Should this man have been fired?

(I think they were right in firing him, btdubs.)

in what context. this is the thing.

if he thinks gays should not get married and that hitler should have done away with all the jews and supports the kkk or anything and everything else, its just his opinion and he has a right to it, no matter how disgusting or stupid.

however, if he said it in a way and/or place that could reflect badly on the company, then they are well within their rights to fire him.

I don’t agree with the dewd but firing someone is the employer’s choice anyway.

Some forms of free speech are not protected, and hate speech (in certain circumstances) is one of those cases.

That said, I don’t think this is a matter of free speech. A private company has the right to set whatever rules they want for employees. So I think making it a rule that you can’t be a bigot—or that if you are, you have to keep your ignorance and hate to yourself—is just fine.

In most work places, you should keep your politics at home. I have refused to hire many a contractor because their representatives couldn’t keep their politics to themselves.
My dentist just fired his hygienist because she was lecturing me about the evils of Obama’s health care plan while she had her hands in my mouth and I couldn’t even argue with her.
Unless you work in politics, the work place is not a place to discuss your opinion of political issues.

@Judi GA-Lurve

Yes, I believe the firing was justified.

Also, this lady wasn’t bringing up politics..he turned it into that sort of matter. I’m also confused as to exactly what he said.
In one part of the article he says this, ”“I did say I regard that lifestyle as deviant, as in deviating from the norm, but I never, ever said to that to the [manager],” he said. “In general, I believe people don’t want to hear about controversial issues like that in the workplace. They shouldn’t have to.””

But, prior to that, he says ”“I found it offensive that she repeatedly brought it up,” Vidala said. “By the fourth time she mentioned it, I felt God wanted me to express how I felt about the matter, so I did. But my tone was downright apologetic. I said, ‘Regarding your homosexuality, I think that’s bad stuff.’””

I don’t get it. Did he make that one simple sentence comment, or did he go into detail? Either way, he was still in the wrong.

He should be fired for being an idiot. “I felt God wanted me to express how I felt about the matter”

AND

She should be fired for bringing it up 4 fucking times in their conversation. WTF

If what he says is true and the woman was “goading him” to make comment then no, he shouldn’t have been fired. They both have a right to an opinion and they were both expressing their opinions in the discussion. Whether everybody else agrees with him or not, she was offending him as much as he apparently offended her.

It is obviously a lot easier to fire someone in the US than it is in the UK because over here most companies have to go through a whole load of steps before they can fire someone (there aren’t many offences that call for a firing on the spot) and if they don’t go through these steps the whole “unfair dismissal” card rears it’s ugly head. I am 100% sure that if this had happened here there would be a nice big court case going on by now!

I think that he should have got a warning for this but by the same token it doesn’t sound like the woman was entirely innocent either. It sounds like she was deliberately pushing his buttons to get a reaction and then when she gets one she goes squealing to the powers that be. I also think someone should have spoken to them both and made it clear that, if they can’t agree to disagree, then such discussions in the work place wouldn’t be tolerated. If he continued to express these opinions and offend people then that would be the time to fire him (although I do wonder if this is indeed a repeat offence).

I don’t agree with his opinions but I do believe he should have been given the opportunity to improve (that is if he hadn’t already been given a second chance.)

It is hard to imagine a straight woman who only mentions her upcoming wedding four times.

There is no reason this woman should be treated any differently.

@nikipedia lol, true.

@nikipedia This is true and if she was just mentioning it in general conversation with a group of people (and not just to him) then I will agree with you but going by this article (which is all we have to go on unfortunately – I would like to know all the details) he says he felt she was “goading” him. This makes it sound like she was looking for a fight because she knew of his beliefs. If that is the case then I think she is equally as in the wrong as him. We’ll probably never know though!

The FoxNews link makes me think the story is biased.

However if that person who was fired was creating a hostile work environment because of his anti-gay marriage viewpoint then he should have been disciplined and his termination was appropriate.

OMG, I just tried to thank myself for my answer. Too funny!

@Leanne1986 ; Most employment cotracts in the US are “at will” employment and can be terminated without cause by either party.

I think he should have the right to say it without getting fired because of freedom of speech, but his opinion sucks, nothing wrong with gay marriage.

@Judi If that’s the law there then more fool him. Yes, he has the right to his opinion but that doesn’t make him any less of a dumbass!

An article is mostly heresay. That may have not been the story at all.
If all those facts were true, then yes, he should have been fired. He was there to work, not express his views, no matter how annoying she was. He should have been the one to go to Human Resources instead of her if it was that big of an issue.
I hope GOD had another job lined up because he just got fucked out of that one..