9 Reasons Trader Joe's Employees Can Get Fired

Trader Joe's is generally considered a good place to work, especially compared to other retail grocery chains, considering that many grocery workers experience food insecurity. Employees there have access to healthcare, paid time off, and even retirement plans, which isn't always typical for grocery store workers. There's even a special perk for TJ's employees who work on Sundays. Naturally, plenty of people want to get hired at Trader Joe's, but once they get a job, they also have to keep it. This is where some employees struggle and get fired from Trader Joe's after making it onto the team.

So, what exactly can Trader Joe's employees get fired for, anyway? We're digging into what current or former TJ's employees have said you can get dismissed from the store for. Most of them are pretty understandable violations — after all, most workplaces aren't going to be happy if you show up to work drunk. But there are also some subtler actions that have gotten employees the axe, according to these people who claim to have worked at the grocery chain. Whether you're interested in working at TJ's yourself, or you just want a closer look into the experience of one of its workers, these are the reasons Trader Joe's employees can get fired.

Most people know that they should show up to work on time, especially at a place like Trader Joe's where one person's absence can put more pressure on other employees. And of course, if you're scheduled to work, you actually need to show up if you want to keep your job. But there are some workplaces that are more lax about attendance policies than others, and it seems like this grocery chain takes it pretty seriously. A former employee of the store said they got fired for attendance after they started hating their job. It's definitely hard to make it at a job you don't even like, but it can't come as a big surprise that a workplace will only put up with bad attendance for so long.

Another employee said that poor attendance was something that employees could get fired for at their store, saying it seemed like "the most important factor." On the same Reddit thread, yet another poster echoed the sentiment. They even said that it was the most common reason for termination. They'd mostly seen this issue happen with new hires, though. Things seem even stricter for one employee who said they were written up for arriving just five minutes late — although they had done so several times in a row due to difficult personal circumstances.

Most people don't need to be told not to come to work intoxicated or not to drink on the job. For most professionals, it kind of just goes without saying, and grocery store employees aren't an exception to that rule. Therefore, it shouldn't be surprising that some Trader Joe's employees said that they either have been fired for just that, or know people who met the same fate. A Redditor shared that someone from their crew had been fired for being drunk at work, but it had happened three times before they actually got sacked.

Another Reddit poster said that an employee who had worked at their store would leave the location, go to a CVS next door, and drink. But apparently, this crew member only lasted about a month before leaving the store for good. Honestly, this is the kind of infraction that will get you fired from basically any job. Sure, Trader Joe's stocks some great canned cocktails, varied whiskeys, and even excellent budget wine, but employees can't sample these offerings while at work.

Another no-no at any job you're ever going to have? Sexually harassing your coworkers. This is another one that probably shouldn't need to be said but, sadly, absolutely does in many cases. Just like in any other workplace, you can't objectify, speak inappropriately to, or touch coworkers in an unwanted way if you actually want to keep your job at Trader Joe's, according to some Reddit posters. A Trader Joe's crew member who said that their location was pretty lenient said that one of the firings they had witnessed at work happened because an employee touched their coworker inappropriately. Another firing allegedly happened at the same store when someone sent an inappropriate text message to a coworker. Seems fair enough!

A different Reddit user said that they'd seen people getting fired for sexual harassment as well. In fact, they said it's one of the most common reasons people get let go from the store. That's sad to hear, especially considering how easy it is to simply not sexually harass one's coworkers. We think this is another totally reasonable cause for being fired.

Employees who work at Trader Joe's get discounts to shop at the store, and sometimes they might even get to try free samples (which customers can take advantage of) as well. For employees who were already fans of the company before getting hired, that can feel like a pretty big perk. But employees reportedly can't just take stuff off the store shelves unprompted, since it's technically stealing from the store. According to some Reddit users who claim to have worked at Trader Joe's, this is definitely a fireable offense. "You have to be a total idiot to get caught, but then again you have to be a total idiot to do it [in] the first place," wrote one Reddit commenter.

Of course, stealing from the cash register is an easy way for Trader Joe's employees to get fired as well. Another TJ's worker wrote that someone at their store got fired for doing so. Obviously, there's no workplace that's not going to fire you if you help yourself to an open cash register.

