Fired Unjustly? Pregnant Mother Fired By Popeyes After Being Robbed At Gunpoint

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Image from thewaterbottlechronicles.com

Expectant mother Marissa Holcomb?was a shift manager for a Popeyes restaurant in Channelview, Texas. She was working the night shift on March 31 when a gun wielding man walked in and ordered the employees to get on the floor.? He then grabbed Holcomb by the shirt and told her to empty the safe.

Holcomb told him that she could only open the registers. Video of the incident shows the suspect leaping over the counter to get to the cash drawers.

It’s been reported that the restaurant was unusually busy that day, which allowed the gunman?to steal more money than would normally be the case. Holcomb claims that her manager demanded that she pay back the company for their losses — which totaled $400 — or she would be fired.? Holcomb had this to say,

“I told them I’m not paying nothing, I just had a gun to me. I’m not paying the money.”

A Popeyes spokesperson, who refused to be identified, told KHOU that she violated company policy by having that much cash in the registers, so Holcomb was fired less than 36 hours after the robbery. The corporate spokesperson?denied any knowledge of Holcomb’s claims.

Holcomb is pregnant with her fourth child and being fired could not have come at a worst time. She told USA Today,

?I don’t think it’s right because now I’m struggling for my family, What I had to do (was) keep my life.?

Holcomb’s supporters said they tried to set up a GoFundMe page for the expecting mother, but the page has since been taken down. Holcomb told the New York Daily News that she is still applying for jobs every day.

Here is the video of the robbery followed by updated information on this story. See the update below the video.

UPDATE

It would seem the?Popeyes?franchise that she once worked for has reversed course and?now Holcomb has been offered her position back plus more.

Holcomb had a meeting with Z & H Foods owner Amin Dhanani on April 22nd. According to Holcomb, she said;

“He just apologized and pretty much offered me if I wanted to go back to his business and work there again,” Holcomb said.

Dhanani refused to talk on camera, but his company released a statement,

“We deeply regret the way this matter was handled. We are committed to continuing to work with Ms. Holcomb, and we apologize to her, our employees, the public and other franchise operators of the Popeyes system. We have let them down and are committed to do better.”

Popeyes CEO Cheryl Bachelder released a statement on the evening of April 22nd.

“We recently became aware of a story in Houston involving a Popeyes restaurant and employee. The restaurant is operated by an independent franchisee of the Popeyes brand. We have spoken to the local franchise owner of the restaurant, and he has taken immediate action to reach out to the employee to apologize and rectify the situation. While the facts are gathered, we will closely monitor this until it is appropriately resolved. We deeply regret the distress this situation has caused.”

Dhanani has offered Holcomb her old position back plus $2000 in back pay, but for Holcomb this offer seems bitter sweet, she said:

“I do need a way to support my kids,” she says. “I don’t want to go back to a business where I’m treated the same and I just get pushed back out if something else happened.”

Gee, and they say corporations don’t have hearts? Sure they fired her in the first place, but they eventually found their “humanity” after a little media embarrassment right? Should she just take the money and her job, or should she keep looking for something better?