Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
4. What does that have to do with anything?
Tue Feb 5, 2013, 11:55 AM
Feb 2013

Do you think that there would be something wrong with a staffer at OFA being fired for wearing a "Vote Romney" t-shirt?

This is what Rocketown is:

http://www.rocketown.com/about/rocketown

Mission

Offering hope to the next generation through Christ’s love.


...

Rocketown is committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not discriminate against staff members or applicants for employment on any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, uniform service member status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin,age, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other protected class under federal, state or local law.

In Tennessee, the following are a protected class: race; creed; color; religion; sex; age (40 or over); national origin; physical, mental or visual disability; National Guard membership; and tobacco use during nonworking hours.


They are essentially a religious mission organization, so they are pretty careful to include the "legally-recognized" qualifier there.

They apparently do not discriminate in their hiring on the basis of religious belief, but belief and exercise on the job are two different things.

What would you expect the result to be if it was a Jewish Youth Center, and an employee was wearing a "Pork, the other white meat" shirt?

One can certainly be fired by any employer (subject to any contractual or union conditions) for expressing political views the employer doesn't like. An at-will employee can be fired for any reason, or no reason at all, so long as the at-will employee is not fired for an impermissible reason. Wearing clothing or communicating messages which the employer believes to be inconsistent with the business in question is permissible.

If I had an employee show up in a shirt reading "I hate gay people" I'd fire him/her on the spot. Is it legal to hate gay people? Yep. Is it legal to say "I hate gay people"? Yep. But I wouldn't tolerate that from an employee for a nanosecond.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Was a Rocketown Employee ...»Reply #4