A South Los Angeles CVS supervisor says speaking up about security guards who stood by while shoplifters went to work cost her the job she had spent years building.
Michelle Banegas Hernandez, a longtime employee at the CVS on the 5800 block of South Central Avenue, has filed a lawsuit accusing CVS Pharmacy Inc. and its contracted security firm, Universal Protection Service LP, of firing her after she repeatedly complained about lax security. The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages and centers on a theft inside the store and a series of internal complaints that followed.
According to MyNewsLA.com, Hernandez says she was hired in April 2018 and later promoted to supervisor. In her complaint, she alleges wrongful termination, retaliation, negligent supervision and defamation. She claims she repeatedly raised safety concerns, telling managers that on-duty guards "would not help employees during thefts and customer confrontations," and that one guard later accused her of both bullying and stealing merchandise.
A CVS representative told MyNewsLA.com the company does not comment on pending litigation. Universal Protection Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the same report.
What the suit says happened inside the store
Court filings, as described by MyNewsLA.com, outline an October 2025 incident that appears to be the breaking point.
Hernandez alleges that a shoplifter walked into the South Central Avenue store and that a contracted security guard "did not intervene" while another employee confronted the suspect. She says she stepped in, told the person to leave, and then found herself in the crosshairs instead.
According to the complaint, the guard later told a supervisor that Hernandez had "bullied him and stolen something." The lawsuit says there was no real investigation into those accusations. Instead, Hernandez states that she was summoned to the store and presented with termination papers.
"Plaintiff was simply called into the store and asked to sign her termination paperwork," the complaint says, as quoted by MyNewsLA.com.
How this fits a bigger pattern
The lawsuit lands in the middle of a broader fight over retail theft in Los Angeles, where repeat shoplifting has pushed officials to target alleged fencing operations and sparked public arguments over how far stores and security should go to stop low-level crime. Those tensions were detailed by the Los Angeles Times.
Hernandez’s case also joins a growing pile of employee lawsuits aimed at CVS. In recent years, workers have accused the chain of everything from wage-and-hour violations to whistleblower retaliation and discrimination, according to a roundup by LegalClarity. Separate litigation has seen courts allow store security workers’ claims tied to alleged racial quotas and loss-prevention policies to move forward, underscoring how disputes over safety, staffing and enforcement keep spilling into court, as reported by Courthouse News Service.
Legal stakes
At the heart of Hernandez’s complaint are her retaliation and wrongful termination claims, which lean on California protections for workers who flag what they believe are unsafe or unlawful practices.
State Labor Code Section 1102.5 bars employers from retaliating against employees who disclose suspected legal violations or who refuse to participate in unlawful conduct. The law also allows for civil penalties and attorney fees in successful cases, according to California Legislative Information.
To prevail, Hernandez would have to convince a judge or jury that her complaints about security and safety were legally protected, that her firing was an adverse employment action and that there is a causal link between the two. If she makes that showing, potential remedies could include back pay, damages and attorney fees, although the ultimate outcome will depend on how evidence and testimony develop as the case moves forward.
The lawsuit is now pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, where discovery and pretrial motions will help determine whether CVS or Universal Protection Service face any liability. Hernandez is seeking unspecified damages, and a detailed court schedule was not immediately available in public records. This story may be updated as new filings or statements surface.
