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| Topic: Fla woman says merry x-mas got her fired | |
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I don't get it.
She claims she was fired for "religious discrimination" because she herself discriminates against other religions by not recognizing other holidays? If you're so stubborn and closed-minded that you refuse to follow company policy out of some misguided "Christian belief", I have no sympathy for you. If the person in the next cubicle were allowed to say "Happy Hanukkah" however...well, then I could see the point. |
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I'm betting this woman got fired for more then what has been said by herself. I'm assuming that she is blowing this way out of proportion just to try and make an easy buck. At my job, if I didn't do what was asked of me by my boss, I'd expect to find a new job. People file suits way too often! I hope the company wins!
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081226/ap_on_re_us/happy_holidays_firing;_ylt=Av9dG14e.xV0MkfhGlwqNGjtiBIF PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Christian woman claims she was fired from her job because she greeted callers with "Merry Christmas," but the vacation rental company says it's no Scrooge and the woman is just a disgruntled employee. Tonia Thomas, 35, said she refused to say "Happy Holidays" and was fired, even after offering to use the company's non-holiday greeting. The Panama City woman filed a federal complaint that accuses the company of religious discrimination. She is seeking compensation for lost wages. "I hold my core Christian values to a high standard and I absolutely refuse to give in on the basis of values. All I wanted was to be able to say 'Merry Christmas' or to acknowledge no holidays," she said Tuesday. "As a Christian, I don't recognize any other holidays." Thomas said she is Baptist. Her former employer, Counts-Oakes Resorts Properties Inc., said she wasn't fired for saying "Merry Christmas," but would not elaborate. "We are a Christian company and we celebrate Christmas," said Andy Phillips, the company's president. Thomas is "a disgruntled employee," presenting a one-sided version of what happened when she was fired Dec. 10, Phillips said. Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based legal group that advocates for people discriminated against because of their religion, is representing Thomas before the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Their complaint also accuses the company of harassing and taunting Thomas after she was fired by calling the police to watch her pack her belongs and leave. Thomas could have hard time winning the case, said G. Thomas Harper, a Jacksonville-based labor attorney who writes a newsletter on Florida employment law. "I wouldn't think an employee has the right to insist (on saying Merry Christmas) unless that really is a tenet of their faith. She would have to make a strong case that was part of her beliefs, if not, it becomes insubordination," he said. Thomas has found another job, but she makes less than the $10.50 an hour she earned with the rental company. She said the trauma of being fired and the pay cut has made for a tough holiday season for herself, her husband and their 6-year-old son. Harper said when it comes to holiday greetings, the smartest choice might be ignoring the season. "The best option is just not to say anything," he said. Perhaps she should have said "Happy Holidays" instead. Score another one for political correctness. |
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So she works for a vacation rental company?
Let's look at this from a business point of view. Does she have contact with the general public? Was she in sales for the company? If so a good sales person knows to gather some information about the caller first. When you cannot make assessments or at least guesses visually or with some background information on the client or caller you have to pay even closer attention to what the caller says, the sounds in the background and even the emotional state of the customer. Anyone who has ever been a successful sales person knows that. Most businesses have customer bases that are diverse. Unless your business is say, to sell collars to Catholic priests or something similar, anyone can call. You'd have to be either arrogant, an idiot or lead a pretty insulated life to not realize that when answering phones for a company of any size in a non-religious business that those that call will have diverse backgrounds and beliefs. Ever here that old saw the customer is always right? If you want to do business and or make sales with the general public it's wise not to set the agenda aloud but to see what the customers needs and concerns are and go from there. Seriously, the question of religion aside, it seems like a poor business decision to start off a first contact with a customer by alienating or offending them. |
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