Walgreens spokesperson said its employee’s actions did not violate company policy.
Nathan Pentz tweeted earlier this month that his partner, Jess, went to buy condoms at a store in Hayward because she forgot her birth control. He said when she went to the checkout, the cashier said he would not ring up the condoms, because of his faith.
Pentz also tweeted the couple’s customer service response to Walgreens, which said the employee “embarrass[ed] [her] in front of other customers because of her reproductive choices.”
“Our policies are designed to ensure we meet the needs of our patients and customers while respecting the religious and moral beliefs of our team members,” the spokesperson said. “The instances are rare, however when a team member has a moral or religious conviction about completing a transaction, they are required to refer the customer to another employee or manager on duty who will complete the transaction, which is what occurred in this instance.”
Earlier this month a Walgreens’ employee refused to fill a prescription for birth control.
When she tried to fill the birth control prescription she had been taking for six years, she ran into an unexpected obstacle. Despite having multiple refills left, she got a text from Walgreens saying she had none remaining. After getting nowhere on the phone, she went to the store. ‘
Martin said that a Walgreens employee who was wearing two crosses looked her up and down, then told her the prescription could not be filled, and that she’d have to contact her provider.
“I said ‘You won’t refill it or you can’t refill it?’” Martin said.
Martin had several refills left on her prescription.
