Two women accuse layoffs of racial discrimination and false allegations of theft

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Two former Target employees are suing the retail chain for racial discrimination, alleging that their ethnicity played a role in their false accusation of thefts that led to their dismissals.

Aaliyah Shepherd, who is black, and Sierra Vidal, of Dominican and Pacific Islander descent, filed lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court on December 13 and 15, respectively, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A representative for Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shepherd, then an 18-year-old incoming student at San Jose State University, was hired for a part-time seasonal job at the Target store in Inglewood in late October 2020, the lawsuit says. She received cashier training and an employee manual, but was not briefed on Target’s loss prevention policy, the lawsuit says.

Two months later, a loss prevention employee at Target told Shepherd that store security cameras showed she had either given or canceled merchandise for a customer, the lawsuit says. Shepherd had processed a merchandise return and reimbursed the customer, but forgot to put the returned item in a trash can and then put it back on a store shelf, the costume says.

“The defendants falsely accused the plaintiff of having conspired with the customer to return his payment and allow the customer to keep the merchandise,” says the complaint. “The complainant was shocked and immediately denied the conduct, denied conspiring with anyone and asked to see the video which (supposedly) portrayed the complainant’s dishonesty.”

Under pressure from the Loss Prevention Officer and an Inglewood Police Officer to sign a document admitting the theft, Shepherd did so for fear that she would otherwise be arrested and prosecuted and his college career is in jeopardy, the lawsuit says.

Shepherd was immediately fired after the signing and subsequently received letters from law firms representing Target asking for restitution and civil damages arising from the transaction with the client, the lawsuit says. She paid part of the requested money and believes her treatment was racially motivated, the lawsuit says.

Vidal, a 21-year-old student at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, had been working for the Target store in Westwood for just over six months when store security manager Kyle Kurtz told her to accompany him to human resources . office Jan. 13, the lawsuit says. Vidal had applied for a job in human resources and believed she was brought there to discuss her candidacy, the lawsuit says.

Instead, Kurtz asked Vidal about a canceled transaction, inadvertent non-return of merchandise, improper use of price matching, and a friend’s ability to use his employee discount, indicates the lawsuit.

Kurtz said he had video footage of the transactions, but never showed it to Vidal, according to the prosecution. He then told her to write a statement admitting all the conduct and apologizing in the hopes that Target would forgive her and not sue her, according to the lawsuit.

Fearing possible criminal charges and civil damages, Vidal wrote a statement as described by Kurtz, according to the prosecution. She believed she would receive nothing more than a warning, the lawsuit says.

However, Vidal was instead fired and forced to sign a second document agreeing to refund the money Target allegedly lost in applicable transactions, the lawsuit says. His last paycheck included a deduction of $ 54 to make that payment, according to the lawsuit.

Two women accuse layoffs of racial discrimination and false allegations of theft was last modified: Dec 22, 2021 by Contributing Editor

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