Fired for not saying Merry Christmas

[rbrown1205]

http://www.bna.com/jehovahs-witness-says-n57982082791/

I wonder if this has happened before...

[Tortuga]

It's beginning to feel a lot like....

[Omoyeme]

Yes, it's happened many times.  Employers tend to ignore federal law when they want to get rid of an employee that doesn't conform to the cultural norms of a company or organization.  When that employer is reminded of that law, they attempt to justify the employee's termination under the guise of questionable behavior, false or unsubstantianted  accusations, etc.  Unfortunately, this is widespread.

 

Belk, Inc. To Pay $55,000 To Settle EEOC Religious Discrimination Suit

 

Fired for Being A Jehovah's Witness

 

I suspect that many more lawsuits will be filed in the future.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Omo_Yeme

[Omoyeme]

Quote

Belk to pay $55,000 to settle religious discrimination suit

Posted March 16, 2011

RALEIGH, N.C. — Belk Inc. has agreed to settle a fedeal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit that alleged the chain's Crabtree Valley Mall department store fired a woman because of her religious beliefs. 

The lawsuit alleges that Myra Jones-Abid was working as a gift wrapper at Belk's in November 2008 when store managers ordered her to wear a Santa hat and Christmas-themed apron during the holiday season. 

Jones-Abid is a Jehovah's Witness, and her religious practices prohibit her from celebrating holidays like Christmas, according to the lawsuit. When she explained why she couldn't wear the hat and apron, store managers fired her, the suit states. 

Under the settlement, Belk will pay Jones-Abid $55,000, remove references to the dispute from her personnel file and provide a neutral employment reference for her. The company also agreed to implement a policy to accommodate employees' religious beliefs and to provide annual training for managers. 

 

[tekmantwo]

I was going to add, some employers have paid a pretty goodly amount to relearn this lesson. ..

[vern]

Its usually personal.. they just don't like you for whatever reason.  Plenty of stuff thats ignored because your friends..... 
friend=   monday flue every week-- does drugs and cocain.... not fired.

employee2 =  there everyday on time but doesn't mingle all that well.... fired.

[shali]

Sometimes if the manager has never handled a situation like this before, they defer to corporate who is totally detached from the work ethics of their employees and they simply say "fire her an hire someone who will".  If the manager is new and not familiar with the person on an individual basis, this could very well happen.  Easiest 55,000 that sister will ever make!

[shali]

Funny, I clean a beauty salon (for the lat decade) where the owner knows I don't celebrate X-mas, birthdays or any other holidays - it happens that I also groom her dogs.  One day, after I was done grooming her dogs, she declared that one of the dogs just turned 15 and she wanted a picture of him to post on her facebook page so he could get "likes" for his birthday.  Guess who she asked to take the picture?  I refused and gave her a look like - "now you know better than to ask me that!" I could tell she was miffed - in her eyes it wasn't a big thing.  If she had just asked me to take a pic of him and not of told me why I would of done it without a second thought, so I'm glad she blurted out the reason!  It is like this now, but it could change in the future, we never know.

[Tia]

In our area it is mostly "happy holidays" for some time now! 

Which of course is still a "NO NO."  But...

The article states about the rights of employees not to be forced to say Merry Christmas.

 

I am only posting because Jehovah Witnesses are added to

the mix of those who do not celebrate Christmas.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-ballman/happy-holidays-instead-of_1_b_8859118.html

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by CyreJay

[Qapla]

Many. many moons ago, when I worked in food service and had to run the cash register, I would just say "Ya'll have a good day/night/weekend" - The thing is, I said this all the time regardless of the time of year .... so, no one ever thought I should change it for any particular reason or season.

[Ishaya]

for me,from the moment i start working in a new place i quickly endeavor to let people know me as a Jehovah's witness.that way i (a sort of) program their minds into knowing what to expect from me and it makes it easier for people to easily predict my responses such that it becomes easier for them to bear with me. and it has always been a protection for me.
how do i easily let people know that i'm a Jehovah's witness?.its very easy
(1) when you ask me "how was your night?" or "how is work?"
i always say THANK JEHOVAH
(2) as soon as new issues of the awake and watchtower are available,i endeavor to let my colleagues have them.even the boss too.(my workplace is my territory - self-assigned territory ).
(3) i always come to work early and i do my job deligently.
(4) i endeavor to be friendly and respectful to EVERYONE, so it becomes easier for everyone to respect my beliefs too.




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[Omoyeme]

Thank you for sharing your personal on-the-job experience Brother Moses.