Violence at Walmart on Black Friday isn't rare. One New York woman was arrested last year after punching a Walmart greeter on Black Friday. Likewise, a Los Angeles woman pepper-sprayed 20 people in an effort to improve her chances of getting deals on electronics on the same day in 2011.
One former employee is being forced to completely rearrange her life after another Black Friday altercation.
Jan Sullivan, 73, of St. Petersburg, Florida, is moving into a mobile home after being fired from her job as a greeter at Walmart over an altercation with a customer on Black Friday last year, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Sullivan was fired from the employer she called her "home" and "family" for 22 years, three days after she reportedly grabbed a customer's sweater in response to the customer shoving her.
After sending out dozens of unsuccessful job applications, Sullivan has been forced to sell her home. Making matters worse, she’s not entitled to unemployment benefits either because she was fired for “misconduct.”
This is far from the only instance of dubious treatment by Walmart toward its employees. In fact, the world's largest retailer faced the biggest class action lawsuit ever in the U.S. when 1.5 million female Walmart employees led by greeter Betty Dukes alleged sex discrimination by their employer. That case may have stalled after an unfavorable Supreme Court decision last year, but, in May, the Labor Department fined Walmart $4.8 million in back wages over unpaid overtime.
Sullivan's story is also reminiscent of that of Girshriela Green, who found herself battling Walmart for disability after injuries sustained on the job made it impossible to work. As of March, Green was getting by on California food stamps and welfare, while teaming up with Walmart employee labor group OUR Walmart in the hopes of being fully reinstated.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post mistakenly said Sullivan lived in Saint Augustine, Florida.
