The chain stores are all like this. They care more about preventing lawsuits than they care about their own employees. Employees should fight back by suing when they are fired for defending themselves.
I can tell you for a fact that Food Lion grocery stores, in NC and throughout the Southeastern US....have so many “handcuffs” on their hired Loss Prevention Officers (”LPO’s”) that these plain-clothes security officers are getting hurt on a regular basis. No pepper spray, certainly no concealed weapons, etc....no, they have to take on shoplifters who are of a different calibre now: they brandish weapons, attack. I know of one who was seriously injured just last evening (cracked vertebrae).....all because a f**king corporation scared shitless of lawsuits says “I’ll hire you to protect my shit, but I don’t care if you get killed or injured”.
I’d tell them to hire eunechs in body armor and walk away.