A pair of Best Buy employees in Broomfield lost their jobs this week after they tried to stop armed shoplifters.
The firings raise an important question: Shouldn’t heroism be rewarded?
Instead, Best Buy handed Jared Bergstreser, 20, and Colin Trapp, 23, their walking papers after they tried to stop a pair of shoplifters on Aug. 1.
The men worked in the store’s “asset-protection” unit, and had some training in how to handle thieves, according to Boulder’s Daily Camera. They weren’t security guards.
When the employees saw two men leaving the store with stolen merchandise, they gave chase.
Bergstreser tackled one of the men and Trapp rushed to help. The thief pulled a knife. The shoplifters got away, but not before a manager was cut. (The manager has not been fired. Her involvement in the melee is unclear.)
Bergstreser suffered minor cuts and bruises. He does not dispute that Best Buy’s asset-protection training made it clear that he was not to make physical contact with a customer and that he violated company policy.
Trapp says he wasn’t told clearly about the no-contact policy, and he is considering filing a wrongful-termination claim.
We don’t know what training occurred between employer and the employees. But if Best Buy follows standard practice, it’s unlikely Trapp will prevail, Denver employment attorney David Stacy tell us.
Most employers in these types of situations have zero-tolerance policies that requires the firing of employees if they make contact, and courts tend to accept the policies. The logic is to protect human life and limb above property loss, Stacy says.
Imagine if a well-meaning employee tried to stop a bad guy and the bad guy pulled a weapon and hurt or killed either the employee or a bystander.
A few stolen hard drives aren’t worth the risk. So Best Buy’s policy is justifiable and understandable.
However, zero-tolerance policies like this one are often regrettable. In general, zero-tolerance policies often mean the loss of common sense.
It would seem that we should reward people for acting bravely if they confront bad actors. Since that’s not possible given Best Buy’s policy, surely a lesser punishment could have been devised.
A pat on the back may not have been possible, but the firings were uncalled for.
