Florida man says Home Depot fired him over God button

celeb_2006 · October 28th, 2009, 10:34 PM

Fla. man says Home Depot fired him over God button - Yahoo! News

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former cashier for The Home Depot who has been wearing a "One nation under God" button on his work apron for more than a year has been fired, he says because of the religious reference. The company claims that expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.
"I've worn it for well over a year and I support my country and God," Trevor Keezor said Tuesday. "I was just doing what I think every American should do, just love my country."
The American flag button Keezer wore in the Florida store since March 2008 says "One nation under God, indivisible."
Earlier this month, he began bringing a Bible to read during his lunch break at the store in the rural town of Okeechobee, about 140 miles north of Miami. That's when he says The Home Depot management told him he would have to remove the button.
Keezer refused, and he was fired on Oct. 23, he said.
"It feels kind of like a punishment, like I was punished for just loving my country," Keezer said.
A Home Depot spokesman said Keezer was fired because he violated the company's dress code.
"This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button," Craig Fishel said. "That's not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons."
Fishel said Keezer was offered a company-approved pin that said, "United We Stand," but he declined.
Keezer's lawyer, Kara Skorupa, said she planned to sue the Atlanta-based company.
"There are federal and state laws that protect against religious discrimination," Skorupa said. "It's not like he was out in the aisles preaching to people."
Keezer said he was working at the store to earn money for college, and wore the button to support his country and his 27-year-old brother, who is in the National Guard and is set to report in December for a second tour of duty in Iraq.
Skorupa noted the slogan on Keezer's pin is straight from the Pledge of Allegiance.
"These mottos and sayings that involve God, that's part of our country and historical fabric," Skorupa said. "In God we trust is on our money."
Michael Masinter, a civil rights and employment law professor at NOVA Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, said any lawsuit over religious discrimination might be a tough one to win.
"Because it's a private business, not one that's owned and operated by the government, it doesn't have to operate under the free speech provisions of the First Amendment," Masinter said.
"But we're not talking about religious displays here," he said. "This sounds more like a political message ... Wearing a button of that sort would not easily be described as a traditional form of religious expression like wearing a cross or wearing a yarmulke."

Grimmlok · October 28th, 2009, 11:21 PM

pretty sure god doesn't need support, he's pretty much OMNIPOTENT

Penny Lane · October 28th, 2009, 11:40 PM

If he was wearing it for over a year without incident maybe someone complained... maybe he got a little too preachy or something with a customer or fellow employee. I think it's a little silly to try and regulate what someone reads on their lunch break and, by extension, what they wear on their uniform (if it's reasonable) but maybe he got too defensive about it and they canned him.

ConstanceSpry · October 29th, 2009, 10:54 AM

I am sick of all the christian stuff everywhere, a church on every corner, stickers on every car, every conversation peppered with "praise the lord" or "god is good", prayers before city council meetings and all the other BS. I say fire them all!

scooter · October 29th, 2009, 07:02 PM

You can be sure that if he was insistant on wearing that button, and reading the bible on breaks, that he was not mute on the subject to other employees and customers.

MohandasKGanja · October 29th, 2009, 07:37 PM

Didn't something like this happen to Jennifer Aniston in "Office Space"?

suede · October 29th, 2009, 08:33 PM

If it is really just the button and there is no specific dress code that prohibits employees from wearing buttons and he was not asked to not wear said button - Home Depot has a problem.

All I can think is that no one has looked at the back of a dollar bill or specifically in this man's situation, listened to or sung the pledge of allegiance lately.

Back of a Dollar Bill
"In GOD we Trust"
"Annuit Coepti" (God has favored our undertaking)

Pledge of Allegiance
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Just saying...

Grimmlok · October 29th, 2009, 08:37 PM

that crap was inserted in the 50's by rabid McCarthyists and doesn't count.

Also, a pledge of allegiance to a country is downright creepy and communist.

suede · October 29th, 2009, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

that crap was inserted in the 50's by rabid McCarthyists and doesn't count.

Also, a pledge of allegiance to a country is downright creepy and communist.

Eh.

It's about opinion really - you think it's creepy he doesn't.

I just read the article now and it says all the same things I did.

Should be interesting how the suit will go being that HD is a privately held company.

I think it was wrong (ridiculous actually) to fire the guy based solely on that pin and that they have discriminated against him in that respect. If one wants to suggest that the pin was a religious statement then one will have to except the possibility that this man is being discriminated against because of his alleged religious beliefs.

That said if what he says is true in that he "just loves his country" I don't see why accepting the "United We Stand" to wear during working hours was a problem.

Crazy world we live in.

ang · October 29th, 2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

pretty sure god doesn't need support, he's pretty much OMNIPOTENT

DeadDwarf · October 29th, 2009, 09:10 PM

^ I don't think it's ridiculous at all. If the company had a dress code and he refused to follow it, that is grounds for termination. They even suggested another pin that was company approved so he could still support his country like he wanted, he rejected it.

I have worked at companies like this, you sign contracts, you only wear what is allowed according to the dress code. Funny how I, or anyone else I knew, never had a problem following dress codes. He could have worn that pin when he wasn't working, but the asshole had a personal religious agenda and didn't want to follow company policy.

He won't win this case.

suede · October 29th, 2009, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadDwarf

^ I don't think it's ridiculous at all. If the company had a dress code and he refused to follow it, that is grounds for termination. They even suggested another pin that was company approved so he could still support his country like he wanted, he rejected it.

I have worked at companies like this, you sign contracts, you only wear what is allowed according to the dress code. Funny how I, or anyone else I knew, never had a problem following dress codes. He could have worn that pin when he wasn't working, but the asshole had a personal religious agenda and didn't want to follow company policy.

He won't win this case.

Read my first post.

MontanaMama · October 29th, 2009, 09:27 PM

I read your first post and the company DID have dress code policy that prohibited non-approved buttons on company smocks. Not confusing.

Is there some reason why people forget that constitutional protections are against GOVERNMENT action? There's no suit, he won't win.

DeadDwarf · October 29th, 2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suede

Read my first post.

Yeah, I did.... and?

See what MontanaMama just wrote, there WAS a dress code. He refused to follow it and refused to wear a company approved pin. I also don't see how this is confusing.

Who cares if the pin was religious or not. If I was employed by a company with a dress code and I kept refusing to wear my company shirt, or I insisted on wearing a Hello Kitty pin, or anything else that wasn't allowed according to the dress code, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on when my ass got canned.

This wasn't religious discrimination. He didn't follow company policy, it just so happens that it was a religious pin that he refused to take off. It could have easily been a happy face pin or a pin from his school. The point is that he broke the employment agreement when he refused to follow the dress code. Again, he will not win this case.

suede · October 29th, 2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadDwarf

Yeah, I did.... and?

See what MontanaMama just wrote, there WAS a dress code. He refused to follow it and refused to wear a company approved pin. I also don't see how this is confusing.

Who cares if the pin was religious or not. If I was employed by a company with a dress code and I kept refusing to wear my company shirt, or I insisted on wearing a Hello Kitty pin, or anything else that wasn't allowed according to the dress code, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on when my ass gets canned.

This wasn't religious discrimination. He didn't follow company policy, it just so happens that it was a religious pin that he refused to take off. It could have easily been a happy face pin or a pin from his school. The point is that he broke the employment agreement when he refused to follow the dress code.

By your posts I can not see how you could have read and comprehended my posts but it's all good, I'm not here to argue, I expressed my opinion and no one has to agree with it.