Judge rules in favor of a Safeway worker who was fired after trying to stop a shoplifter

SAN MATEO, Calif. - A California judge has ruled in favor of a longtime Safeway employee who was fired after she attempted to stop a shoplifter from stealing more than $500 worth of groceries, her attorney said.

Last year, the grocery retail chain terminated Antoinette Baez from her job at a Safeway in San Mateo, claiming she violated the company’s shoplifting policy. The policy, according to lawyer Neil Eisenberg, prohibits employees from chasing, touching, or pursuing a suspected thief. 

The termination stemmed from an incident in which Baez intervened during an alleged shoplifting attempt on Feb. 2, 2023. 

SEE ALSO: San Francisco Safeway store in Fillmore will remain open

Baez was nearing the end of her shift as a cashier manager when she noticed a woman with a packed shopping cart acting suspiciously in the self-checkout area.

She said she asked the customer twice if she needed help, but the woman declined. Baez then left the area to clock out of her shift and then returned to the front of the store to wait for her ride home. 

She said that’s when she noticed the woman she saw earlier, attempting to leave the store without paying.   

She radioed the store supervisor, David Arevalos, and confronted the woman. 

In a video released by Baez’s attorney, she recounted the events that unfolded. "I said, 'Your transaction is still on the screen. You haven't paid for anything," Baez recalled telling the woman, who denied the allegation and tried to leave with the merchandise. 

In surveillance video, Baez was seen attempting to grab the grocery bags that the woman was holding. 

Arevalos, also seen in the surveillance video, said the woman was told to let go of the bags and leave the premises. "Just drop the bags, either pay or leave," the supervisor recounted.

Baez said she attempted to redirect the woman back to the checkout lane, being careful not to touch her, and only keep her hands on the bags that the suspected shoplifter was holding.

The former manager said she was very aware of Safeway's policy regarding handling shoplifting cases and that led to how she conducted herself.

"That kept playing in my head, like don’t go outside, don't go after her, and don’t touch her," Baez explained. 

The situation got more heated when the woman got physical and tried to punch Baez, Arevalos recalled. That’s when he stepped in to try and block the woman in an effort to protect his fellow employee.

The woman eventually left the store, without any of the items she allegedly tried to steal.

Baez said she immediately reported the incident to the store’s director and that the response she received was one of care and concern.

"He was very understanding, compassionate. He's like, 'I'm sorry that happened. I'm glad everyone’s okay,'" Baez recalled and she added, "No disciplinary actions were taken against me." 

It was a different story for Arevalos who was fired, according to Eisenberg, because he did make contact with the attempted shoplifter. "Bear in mind, because the thief tried to punch out my client, he got fired for defending my client," the lawyer said.

Three weeks later, Baez received the shocking news that management was taking action against her too, and she was suspended without pay. 

She said the company’s loss prevention center received an anonymous complaint about the incident and that led to her suspension. 

Having her wages suddenly cut off, the single mother said she struggled with her finances and her ability to care for and support her daughter. 

Then in May, she was called to a Safeway board meeting and was told she was officially terminated from her position.

She was accused of misconduct, and the company said that made her ineligible to receive unemployment benefits. 

"She was kicked to the curb," her lawyer said. 

SEE ALSO: Truck filled with donated books stolen in San Leandro

Baez, who first began with Safeway at the age of 16 and had remained with the company as an "exemplary" employee for 22 years, said she was completely floored and confused by the firing.

"When you hear that, it just felt like a punch to the gut," she said. "Devastated, coming from a place of transparency and honesty, that it just, it somehow worked against me." 

Baez felt she had been wronged by her employer and responded by filing a claim with the state Employee Development Department (EDD). 

After a review of her case, a state EDD judge initially upheld Safeway’s termination. 

But Baez continued to fight back and appealed.

Then last week, an EDD administrative law judge issued and finalized a new ruling in favor of Baez, concluding that there was no misconduct on her part. 

The ruling now means she will receive unemployment benefits going back about a year, to the point of termination.

"A judge said she was fired for doing her job, and basically said the state of California stands behind her," her attorney said, adding that it was like a match-up between David and Goliath, "and she beat Safeway in a state proceeding."

He also noted that the judge acknowledged that the actions that took place that day happened when Baez had clocked out of her shift, so she was technically off duty. 

"The judge said it was no different than a citizen's arrest," Eisenberg explained.

Baez felt vindicated. "For someone to have an unbiased opinion and side with what I've been saying this whole time was really great," she said.

Her lawyer said his client has yet to receive an apology or any compensation from her former employer.

"Safeway has not reached out to her," the attorney said, adding, "They have not offered her job back. They have not offered to pay her lost wages for a year."

And Eisenberg accused the grocery giant of creating an open-door policy for shoplifters.

"Safeway’s a food bank for thieves," he said to KTVU, noting that the company’s policy not only encourages shoplifting, but actually ends up hurting paying customers.

"You are better off stealing from Safeway than paying for your goods or your groceries because when you pay for your goods or your groceries, you are absorbing the cost of shoplifting," the attorney said. "If you're shoplifting, you get to go free, no consequences," Eisenberg added.

The lawyer said the case was the most egregious he’s dealt with in his work, and he called on the company to target thieves, not its employees. 

"This is probably the dumbest, cruelest incident I've seen in my entire practice," Eisenberg said.

He also shared that because of the firing, his client has been struggling to get by. "Not been able to get a job in the last year because her only experience has been a cashier for Safeway, and in this market it’s been impossible to get another job," Eisenberg explained. 

He now plans to file a lawsuit against Safeway for wrongful termination and said he’ll seek punitive damages of $1 million dollars for his client.

"She is very dedicated to her fellow workers," the attorney said, "and she doesn't want this to happen to anybody else."

KTVU made multiple attempts to reach Safeway for a comment but did not receive one by the time of this story’s publication.