Wal-Mart Fires Manager for Calling the Law on a Black Businessman

Wal-Mart has another unpleasant incident to add to the growing list of criticisms against the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant. In a Tampa store, a Wal-Mart manager called the sheriff’s office when a black businessman came into the store and tried to purchase $13,900 worth of holiday gift cards. The businessman was Reginald Pitts, and he was buying the gift cards for the employees of GAF Materials Corp., the company where he works as a human resources manager. The gift cards had been ordered in advance and were already printed, yet when Pitts showed up to pay for them, the store managers stalled for about two hours after he presented the check.

Sarah Clark, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said that the store’s manager, Mark Cornett, tried to verify Pitts’ check using standard procedures, but a privacy block prevented access to GAF’s bank account so the check’s legitimacy could not be verified. But instead of simply returning the check to Pitt and sending him on his way, Cornett called Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies. When the officers arrived, one grabbed Pitts by the arm. Pitt objected to being handled roughly and demanded to know if he was being arrested for something. The deputy replied that the store had reported that he was trying to pass a forged check.

A little while later, the deputies figured out that there was no criminal activity being attempted, and the store told Pitts they would not press the issue further. Yet Pitts, 34, was not satisfied with the managers backing down, and accused the store of racial profiling. On previous occasions Pitt had sent a white employee to the store to pick up gift cards, yet when he went to pick them up himself, the management questioned his actions. Clark said that racial profiling was not involved in the manager’s actions, but said that the manager was fired for using "poor judgment and poor customer service." An internal investigation found that Cornett had violated company procedures. She said that company officials have apologized to Pitts several times. "We think, quite frankly, that the entire situation could have been handled differently," Clark said. "It’s just unfortunate." Another member of the management staff will be disciplined, but Clark did not say why.

Jonathon Ellis, an attorney for Pitt, said that he is considering suing Wal-Mart. He has requested copies of the incident report and the store’s surveillance tapes, and access to employees for interviews. But Wal-Mart refuses to comply unless forced to do so. "While they've told us it's not discrimination, they haven't specifically told us how they got to the point where they felt they had to call law enforcement on Reggie," Ellis said. Wal-Mart has been sued in recent years over a variety of issues ranging from employee relations to its aggressive targeting of small businesses.

While Pitts decides whether to pursue a lawsuit with Wal-Mart, his company has decided that Wal-Mart doesn’t deserve their business. GAF bought its employees Target gift cards this year.