Megan Willett-Wei/Business Insider
- Target fired workers this month after they purchased special-edition Stanley mugs.
- Seven workers said their managers told them they violated a company policy for employee purchases.
- Some said they weren't aware of the policy's details. Others said they tried to follow the rules.
Every workday for the past two years, Catherine Carter would arrive at 3:30 a.m. to her Target store near Miami, Florida, where she would lead her team in preparing five departments to sell everything from paper towels to baby formula.
She worked the overnight shift for the three years before that. In all her 19 years with Target, she said she'd "never been written up, never called out, never been late."
On January 3, she stopped by her store's Starbucks café while on break, where she said a barista asked her if she wanted to buy one of the exclusive Starbucks x Stanley mugs.
"My mama passed from breast cancer, so I always try to get as much pink as I can," she told Business Insider, adding that her managers were present during the transaction and raised no objection.
She was terminated the following week thanks to that pink stainless steel insulated cup, which retailed for $49.95.
Carter is one of many workers across the US that Target has fired this month after they purchased special-edition Stanley Quencher mugs.
Seven workers told BI store leaders, including human resources and asset protection representatives, cited a company policy that prohibits employees from using their position to "gain an unfair advantage over guests" in order to purchase merchandise. All of the employees' identities and employments were verified by BI.
The rule especially concerns high-demand or limited-stock items and deals, such as Pokémon trading cards and PlayStation consoles. None of the seven workers could recall a situation in which a peer in their store was terminated for violating the employee purchase guidelines.
Three said they offered to return the cup when they were informed of the problem. Their offers were declined. Almost all the workers said their store leaders indicated that the investigations were directed by Target's corporate offices.
Target did not respond to multiple requests for comment last week or this week.
Like most retailers, Target is an at-will employer, which means it may terminate a worker's employment at any time for any reason, or for no reason at all.
Some anecdotes on social media indicate cases of flagrant violations of the policy. But workers BI spoke to said that they were either unaware of the rule's existence or that they did not realize they violated the rule when they purchased one of the cups.
In two cases, workers told BI they bought a cup that was improperly set aside by a colleague. In two others, workers bought cups that hadn't been properly "re-shopped" — returned to the correct location on the sales floor — after online orders were cancelled. Two, including Carter, said their managers either witnessed or otherwise expressly approved their purchases.
One Starbucks team lead in Maryland never even bought a cup, but told BI she was terminated Wednesday for allowing one to be sold before the official release date.
She said her store's standard practice was to stock items ahead of schedule when other seasonal merchandise had sold out in order to avoid displaying empty shelves. In this case, all of the holiday merchandise had sold, so she said her manager directed her to set out the Stanleys.
"I don't need another Starbucks cup. I don't need a Stanley. I don't need any of this," she said. "I allowed one of my team members to buy a cup because he was my team member and he was one of the people who was consistently closing with me. When we'd have call-outs I could count on him to come in and help."
In addition, each worker told BI they were one of several employees at their stores who had been fired over the cups. Four said they knew of multiple workers at other stores in their district losing their jobs. Target has nearly 2,000 stores in the US and employs over 400,000 people.
More than a dozen other individuals shared similar experiences, though BI was unable to verify each of those in time for publication.
None of the seven employees BI spoke to said they expected this product could end up costing them their jobs.
"I just don't think they're doing right," Carter said of Target. "I mean, for a cup. Come on, a cup."
If you or someone you work with was fired from Target after purchasing a Stanley mug, please contact Dominick Reuter via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a nonwork device when reaching out.