A 72-year-old California woman has sued Home Depot for age discrimination and wrongful termination after the retail giant fired her for failing to prevent $5,000 in fraudulent transactions.
Carlene Acevedo “loved her job” as a cashier at the San Ramon Home Depot. At over 60, she won several awards for her work – including the 2021 Cashier of the Year award – and was understandably “upset” and disoriented when she was fired last July after a frightening incident with a shopper.
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Acevedo had a “weird feeling” when she was approached at her checkout by a customer with a “very suspicious” card who demanded that several transactions be settled in cash.
This came just three months after a theft prevention worker at a nearby Home Depot in Pleasanton was shot while trying to prevent a theft attempt. Alone and interrupted by the dubious customer, the then 71-year-old processed the fraudulent transactions.
“Four days later, I was fired,” she told the ABC 7 News I-Team, describing her former employer’s reaction to the incident as completely “devastating.”
“I lost so much,” she said. “I lost my health insurance and my health deteriorated as a result. I had difficulty finding work and my rent payments were in question.”
Ultimately, she decided to sue Home Depot for the mistreatment she said she was subjected to. Here’s what happened.
A suspicious customer
Acevedo was working alone at the garden center when a man came to her cash register with a “suspicious” card with instructions on the back to make his transaction in cash. Fearing a confrontation, she cashed the first purchase for just over $1,300.
Thirty minutes later, the man targeted Acevedo again, this time demanding three more cash transactions totaling around $4,000, which he wanted to complete “as quickly as possible.”
He “got angry” when she tried to call her supervisor, and Acevedo, “afraid” of what the supervisor might do, eventually did what the customer asked. However, she discreetly made copies of the receipts, which she brought to her supervisor after he left.
Acevedo did what she thought was right, relying on the annual training she gave her employees on what to do in the event of a shoplifting or shooting.
“I was told not to do anything,” she said. “Don’t come near, don’t touch, don’t try to dissuade or disturb her… just let her go.”
However, she was immediately penalized for letting the customer get away with $5,000 in fraudulent transactions. Within four days of the incident, she was fired for “creating a risk of safety or loss,” according to her termination letter.
The attorney representing Acevedo in her lawsuit, Chambord Benton-Hayes, said the senior citizen did everything she could in this difficult – and potentially dangerous – scenario. In an interview with ABC 7 News, Benton-Hayes explained, “She asked for backup, she’s making copies of the receipts. She can’t risk her life… Employees are specifically instructed not to risk their lives for merchandise.”
Acevedo claims she was wrongfully fired by Home Depot and is now working with Benton-Hayes to prove her case. Employment lawyers are often called in to advise on wrongful termination claims, which tend to be complex and revolve around individual cases, employment contracts, employee handbooks, and state and federal laws.
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Is there more to the dismissal?
The 72-year-old is not only suing against unjustified dismissals, she is also accusing the retailer of age discrimination.
According to her lawsuit, Acevedo learned six months before the incident that the San Ramon store had hired a young cashier with a starting salary of $21 an hour. Acevedo was 70 at the time and had seven years of experience, but she was only making $20.17 an hour. She complained and received a $2 raise the following month.
Benton-Hayes says Acevedo became a target from the moment she complained about the pay gap and “they really just wanted an excuse to fire her.”
When ABC 7 News I-Team asked Home Depot for comment on these allegations, a spokesperson said the retailer “cannot discuss ongoing litigation.”
Unfortunately, allegations of age discrimination in the workplace are not uncommon. According to a recent AARP study, about two-thirds of people over the age of 50 believe that older workers face discrimination in the workplace—and 90% of that group believe that age discrimination is widespread.
Age may have played a role in Acevedo’s difficulty finding work after her release. After a tense period of unemployment – during which she wasn’t sure she could even afford a roof over her head – Acevedo eventually found a new part-time job that helped her get through her final years.
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