Two former lululemon employees claim they were fired from a Georgia store when they allegedly broke company policy by calling the police to stop a robbery at their store. It was Jennifer Ferguson and Rachel Rogers who spoke with local news outlets to tell their story about a bunch of robbers who walked into the store and started stealing items. The women say they did not feel safe and did not know what else they could do, so they called the police for help. The store policy suggests employees are not supposed to intervene with a crime, but when it comes to personal safety, it seems like these former employees had no choice.
Jennifer Ferguson's husband spoke out about this on Facebook and shared the video showing what happened. He said the following on a public Facebook post:
I have sat on this for long enough. It’s time for an airing of grievances. If you know me, my preference is to address something/someone face to face, in private. In this scenario, I cannot do that and so I am left with one option, to air my grievances in the public square. Could I say nothing? Yes. But I firmly believe that if good people stand by and say nothing, eventually we will be left with a life we do not want to be living in.
Approximately two weeks ago, my wife was terminated from her job at Lululemon for ‘breaking employee handbook policy’ of not interfering with a burglary. Lululemon representatives held a zoom call a few days after the incident to learn what Jenn knew about the policy. Then, a few days later, they scheduled a follow-up zoom call where they terminated her citing the company’s “zero tolerance policy” in these situations. No warning. No coaching. No additional training. Just. Fired. Georgia being an at-will employment state, employers can do that whenever they wish. That is their right. But it doesn’t make it right. Especially in this situation.
Lululemon in Peachtree Corners, where Jenn worked, had been the victim of the same group of burglars for weeks. The burglars would enter the store, grab as much merchandise from the racks and tables closest to the door, and run out to a getaway car. Each time this happened, it was an hour or less before closing time, either dark or dusk outside. Lululemon policy is to not interfere (to keep employees safe) and to scan a QR code to report the incident internally. They are not to call the police. On the night in question, this same group of thieves came in with Jenn and one other female employee working in the front of the store. This was this group’s 5+ (maybe close to 10th) time robbing the store with NO ACTION TAKEN by Lululemon to curb the robberies and keep the employees safe. As the group enters, Jenn’s initial response is to protect herself, her colleagues, and the store. She walks towards the robbers and yells at them to “Stop” and “Get out”. The other Lululemon employee recorded the incident and if you see the video, it is very scary. This is real life. Not a game. And when the adrenaline of the scary situation hits, your brain goes into fight/flight/freeze mode. I am more than proud to announce that my wife went into ‘fight’ mode. She protected herself and the other employees and the store by yelling at them to get out. She defended her space and her people. They tried to video the getaway car to get the license plate. And then, they for the first time after any of these incidents, called the police to report it.
Gwinnett PD arrived quickly and in force. 4 officers were there and took statements but were also very concerned as to ‘Why they had never called them before? Their job is to protect the public from this type of criminal activity’. The next day, coincidentally, the same crew hit the Lululemon down in Peachtree City and bystanders at the shopping mall called police and the criminals were apprehended. Furthermore, by coordinating with the Gwinnett PD, the two incidents put the dollar amount into FELONY theft charges, not misdemeanors. So, this crew is in jail. Partly because of the courageous and brave actions of Jenn and the other employee.
This is where my blood begins to boil. These are two exemplary employees, both leaders and looking to advance within the company. And what was their reward? They were immediately terminated without mention of severance or any financial consideration. Then, as the two terminated employees compared notes on their zoom call experiences, it comes out that the Regional Manager for Lululemon openly questioned why they would call the police. Stating that it would “look bad for Lululemon to be the company calling the police”. Are you kidding me? These ladies are heroes of sorts. They did what we all HOPE we could do in a similar situation. They were brave and courageous and honest and good citizens.
Which brings me to my closing remarks. I do not and likely you do not want our area to end up like San Francisco or Portland, where retailers are pulling out of the cities due to theft and crime. Where citizens are afraid to go to certain areas because the police are not or will not be called. If we, citizens of the community, allow criminal activity to go unchecked, that is tacit approval for them to continue their ways. This is not what our country, state, or community are about. Law and Order must have a respected place and criminal activity must be punished. Furthermore, brave and courageous citizens and employees should be commended, not punished, for taking a stand.
Lastly, if you are wondering what you can do to help? Well, first, encourage each other to act in a way similar to the example Jenn and her colleague did. Let us all be brave and stand together. Secondly, Jenn is now available to join a company who would LOVE to have a hard working, responsible adult representing their company. Finally, and this is my personal decision, not another dime of my hard-earned money will ever go to Lululemon again unless they make substantial changes to their policies to protect their employees, to protect women. It’s easy to say you are “for your people” when ‘your people’ is plural and an enigmatic group of “them”. It is a lot harder (apparently) to be for your people when your people is an individual or small group who needs your substantial resources to do right by them. Lululemon, these ladies deserved your protection after the FIRST theft incident. They deserved added measures to be taken by YOU to make them feel safe and secure within your store. You could have stationed a security guard at the door in the evenings. You could have notified the police and worked with them from the beginning. You could have even terminated them due to a company policy but offered a generous severance to show your support of people who do the right thing. You could have done a lot of things—but you did nothing. lululemon, you should be ashamed and you need to do better. For all current and future employees.
**This is posted without my wife's consent. She is not one to make a scene or want to draw attention. However, as her husband, I cannot stand idly by and say or do nothing. I do not have some huge following nor do I have a ton of influence, but I will not be silent when it comes to defending my wife and standing WITH her as she looks to rise to the next occasion. I love you babe. Don't kill me when I get home
