Q: Can an employee in plain clothes with no identification question a customer ?
I was shopping in a Neighborhood Walmart store when a gentleman in plain clothes started questioning me about who my employer was. He did so multiple times and I responded by asking him to identify himself and he told me that he didn’t have to. We went to customer service where two other employees agreed with him saying that he was store security and didn’t have to identify himself and could question me. I made two complaints with my employer and one with Walmart corporate consumer complaint.
A:
Yes. There is no legal requirement that employees must wear uniforms in order to ask a customer questions.
Of course, there is also no legal requirement that a customer answer questions from a store employee whether they are wearing a uniform or not
Charles M. Baron agrees with this answer
A: That's a very strange question for a store security man to ask, but he can ask the same way any stranger on the street can ask, and you can say it's none of their business. In some situations like this, there is racial profiling going on, which becomes unlawful at the point that the store actually causes some kind of damage to the customer, such as kicking them out, holding them against their will with no justification, falsely accusing them, etc.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
