According to an April 8, 2016 article by Lindsay Whitehurst (AP), published by the Washington Times, a group of Walmart workers in Utah is filing multiple lawsuits against Walmart for wrongful termination. You may be wondering why these workers were terminated. The full article can be found here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/8/wal-mart-settles-lawsuit-over-firing-of-workers-in/

It is important to note that the Utah Supreme Court has recently ruled that workers cannot be fired for defending themselves from potential harm.

Walmart has a policy preventing workers from fighting back when customers start to cause trouble. The workers argue that this policy fores workers to choose between their safety and their safe employment.

The facts of one of the three lawsuits detail an incident in which Walmart store employees stopped a law breaking “customer” who pulled out a gun and aimed at another employee. Three workers pinned the man down and took his gun. Those workers were fired shortly after the incident.

In another lawsuit, the facts allege that a woman trying to steal a few items from a different Utah Walmart on Christmas eve pulled a pocket knife on workers and was threatening to stab them. The workers were fired after forcefully taking the knife out of her hand.

Is Walmart within Utah state law if it fires  employees from it’s store for trying to defend themselves? That is up to the Utah courts to decide.