Depo warned after guard harassed customer with a disability

A security guard at a Depo store in Vilnius harassed a customer with a disability, prompting Lithuania’s Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson’s Office to issue a warning to the company that runs the store, LRT reported.

The customer said he asked to pay for his purchases ahead of the queue because his health condition made it physically difficult to wait in a long line. He was accompanied by his son, who has a psychosocial disability. According to the complaint, the guard told them to join the back of the queue or find another checkout.

The customer said the guard spoke rudely and made him feel humiliated. When he said he would complain to store management, the guard replied, “Write it, you won’t scare anyone here.” The guard also refused to call the store manager, the customer said.

The company, Depo DIY LT, confirmed that the customer had not been allowed to pay without waiting in line. It said the guard denied behaving or speaking inappropriately, but that he had been reminded to treat customers politely.

Equal Opportunities Ombudswoman Birutė Sabatauskaitė said the investigation found the guard’s conduct inappropriate. Because it was directly related to the customer’s disability and created a humiliating and offensive environment, it amounted to harassment, she said.

Sabatauskaitė said service providers are not always required to give people with disabilities priority, but must still treat them respectfully. Allowing customers with disabilities to pay without waiting in the regular queue would not be an unlawful privilege, she said, but could help ensure equal treatment. The office recommended that the company consider changing its service procedures and provide additional staff training.

The office found Depo DIY LT had breached the Law on Equal Opportunities and issued the company a warning for harassment on the grounds of disability.