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Just a month after a two-year-old was killed by an alligator at the Walt Disney World in Florida, an intern lost her job for sharing a picture on social media about an internal sign requesting staff to keep quiet about alligators in front of visitors.
Shannon Sullivan, a summer intern at the Disney College Program, was fired after she shared this picture on Twitter.
This is the sign in question. Disney says it was unauthorized and goes against company policy. pic.twitter.com/vji05pcL6C
— Sandra Pedicini (@SandraPedicini) July 15, 2016
The picture was of a sign that management had tacked to the wall, asking employees not to let on to guests that they have seen alligators in the surrounding area.
Unlike management at Disney who prefers to keep visitors in the dark, Sullivan felt it was not the right thing to do especially after the recent tragic accident. She felt she needed to share it and took to Twitter to do so. For doing so she was fired, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Sullivan was quickly rehired when the issue came to media's attention. After she was fired last Thursday, Orlando Sentinel reached out to Disney with questions about the termination later that night.
The next morning, Disney's vice-president Dan Cockerell paid a personal visit to Sullivan to offer her internship back, which she accepted.
“I was very offended by it and I was pretty vocal about it,” Sullivan told the Orlando Sentinel. “I think you need to be telling people to be cautious, letting them know this could happen.”
She said that she was aware that she could lose her job by posting the photo, but “it became about my morals and integrity and what I believe in.”
Despite the kneel-down, Disney explained that the sign had not been authorized. The company also said employees aren’t allowed to post photos on social media of the park’s private areas, and others have been fired for similar offences.
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Image: 123RF
