Workers at Lululemon’s US subsidiary fired after calling police to report a robbery

Two women in the Atlanta metro area say they were fired from the Lululemon in Peachtree Corners for calling the police to report a robbery.

Jennifer Ferguson was the assistant manager at the time.

“All of a sudden we see some gentlemen running into the store in masks and hoodies,” Ferguson said. “They mopped until they couldn’t hold any more product and ran out the door.”

Watch the latest news on channel 7 or stream for free 7plus >>

Rachel Rogers was an important leader at the time. She caught the robbery on camera.

“We didn’t really feel protected and didn’t know what else to do,” Rogers said.

Rogers has been with the company for five years. She says the Peachtree Corners location has been grappling with a string of thefts for months. She told what happened during another incident.

“I wasn’t working and someone sent me a picture of the table in the front entrance. And I was like, ‘Oh my god, we just sold the entire product.’ Good job!'” Rogers said, “And they were like, ‘No, someone just walked in there and stole everything.’

During the other searches, nobody in the store called the police. This time, Rogers and Ferguson called authorities. However, according to Ferguson, this violates company policy.

“We mustn’t get in each other’s way. “They’re paving the way for everything they’re going to do,” Ferguson said. “And then, after it’s over, you scan a QR code. And that’s that. We were told not to write it down in notes because it might scare other people. We’re not supposed to call the police, and actually we’re not supposed to talk about it.”

The Gwinnett Police Department confirmed to 11Alive that there had been some robberies in the area. According to a police report, the three thieves at Peachtree Corner’s LuLuLemon are now facing robbery charges.

However, both Rogers and Ferguson were fired. Both received the same justification.

“It wasn’t very clear. They gave no specific reason other than simply saying they have a “no tolerance” policy,” Rogers said.

Ferguson said the same thing.

“They said I was fired immediately with no severance pay because they have a zero tolerance policy,” Ferguson said.

11Alive approached Lululemon Corporate.

Rogers and Ferguson hope the policy can be changed so employees can call the police if they don’t feel safe.

“That was my only income,” Rogers said. “So I had to file for unemployment and use all my savings to pay for my car, my car insurance, my dog’s food and my food.”

Ferguson says she has four children to support.

“You’ve got us in a bit of a bind,” Ferguson said. “My husband is self-employed. So let’s try to find insurance. There was no severance pay.”

According to Rogers, an interview is pending at the moment. Ferguson says she’s still between jobs and polishing her resume.