Ok this wasn't me, but I'm pretty sure I've got the details correct.
There is a male customer who makes my male coworker uncomfortable. The customer has touched the worker before. When the employee recognized the customer in his checklane recently, he called his supervisor over and told him/her that the customer made him uncomfortable due to previous incidence(s). I *think* the employee was allowed to step away until the customer was finished checking out by another employee; he wasn't forced to wait on him. Afterward the supervisor went to management and said that the employee "refused to wait on a customer." Employee was taken upstairs and given a 3 week suspension. During the meeting, employee in question was asked to sign a form stating that he wouldn't sue the company and was given a 3 week suspension. Employee talked with union representative who basically told him there was nothing he could do. I hope I've got the details correct. This really angers myself as well as his other coworkers. Had the employee been female (and customer still male), I don't feel that there would've been any question when (she) asked to have someone else wait on the customer.
Thoughts? I know since this didn't happen to me, there's isn't much I can do, but I'd like to be able to help out a friend. He feels he was pressured to sign the form and only had a store employee as his representation (not certain at this point if it was the steward or not). Seems like if nothing else, the employee should be able to be paid for those weeks. He could have easily been hostile about the (obviously gay) customer, but I feel he handled it the way he should have
Have the employee call Kroger HR and discuss the issue. That seems unfair to get suspended for that. 1st step is usually a written warning(SIR), then a 3 day suspension and then termination. Not sure why store manager went directly to 3 week suspension. But, unfortunately, Kroger managers can spin the story anyway they want. Hr might stand behind the store managers' decision.
The employee should go over the shop steward and speak with the district union representative first. They should ask to file a grievance. See if they will undo this write-up.
Making a scene about this can get the employee suspended pending termination. But, the employee needs to stand up for themselves. Even if it means losing this job and having to find another. The employee should never sign anything. The union can't really help after the write-up has been signed. Always refuse to sign a write-up. Always insist on having the union shop steward present during a write-up. If a shop steward tells an employee to sign a write-up, then they are not a good steward.
The employee needs to say customer was sexually harassing them. Don't sugar coat it saying "makes employee feel uncomfortable". They are two different things.
