Delilah Rios has resigned from Big 5 Sporting Goods following an incident in which she was forced to sell a gun to a customer that she found to be threatening and dangerous.
Rios, a store manager in Downey, was first approached by the man on January 21, 2015. The middle-aged man passed the safety test, but moved into the "restricted area" of the store to retrieve his identification and credit card while Rios was attempting to process his payment.
The man returned two days later and decided to buy a 12-gauge shotgun. While he was filling out a federal form, he asked his friend for assistance. Rios told the man that he had to complete the form on his own, which irritated him.
The next day, he returned to the store to select a different gun, as he claimed that Rios sold him the wrong weapon.
He returned 10 days later, following the mandatory waiting period, to pick up his gun. Rios told him that she could not leave the register to release him his gun, as the store was busy and short-staffed at the moment.
The man came back again the next day, and became irate when he saw Rios. He yelled, "You again. I … hate people like you. People like you should not exist. I hope you get fired."
Following this, Rios said she was afraid and refused to sell the man his firearm. She offered a refund, but he refused.
Off-site supervisors questioned Rios' decision, and another off-duty manager ultimately came in to release the gun.
Rios reported the entire incident to human resources and requested a transfer. Her request was denied.
She chose, instead, to resign from the company.
Rios is now suing the company for wrongful termination and violation of labor laws.
That leads to the real issue...
Clearly, Rios did not follow the law as it is expressly written. However, did she do the right thing? Should employees have the right to refuse gun sales to any customer they find to be threatening or dangerous? Or, was Rios wrong? Should she be the judge of the customers walking into the store?
Read the full story at Los Angeles Times