JW recieves $55,000 for being ordered to wear santa hat.

by FifthOfNovember 36 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  VampireDCLXV

  As someone had already alluded to, I think this news story is too short on details. Perhaps some benefit of the doubt is needed here.

  As to why this JW lady took this job, some questions do come to mind. I read somewhere that this was some type of temporary/seasonal job: was that really so? When this job was being advertised, was it actually specified that it involved wrapping x-mas gifts? When this JW applicant was being interviewed, were the job duties spelled out by the employer or was the employer vague on details? Was this lady hired on for clerical, shelf stocking or other duties and was pushed into gift wrapping that day to help pick up some slack? Was someone else who was supposed to be on gift wrapping duty absent from work that day? Was there no attempt on the employer's part to reach a compromise? (I wouldn't be surprised.) The the answer to any of the previous questions is in the affirmative, the employer richly deserved what they got IMO.

  V665
• 

  wasblind

  " Not to display regional prejudices, but this happened in North Carolina and I've got this picture in my head "

  You did just that Mrs. and yes, I'm in North Carolina

  and you need to get that stupid picture out of your head

  and start picturing yourself free from the WTS grip. It's to damn

  bad you can picture everything else but what you need too
• 

  tec

  Unless wearing a santa hat was part of her job, I don't think they had any right to fire her over objecting to it based on her religious reasons. As an employer, you might think its stupid - and question the double standard of wrapping christmas presents being okay - but all you would have to do is check the internet to see that jw's do not participate in celebrating holidays. So its not like she was lying. At the very least, a smart/fair employer would check out the rights of that individual with their company lawyer (or any lawyer).

  Instead she was fired in that same day (if I read correctly), which makes me wonder how much the employer was concerned with his/her employee's actual rights.

  People have a right to pursue wrongful dismissal, and from what we have of the story, I'm glad she won.

  Tammy
• 

  miseryloveselders

  This link provides a little more information and in my opinion provides a little more insight as to why the company got ruled against. I'll just copy a couple points from it, the link is there if you wish to read the rest.

  http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/07/30/v-print/603804/belk-hit-witheeoc-bias-suit.html

  "They could have let her work without wearing a red hat and a red apron," said Lynette Barnes, an EEOC lawyer in Charlotte. "Her job was to wrap presents. It might have been different if she had said, 'I can't wrap presents.' "

  Jones-Abid has been a Jehovah's Witness since 1989, the suit says. It's not clear how much she was paid at Belk, where she worked from May 2008 to Nov. 27 that year. She could not be reached for comment.

  To me these two points say it all. It was petty to fire her over a friggin hat and apron. On top of that she had been working from May 2008 up until November 27th as a gift wrapper. She wraps gifts, thats what she does and it just happened to be holiday season. So as far as a JW wrapping Christmas gifts is concerned, in this particular case its beside the point because she wrapping gifts from the Summer of 08 up until the Fall, the bulk of the time during non-holiday season. If she was a good employee, the company could have just respected her wishes. For you Christmas lovers out there, does it bother you when employees at Macy's or another department store aren't dressed for the occasion? To me it just seems the employer just acted really petty in this case. At the same time though, I wonder if she sucked as an employee and they were looking for a reason to axe her.

  In that same link, there's another mention of JWs that quite frankly disturbed me. I'll copy it, as i don't recall it ever being discussed on this forum.

  The EEOC has brought several discrimination cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses in recent years.

  One high-profile case resulted in a $1.3 million court judgment against AT&T. A federal court found that the telecommunications company fired one employee and suspended another after they skipped work to attend a Jehovah's Witness convention when they weren't given time off.

  According to the EEOC, by not giving the workers time off, the company forced its employees to choose between their religion and their jobs.

  This here I don't agree with, and I'm more inclined to fault the WT and those JWs in this case.
• 

  Scully

  miseryloveselders:

  In that same link, there's another mention of JWs that quite frankly disturbed me. I'll copy it, as i don't recall it ever being discussed on this forum.

  The EEOC has brought several discrimination cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses in recent years.

  One high-profile case resulted in a $1.3 million court judgment against AT&T. A federal court found that the telecommunications company fired one employee and suspended another after they skipped work to attend a Jehovah's Witness convention when they weren't given time off.

  According to the EEOC, by not giving the workers time off, the company forced its employees to choose between their religion and their jobs.

  This here I don't agree with, and I'm more inclined to fault the WT and those JWs in this case.

  Well, considering there are several conventions over the summer, sometimes at the same site over different weekends, I find it ludicrous that the JWs' requests for time off to attend conventions couldn't be accommodated. Surely AT&T grants vacation requests the same as other employers?? Sheesh, that's what we always did when we were still JWs, and my parents did it and so did their friends at the KH and in the Circuit and District: everyone used their VACATION time to go to assemblies/conventions, because we weren't like False Religious Hypocrites who wanted special privileges on the basis of their beliefs. It makes me wonder if the JWs were seeking time off over-and-above their normal vacation entitlement and were trying to acquire extra by claiming that conventions were "Holy Days" (like Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur) and needed the days off for worship. Unfortunately in the case of a convention, that claim would (or should to my way of thinking) fall flat because the dates for the convention are decided, not by any consideration of a repeating date or season on the calendar or lunar cycles, but by entirely commercial interests - such as dates when certain convention centres are available, based on the best negotiated price for the facilities. I'd actually be interested to know whether the JWs' vacation entitlement had already been used for, oh I dunno, a trip to the Dominican or something like that.

  (BTW: awesome redneck accent! )
• 

  Justitia Themis

  The customer service people in the stores where I live also cover gift wrapping duties. How do you know her circumstances weren't such as this? How do you know she wasn't being accomodating by continuing to perform her 'normal' job of wrapping presents, but then drew the line a doning Christmas dress?

  Would you be as irritated if a Muslim store owner made a Christian woman wear a hijab for Ramadan and the courts made him pay her $55K?
• 

  Snoozy

  One high-profile case resulted in a $1.3 million court judgment against AT&T. A federal court found that the telecommunications company fired one employee and suspended another after they skipped work to attend a Jehovah's Witness convention when they weren't given time off.

  Well quotes is really screwing up my post..but I was saying that a gal I worked with in the bank was getting married and they had arranged to get 4 days off for a honeymoon. At the last minute someone got fired or called in sick and they actually made that gal come in right after she got married. She could have sued for a bundle if the witnesses can got foolish amounts over something like this. After all marriage is a bible celebration also..This manager later got fired because him and his co manager sat outside all morning one day and ended up getting suburned..the big shot made a surprise visit and caught them outside.. served him right..this girl enjoyed seeing him pack up and go!

  Snoozy
• 

  wasblind

  " (BTW: awesome redneck accent! ) "

  Ole Wuz ain't impressed, not one bit, I been in North Carolina

  a great part of my life, and I have yet to meet a red neck named JEB

  North Carolina is not the only place, where employers have violated

  workers rights
• 

  miseryloveselders

  (BTW: awesome redneck accent! ) "

  Ole Wuz ain't impressed, not one bit, I been in North Carolina

  a great part of my life, and I have yet to meet a red neck named JEB

  North Carolina is not the only place, where employers have violated

  workers rights

  Hey Wuz, if that bothers you, than I need to apologize to you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have posted that. I mean that too. Have a good night.
• 

  wasblind

  Apology excepted ((((((( Miz )))))))