Employee Who Was Fired for Calling Cops on Suspected Shoplifters Can Sue: Judge

A former assistant manager at Discount Shoe Warehouse (DSW) in Skokie will be allowed to move forward with a lawsuit against the employer for allegedly violating the Illinois Whistleblower Act.

According to the Cook County Record, a federal judge ruled in favor of the former assistant manager - Melissa Coffey - last week, allowing the lawsuit to continue. Coffey was terminated by DSW in 2009, five days after she called police to report customers she suspected were shoplifting. The company says it fired her because of its policy prohibiting employees in her position from calling law enforcement.

Coffey admitted violating the policy on August 28, 2009, but said she was not informed of the policy, and holds that it was not included in the employee handbook she received when she was hired.

According to court documents, on the day of the incident Coffey has been informed by a colleague that a certain number of female customers had been suspected of shoplifting a few days earlier and had showed up again. The customers also allegedly had been watching other employees rather than looking at merchandise and a running car had been seen outside the store.

Coffey then “made an executive decision” to call the police. Only one of the suspects were there when police arrived, but was not arrested. That woman questioned the store afterward on why Coffey had not apologized for calling the police.

Coffey was then fired on September 2. She claims DSW violated the Illinois Whistleblower Act when doing so. The DSW has claimed the firing does not violate the Act since that only protects workers who report the misdeeds of another employee, not a third party.

The judge sided with Coffey, writing that she “sees no ambiguity in the statutory language.

“The IWA bars retaliation against any person who provides information to law enforcement so long as that person ‘has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation.’”

more via the Cook County Record