It's no secret that Trader Joe's offers pretty solid customer service compared to other grocery store chains out there. The store probably wants to maintain this image, which is why it's unacceptable for employees to have exceptionally bad attitudes toward shoppers or coworkers. According to one Redditor who claims to have been a Trader Joe's employee, having a bad attitude is the second most common reason for employees of the store to get fired. Apparently, though, this has to be a repeated behavior, since this poster said that workers are simply talked to or written up first.

Another Reddit-using Trader Joe's employee called out some specific actions that might get employees the boot. Cursing out management is one way to get fired, they wrote, but so is arguing with customers. Once again, the same policies will go for most jobs. Generally, it's not a good idea to fight with your boss, and you don't want to treat customers poorly, so it's not a surprise that Trader Joe's employees are getting fired for these types of actions.

Nobody should have to be told not to make racist comments in their daily life, let alone at work. Yet, some employees apparently do need to be told, since self-proclaimed Trader Joe's workers have said they've seen people get fired for doing so. One Redditor included it in a long list of other fireable offenses at Trader Joe's, although they put it at the very end of the list.

Other posters were more specific about racist remarks that their coworkers had made, with one saying that they heard someone say a particularly egregious racial slur. They were shocked to hear that kind of language, at work no less. But then, the day after their coworker had said this word, the poster realized the offending party had been fired. And honestly? Good riddance. Other employees shouldn't have to be subjected to that kind of behavior when they're at work, and customers who are simply shopping certainly don't want to hear that kind of language when they're trying to buy their milk and eggs for the week. By firing people who make these kinds of comments, Trader Joe's is hopefully making its stores safer places for everyone.

Listen, we all know that work can be frustrating, and sometimes, you just have to let it out. But that doesn't mean you can lose control of your anger at your job and not expect any consequences. In fact, some Redditors who said they've worked at Trader Joe's say that this is one of the reasons employees at the store can get fired. In a list of fireable offenses that one Redditor posted to the r/tjcrew subreddit, anger issues were the second action mentioned. Another commenter backed that claim up, also including it in their own list of actions that can get you the axe at Trader Joe's. Still another poster said they'd actually seen people fired for not having control over their anger at work.

Employees at Trader Joe's — and at basically every other workplace out there — have to learn to control their anger, or at least excuse themselves at an appropriate time so they can cool down in private. Working in customer service is difficult, and we can't blame TJ's employees for losing their cool from time to time. But if managers can't count on workers to keep their emotions in check, there are likely to be problems.

Perhaps one of the best perks of working at Trader Joe's is the fact that employees get a discount of up to 20% on store merchandise. That makes it easy to get your shopping done right after work ... and get a great deal to boot. But ultimately, employee discounts aren't meant to be shared with people who don't work at the store, and doing so can reportedly get Trader Joe's workers fired.

This is another infraction that's mentioned on a post about reasons Trader Joe's employees get sacked. In fact, it's such a notable offense that one person offered just this one action that can end in a firing at the grocery chain. While Trader Joe's wants to ensure its employees get access to discounted products, the store apparently doesn't want those discounts to extend to people who don't work there, which seems fair enough. Even though employees might want to do something nice for friends or family by giving them this discount, it's an action that's not likely to be looked upon fondly by managers, who might actually decide to let people go if they decide to do so anyway.

If you're a gig worker who gets paid per project, then to a certain extent, you have a bit more control over your time. But when you work hourly, as Trader Joe's employees do, then your employer is going to see the time you spend at work as their time. Therefore, if you're not actually doing your job — or are looking for ways to look busy when you're really not doing much at all — they might consider it time theft. A Trader Joe's employee on Reddit wrote about a coworker they'd had who tried to do the least amount of work possible while at the store. They would disappear for long stretches of time, hiding off in a corner somewhere. Ultimately, they were fired.

A Reddit user wrote a different comment on the same thread about time theft, claiming that it was taken rather seriously at the store they worked at. They insinuated that time theft could potentially be a fireable offense under certain circumstances.