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Almost everyone who buys at the Walmart in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, knows the Adam Catlin store, which greets customers with a big smile and a warm hello for more than 10 years.
But Catlin, who suffers from cerebral palsy, fears he'll soon be unemployed after the store manager tells him his job description is changing – and would now include tasks that he was physically unable to do.
"It was a shock," Catlin said Wednesday, 30, during a phone interview. "I never saw it coming."
Catlin's family either. They say Walmart is acting heartless towards one of its most dedicated workers. Walmart says he hopes to keep it at the store.
Catlin has served in the traditional role of "welcoming people" for the last 10 years after graduating from high school. But in many Walmart stores, work has been transformed into a "guest client" since 2016. These workers are now responsible for facilitating returns, checking receipts to prevent shoplifting and keeping the store clean. .
Catlin, who uses a walker and is legally blind, told store management that, by the end of April, he should be able to lift at least 25 kg, stand for a long time, write reports and read the receipts. in order to stay as a customer host.
"I could not," he said.
Catlin's situation became public after her mother, Holly Catlin, talked about it on Facebook Monday night. His message has been shared thousands of times, with long-standing customers and foreigners expressing outrage at the retailer.
Some even proposed GoFundMe projects, raffle ideas and benefits, but Holly and her family turned down donations to a Facebook post, saying Catlin's situation was not putting a strain on financial resources.
"If they are going to give money, we prefer that they reserve it for someone who has financial needs." We would like them to give it to someone. one who could really use it instead of us, "said Amber Piermattei, Adam's sister. I said.
Catlin's half-sister also died of a heart attack six weeks ago at the end of December, Piermattei said, making this a difficult time for the family.
Catlin works about eight hours a day, 32 hours a week on the premises. He is so associated with the Walmart Selinsgrove that he cuts the ribbon during the reopening of the store and is often recognized when he is traveling.
"Everyone likes it, it lights up the whole place like a full moon," said Ellen English, a 51-year-old customer of Walmart. "They can not do that to Adam."
Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg called Catlin "a valuable member of the team and what makes our Selinsgrove store special". In a statement released Wednesday, he said Walmart "is looking for a solution that keeps him in the store".
Courtesy of Holly Catlin
Under federal law, employers must provide reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities. The law requires an "interactive process" between the employer and the employee to evaluate requests for accommodation. Caitlin's family said a Walmart store manager, a human relations manager and a head office official called Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation. However, Piermattei, Catlin's sister, said she had no suggestions for moving forward.
"This job is his main concern in his life, it's his driving force, it's his heart," Piermattei said. "It just gives him confidence to get up and hit that clock like everyone else and be part of the community … He is dedicated to this place, and to them to sweep it out the door because he has different abilities, I think, is a shame. "
"I just want to find my job"
Catlin is not the first Walmart host with a disability to be impacted by the move to the client host. In 2016, Danny Ockenhouse, who uses a wheelchair, said he lost his role as a goaltender at a Walmart in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, unable to cope with the new physical demands of the job.
"I just want to get back to work and I want to be appreciated," said Ockenhouse, who had been working for 21 years at the time. He ended up getting severance pay.
Meanwhile, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed numerous lawsuits against Walmart during its treatment of workers with disabilities. Walmart said that he did not tolerate discrimination.
Piermattei said that his brother loves his job so much that he does not like taking a paid vacation – at Catlin, it is deceiving the company. After a heart attack a few years ago, Catlin told doctors in the intensive care unit that he needed to be released from the hospital in the morning so he could get to work. Piermattei said his brother was still working this week.
"What I want is to be the caretaker and be able to sit down and do my job," Catlin said. "I hope everything works."
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