An Ohio worker at the Sheetz convenience store chain has drawn attention online after she claimed her manager confronted her about her missing teeth, which she said were lost due to domestic violence.
“Who are they to decide what beauty is,” the worker, Rose Marie Counts, said on Facebook.
Sheetz’s handbook had what some employees called a “smile policy,” a rule that included smiling at customers. The handbook also said stores should not hire “applicants with visibly missing, broken or badly discolored teeth (not related to a disability),” according to Insider, which also discussed the policy with former Sheetz employees.
Now, according to the outlet, the company has rescinded the policy — and Counts has raised nearly $6,000 of a $10,000 GoFundMe goal to pay for dental work.
“Effective immediately, this policy is being discontinued … We are committed to ensuring that our policies moving forward are fair and we celebrate the diverse experiences, individual identities and unique perspectives of our employees,” said Stephanie Doliveira, executive vice president of people and culture at Sheetz. , per Insider.
Counts said in early January that she had started working at Sheetz in Circleville, Ohio about a month before the incident.
Sheetz is a chain of gas, food and convenience stores based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, according to the company’s website. It has over 600 stores in states like Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Counts posted on Facebook on Jan. 9 that her manager brought her in to discuss her teeth, which she said were damaged in a domestic violence situation.
“When I walked into the office … I was informed that policy states that all Sheetz employees must have and maintain a perfect beautiful, warm welcoming smile,” she wrote in the Facebook post.
Rose also posted a video archive of the conversation she had with her manager. Businessman heard the file but could not independently verify it.
In the audio, the manager discusses Counts’ treatment plan for her teeth. Counts said she was unable to get coverage for temporary dentures, only permanent ones, and that the process can take up to nine months.
In the sound, the administrator appears let her know she wouldn’t be able to work on the front until they were fixed, but Kotz said he was finding another job.
“This company has no idea what I’ve been through,” Counts told the manager. “I lost those front teeth because my ex-husband shook his head at me because I forgot to turn off the hallway light,” she added.
“If my job performance is not enough and it has to be based on any part of my appearance, this is not a company I want to be associated with,” he added in the audio.
said a Sheetz representative Knowledgeable that the manager was “recently promoted” and was “handling this type of situation for the first time” and therefore provided “inaccurate information.”
Another employee said Knowledgeable the smile policy was “surprising” and stood out as “excessive” considering the company’s other policies, such as medical and dental plans, as well as 12 weeks of paid leave for “mothers,” according to the company’s website.
Sheetz has since dropped the policy, the company said Knowledgeable on Wednesday. Businessman has been contacted for comment.
Adaline Adams, a woman who claims to be Counts’ daughter, posted a GoFundMe to raise money for her dental treatment. At press time, the fund has raised $5,824 of a $10,000 goal.
In a subsequent Facebook post, Counts said she has been contacted by Sheetz, which offered to give her her job back and pay for her dental work if she wanted to return.
“I am politely declining the job as Sheetz is no longer a safe environment for me,” she wrote.