• 14
  • September
    2011

Three misfires by an armed robber led an armed Walgreen's pharmacist to fire back himself - and get him fired. Nobody died or even got injured. Nothing was stolen, and the pharmacist had a license to carry his gun. The fact that the pharmacist fired the weapon after an attempt to kill him failed, did not matter to his employers. Carrying a gun to fire at all, Walgreen's claims, justifies firing him.

The pharmacist has sued Walgreen's for wrongful termination. This case pitting individual rights against employer demands is only the most recent such case to get national attention. It also involves employer responsibility to assure employee's have full recognition of policies and procedures. Walgreen's affirms a policy prohibiting employees from bringing weapons to work. The pharmacist denies awareness of any such policy, and only sought a carry permit following a prior robbery.

Even if Walgreen's somehow shows the pharmacist should have known their policy, the pharmacist's life was still threatened, creating anticipation for what the outcome of the case may be. In this case exercising his personal right to arm himself enabled his right to literally defend his own life. There are some things which employers simply cannot deny workers, and the right to self-defense, some would say, would be among them.

Other things include a work environment free from harassment or discrimination. In fact, that is so important that consulting an employment attorney when things get bad at work might help fix them more quickly. Some courts have found that under certain circumstances employees can quit and still claim wrongful termination, but harassed employees should still seek professional counsel before taking drastic measures.

Source: MSN Today, "Fired for pulling gun on robbers, pharmacist sues," Scott Stump, Sept. 12, 2011