Target Workers Terminated for Buying Popular Stanley Cups

A limited-edition Stanley Quencher cup was briefly on sale at Target for $50, but some employees are paying a bigger price for them, reports Business Insider.

Speaking to Business Insider, Araceli Bernal, a Target employee, said that she and a number of other workers were fired after buying these cups, which apparently breaches company policy.

Bernal was a full-time worker who had been with the company for almost two years. She said she purchased her cup two weeks ago from a Starbucks barista before starting her shift in Delaware at 10 a.m. on Friday.

She explained that the next Monday, her managers said they would be carrying out an investigation into cups purchased by employees, which given her purchase, led to Bernal getting fired on the following Wednesday.

Bernal said that after she bought the cup, she realized that the barista may have wrongly put aside cups for workers who had shown an interest in them. She added, “I honestly didn’t think I was going to get fired because I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

Bernal’s account is very similar to many others who have voiced their stories on social media. Speaking about themselves and other coworkers, they said they had been fired from their positions at Target after they purchased the popular Stanley cup.

Despite being contacted for comments, Target has chosen not to respond, according to Business Insider.

In an employee handbook obtained by Business Insider, it says, “Team members cannot use their status to gain an unfair advantage over guests when it comes to purchasing merchandise.”

They also emphasized that Target workers have to be off the clock when making purchases, adding that the “unacceptable purchase of promotional and/or high demand merchandise” is prohibited.

What this means in practical terms is that products have to be available for guests to buy before employees are allowed to purchase them, which eliminates an unfair advantage from being an employee and evens out the playing field.

On X, @kirks_minivan posted, “I just found out my favorite Target employee got fired over the stupid Starbucks Stanley cups so I hope you fuckers are happy.”

This rule was put into place by Target to make sure that customers have a fair opportunity to purchase limited-stock items, and a breach of this is considered an offense that will lead to the termination of the employment contract.