Exclusive | Ford worker who was fired after being falsely accused of stealing a $1.95 cookie lawyers up
A Ford electrician who was fired over false allegations that he stole a $1.95 cookie is preparing to take legal action against the automaker and its cafeteria operator Aramark, The Post has learned.Kurt Kromm, 60, who spent 11 years repairing robots and automated equipment at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Ky., says he was wrongly branded a thief after a self-checkout kiosk appeared to show he failed to pay for a two-pack of Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookies during an overnight shift in May.Ford ultimately reinstated Kromm, paid him roughly $33,000 in back wages and offered him his job back after he produced bank records showing the $1.95 transaction had gone through.But Kromm rejected the offer, telling The Post last month: “I can’t come back to a company that just fired me like this and not give me any chance to show I paid.”Kromm has now retained Kentucky attorney J.Will Huber, who plans to send a demand letter to Ford and Aramark this week.“The accusations of theft made against him were absolutely false,” Huber said in a statement provided to The Post.“The proof of his innocence was available to or in the possession of both Aramark and Ford from the very start.”Huber added that Kromm “paid, but he was nevertheless labeled a thief and removed from the plant he devoted 11 years of his career to,” calling the companies’ handling of the incident “unacceptable” and saying the facts “give rise to substantial legal claims” that Kromm intends to pursue “to the fullest extent of the law.”“We don’t comment on the specifics of pending litigation,” a Ford spokesperson told The Post.“We are working to review the limited instances where Aramark kiosk issues have been raised.”The bizarre saga was first reported by journalist Phoebe Wall Howard’s Substack newsletter Shifting Gears.Kromm, who is diabetic, told The Post his blood sugar had dropped to 60 around 3:30 a.m.
on May 9, prompting him to buy the cookies at an Ar...