A former employee of Walmart has claimed she was dismissed by her employer for posting a video she took of a mother neglecting her toddler in one of their stores.
The former employee, Felicia Darling, told local news station WLBT News that she was dismissed because she broke company policy of not sharing videos shot in-store on social media.
Darling claims the mother entered the store with her toddler sat in a shopping trolley, dressed only in a diaper, despite the day being cold and the child shivering.
In response, Darling began to record the situation and several shoppers challenged the mother about the toddler – prompting her to put a jacket on them. As the video continued, the mother is seen throwing a bag of frozen vegetables at the child.
Following the incident, the mother, Kambria Darby, was arrested by local police and has been charged with child neglect.
Police added that Child Protective Services are involved and the child has since been released to an approved relative.
In an interview with WLBT News, Darling said: “If you come in the store fully clothed and your child is not… that shows a lot that you don’t care. She probably thought nobody was going to step up but, you know, we did.”
However, Darling was later allegedly fired by Walmart for sharing the video on social media.
In a statement sent to the New York Post, Walmart said that it shared concern others have for the child in the video.
However, the company added that it doesn’t discuss personnel matters involving current or former associates. The statement went on to say that employees are encouraged to use their judgement in contacting authorities when they see something that may be wrong, they are still expected to follow the Walmart Code of Conduct.
