to leave with the merchandise.
In surveillance video, Baez was seen attempting to grab the grocery bags that the woman was holding.
Arevalos, also seen in the surveillance video, said the woman was told to let go of the bags and leave the premises. “Just drop the bags, either pay or leave,” the supervisor recounted.
Baez said she attempted to redirect the woman back to the checkout lane, being careful not to touch her, and only keep her hands on the bags that the suspected shoplifter was holding.
The former manager said she was very aware of Safeway’s policy regarding handling shoplifting cases and that led to how she conducted herself.
“That kept playing in my head, like don’t go outside, don’t go after her, and don’t touch her,” Baez explained.
The situation got more heated when the woman got physical and tried to punch Baez, Arevalos recalled. That’s when he stepped in to try and block the woman in an effort to protect his fellow employee.
The woman eventually left the store, without any of the items she allegedly tried to steal.
Baez said she immediately reported the incident to the store’s director and that the response she received was one of care and concern.
“He was very understanding, compassionate. He’s like, ‘I’m sorry that happened. I’m glad everyone’s okay,'” Baez recalled and she added, “No disciplinary actions were taken against me.”
It was a different story for Arevalos who was fired, according to Eisenberg, because he did make contact with the attempted shoplifter. “Bear in mind, because the thief tried to punch out my client, he got fired for defending my client,” the lawyer said.
Three weeks later, Baez received the shocking news that management was taking action against her too, and she was suspended without pay.
She said the company’s loss prevention center received an anonymous complaint about the incident and that led to her suspension.
Having her wages suddenly cut off, the single mother said she struggled with her finances and her ability to care for and support her daughter.
(Antoinette Baez)” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/PVhBvMTepBfp3ClR88yOiA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ktvu_fox_local_articles_961/4a7278b6313c2d96acea36f4bd4c1354″ class=”caas-img”/>