UPDATE: Consumerist spoke over the phone with a Walmart spokeswoman who says that after taking a step back and taking another look at the situation, the company has offered the worker his job back.

The company does have a safety policy, she adds, but that there’s some room for interpretation.

“While we understand [the employee’s] intentions were good, at the time we believed there were some additional safety concerns,” the company said in an additional emailed statement it provided. “That being said, we have offered him his job back and welcome him back to the store.

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A Walmart worker who intervened when he saw a woman apparently being assaulted in the parking lot of the store claims he was fired for stepping in. His termination papers says the reason he was given the boot was for “a violation of company police on his lunch break.”

“The last thing I expected was to not have a job,” the 30-year-old told WXYZ-TV in Detroit of the incident.

The man worked stocking pet food on the overnight shift and was taking his lunch break in his car around 2:30 a.m. when he says he heard a woman screaming with a man on the hood of her car.

He walked over to check things out and says that’s when the man started attacking him, punching him while yelling, “I’m going to kill you.”

The worker says he was able to get on top of the man when two others jumped him from behind. Police showed up and took it from there, he says. But he was shocked to discover that after only seven weeks on the job, Walmart fired him for the violation of company policy, saying that after the incident, “it was determined to end his temporary assignment.”

According to the worker, Walmart has policies that cover workplace violence between employees and against tackling shoplifters, but he can’t find any reason that he shouldn’t have helped someone in danger.

Despite not knowing whether he’ll get another job, he said he’d do it again.

“I will always do the right thing,” the worker said.

Consumerist reached out to Walmart to see what the company has to say about the termination; we’ll let you know if we hear anything back.

Walmart employee fired after trying to help assault victim in store parking lot [WXYZ-TV]

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