DSW May Be Liable for Child Abuse Scare Firing
DSW May Be Liable for Child Abuse Scare Firing
(CN) - A woman can pursue claims that DSW fired her for telling child protection services about a customer who threatened and neglected a filthy toddler, a federal judge ruled.
Mary Stapleton said she was working as an assistant merchandise manager at a DSW in Cherry Hill, N.J., on March 27, 2012, when a female customer entered with a 22-month-old girl.
Stapleton claimed to have later found the child, unsupervised and smelling of feces, painting the store shelves with a bottle of DSW nail polish, which she had also apparently spilled on herself.
After Stapleton seized the polish, the child then started to pull on the clothing of several other customers for attention, Stapleton said.
Stapleton then allegedly advised the woman with the child to change her diaper in the restroom, but the shopper appeared confused and refused, stating that she lacked the necessary supplies. The customer then shopped for two hours while continuing to neglect the child, Stapleton said.
At the cash register, Stapleton said the customer provided her name and address to process a return. During the transaction, the child twice threw items from the counter onto the floor, and the woman allegedly threatened hit the girl when they returned home.
Stapleton said she was concerned for the child's safety and welfare, so gave the customer's information to co-worker, Stephanie Rolen, who had also witnessed the incident, to pass on to New Jersey's Division of Child Protection and Permanency. The next day, a caseworker allegedly spoke with the store's district manager, Denise Basso, to investigate Rolen's report.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/04/02/56301.htm
