To Pay Or Not To Pay? Lane Bryant Answers the Question

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 21, 2008 6:40PM

The survivor of a shooting that killed five women at a Lane Bryant in Tinley Park early this year was taken off of the store’s payroll for some unknown reason – but will be put back on payroll December 1. The unnamed woman was working at the store on February 2, when an armed man entered, robbed the store and ended up shooting her and five others. She was the only one to survive the shooting and had been on Lane Bryant’s payroll up until a few months ago, though her employment status is not certain.

It's not clear why or when Lane Bryant took the store employee off the payroll, but Tinley Park police Chief Michael O'Connell said she would be back on December 1.

"We're sensitive to the fact that certainly we don't want our victim to fall on tough times," O'Connell said, adding that employment decisions are between the survivor and Lane Bryant.

Gayle Coolick, spokeswoman for Charming Shoppes Inc., the parent company of Lane Bryant, said she couldn't talk about any employee specifically, but said the company spoke to the survivor recently and she was "very appreciative and agreeable to how she left things."

"We haven't closed any doors," Coolick said. "We're happy to talk to her about any future arrangements."

The Lane Bryant store, part of Brookside Marketplace located at 191st and Harlem, has remained a crime scene since the day of the shootings, with no definite plans to reopen or commence business. Sounds like the shooting victim will have a job, though, if the store does decide to reopen. The robber/killer in the Lane Bryant case is still at large but investigators have received over 5,000 tips to date, and a $100,000 reward is being offered by the Tinley Park police to anyone with info that leads to an arrest.

Post by Amy Wilschke, AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh