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A woman has sued CVS Pharmacy Inc., alleging she was wrongfully let go from her supervisorial job in 2025 for complaining that security guards stationed at her South Los Angeles store did little to stop criminals who walked into the store and stole merchandise.
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Michelle Banegas Hernandez’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges wrongful termination, retaliation, negligent supervision and retention, and defamation. She is also suing Universal Protection Service LP, which does business as Allied Universal.
Hernandez seeks unspecified damages. A CVS representative said Monday the drug store chain does not comment on pending litigation, and a representative for Universal Protection Service did not immediately reply to a request for a statement regarding the suit brought Thursday.
Hernandez was hired in April 2018 and was later promoted to supervisor. During her employment with CVS entities, the plaintiff repeatedly complained about unsafe working conditions at the store in the 5800 block of South Central Avenue, including her contention that security guards would not help employees during thefts and customer confrontations, the lack of adequate security measures to protect employees, and threats posed by criminals who repeatedly entered the store, the suit states.
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A shoplifter entered the location in October 2025 and tried to steal merchandise, but was confronted by a store employee, the suit states. The security guard did not intervene or take any helpful action, the suit alleges.
Hernandez, trying to de-escalate the situation, told the shoplifter to leave the store, according to the suit. However, the security guard contacted Hernandez’s supervisor and falsely complained that the plaintiff had bullied him and that she had stolen something, the suit alleges.
While on a vacation not long afterward, also in 2025, human resources contacted Hernandez and accused her of taking beer from the shoplifter, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff was fired upon her return from her time off and told she had inappropriately engaged with the alleged thief.
No alternative steps or corrective actions were discussed, and Hernandez was not advised of any investigation, coaching, or prior discipline, the complaint states. Hernandez had no prior disciplinary record during her seven-and-a-half years of employment at CVS, the suit also states.
“Plaintiff was simply called into the store and asked to sign her termination paperwork,” the suit further alleges while contending that the true reason Hernandez was fired was in retaliation for her repeated complaints about unsafe working conditions and security failures.
Hernandez has suffered lost income and emotional distress due to losing her job, according to the suit.
