It caught national attention when the company first denied benefits to her son. Now that company may be having a change of heart. According to the attorney for the family, media pressure forced Dollar Tree stores to change its mind, and has offered to pay a settlement to the son of Taneka Talley.
The 26-year-old single mom was stabbed to death in 2006 while working at the Fairfield Dollar Tree store. According to a psychiatrist, the alleged killer, a white man, acted purely out of race hatred. So Dollar Tree and its insurers refused to pay benefits to now 11-year old Larry Olden; saying hate crimes are personal and not work related.
Taneka's mother, Carol Frazier, is raising Larry now, and spoke with ABC7 when the story first broke:
"I have to buy clothes every six months because he keeps growing. It's very hard for me. It's just outrageous," said Frazier.
Dollar Tree has since released this statement:
"Last week, Dollar Tree offered to pay the full workers compensation benefit permitted under California law. While we were advised that the claim would not be covered under the state worker's compensation law, we feel this is the right thing to do for Taneka's son," said Timothy Reid, Dollar Tree, Inc..
Moira Stagliano, who represents Taneka Talley's family, says more pressure to pay benefits was waiting in the wings. The NAACP notified Stagliano on Monday it was interested in helping out in this case.
There has been no settlement yet, but this Dollar Tree about face is a first step towards a settlement.
