Hrm599 Benefits

Parents: Store Policy Discriminates Against Diabetics

Keller School of Management

Benefits

HRM 599

September 12, 2013

This article is detailing the act of an employee in a public store who violates a consumer rights. The article shows the injustice that consumers face and the violation of government mandated programs that employers are not in compliance. On August 21, 2013, a family, mother, father, and 15 year old son entered a store to buy video games. The 15 year old boy was carrying a bag containing a snack, blood sugar meter, logbook, insulin pen, and needles. The 15 year old boy has type 1 diabetes and his supplies are essential to his health (Crowe, M., 2013).

The store clerk approached the 15 year old boy and informed him that he would have to leave his bag at the front of the store. The store policy is to prevent theft by leaving all bags at the front of the store. The 15 year old whose name is Trenton informed the store clerk that he was diabetic, but the store clerk still insisted that he leave his bag at the front of the store.

The mother stepped in and explained to the manager of the store Trenton condition. The mother, Michelle Preite, and her husband offered to allow the manager to check the bag before entering the store and check the bag again when they were ready to leave the store. The manager turned her down and insisted that the bag be left in front of the store. The mother rolled the bag up and put it in her purse, but the manager told her to leave the bag at the door or in her car. The mother informed the manager that she could not leave the bag at the door or in her car due to the items that were in the bag. The mother filed a formal complaint against the store (Crowe, M., 2013).

This week’s learning addressed situations such as this one. The government mandated programs to protect the rights of consumers as well as employees. In the case of the store manager and the Preite family, reasonable accommodations would have prevented...