Lawsuit: Ga. man fired for refusing to wear '666'

[cleanhippie]

(AP) ATLANTA — A Georgia factory worker claims in a federal lawsuit that he was fired after he refused to wear a '666' sticker he feared would doom him to eternal damnation.

Billy E. Hyatt claims he was fired from Pliant Corp., a plastics factory in northern Georgia near Dalton, after he refused to wear a sticker proclaiming that his factory had been accident-free for 666 days. That number is considered the "mark of the beast" in the Bible's Book of Revelation describing the apocalypse.

Hyatt, who said he's a devout Christian, had worked for the north Georgia plastics company since June 2007 and like other employees wore stickers each day that proclaimed how long the factory had gone without an accident. But he grew nervous in early 2009 as the number of accident-free days crept into the 600s. As the company's safety calendar approached day 666, Hyatt said he approached a manager and explained that wearing it would force him "to accept the mark of the beast and to be condemned to hell." He said the manager assured him he wouldn't have to wear the number.

When the day came on March 12, 2009, Hyatt sought a manager to discuss his request. He said he was told that his beliefs were "ridiculous" and that he should wear the sticker or serve a three-day suspension. Hyatt took the three-day suspension, and was fired at a human resources meeting several days later. He then filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and his attorney Stephen Mixon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57327840/lawsuit-ga-man-fired-for-refusing-to-wear-666/

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I hope this man wins his lawsuit. His refusal to wear the sticker with 666 on it was well within his rights and imposed his beliefs on no one.

[CJCRANE]

1. I don't blame him.

I wouldn't want to wear one either and I'm not religious.

[MarkCharles]

2. Yes, I agree. He has an absolute right to refuse something that

mocks his beliefs, or gives him mental anguish.

I certainly don't have to agree with his beliefs, but I believe his civil liberties and rights to religious freedom were violated.

[emcguffie]

3. I'm not a Christian, and I would feel weird if someone insisted I wear a 666 sticker. n/t

[lapfog_1]

4. On day 665 he could have caused a non-injury accident... n/t

[ingac70]

5. Buh bye idiot. I'm sure someone else will appreciate the job.

I'm sure the "Lord" will make sure dude eats and has a roof over his head. :evilgrin:

[rrneck]

6. He's being silly

but management was being a dick. Of course there may be more of a back story. If he was that jumpy over 666 he my have been stirring up all kinds of shit too and they used that as a reason to fire him after building documentation against him.

But if that was the only issue he shouldn't have had to wear it. For that matter none of them should have to wear a stupid sticker every day. That's just bad management.

[trotsky]

8. Yeah I would like to know a bit more about the situation.

Seems like this was a monumentally stupid thing to do on the part of management.

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. He got fired for being dumber than a box of rocks. n/t

[SoCalNative]

9. Why didn't he just

take a sick or personal day that day?

[SecularMotion]

14. Or wear the sticker upside down.

[rocktivity]

15. Oh, but then he would be supporting Hermain Cain's "999" economic policy

Which I think would be the lesser of two evils...

:evilgrin:
rocktivity

[Silent3]

10. I'm fine with that kind of accommodation. What does it hurt NOT to wear the sticker?

Whatever questionable goal in promoting safety wearing stickers like that might serve, that goal is hardly going to be disrupted by one employee, or even a few, not wearing some ridiculous sticker on a single day that's not going to crop up very often.

I think the guy's reasons for not wearing the sticker are crazy, but it's still so easy to accommodate his beliefs, why make a big deal out of it?

The kind of accommodation that bothers me is when religious people expect special rights and privileges which are burdensome to provide and put others at a comparative disadvantage. When people choose to commit themselves to following difficult self-imposed rules, at some point they need to accept the potential costs for their choices and not expect everyone else to share their self-imposed burdens.

A case of expecting excessive accommodation that comes to mind was a case I remember from several years ago when a Muslim woman insisted that she'd only pose for a driver's license photo while wearing a veil that covered all of her face except her eyes. The court decided she either took off the veil, or she didn't get a driver's license. That was the right decision as I see things.

[Goblinmonger]

11. Should have gotten that first statement in writing.

I think he is a fucking idiot for thinking what he is thinking, but it isn't vital to his job so what's the big whoop. He shouldn't have been fired. Why not let him wear 665+1 then?

[Old and In the Way]

12. I have problems with the number 90437

I'm OK with all the other ones, though.

[TlalocW]

13. I hope he also refused to wear any sticker with the number 3

Magic is condemned in the Bible, and as we all know from, "Schoolhouse Rock,"
Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.

The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.

It takes three legs to make a tri-pod
Or to make a table stand.
It takes three wheels to make a vehicle
Called a tricycle.

TlalocW

[Deep13]

18. Three may be magic, but verb is what's happening.

[TlalocW]

19. Indeed

I do get my thing in action with Verb.

TlalocW

[rocktivity]

16. "Hyatt...said he was told...that he should wear the sticker or serve a three-day suspension.

Hyatt took the three-day suspension, and was fired at a human resources meeting several days later..."

He was given two options (one of which was NOT being fired), he picked one, and got fired for making the "wrong" choice? Settle, Pliant Inc. -- or you're going to have a BIG accident!

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Deep13]

17. Beliefs are ridiculous, but so is the idea that the boss gets to decide that.

Sue their asses off!

[LeftishBrit]

20. Seems to me that he has a good case

It is not part of the job of a plastics factory worker to wear a '666' sticker. This is a bit of advertising for the company; it is not part of his work duties. Therefore, he should have freedom in this matter.

[NMMNG]

21. FFS

Wearing a sticker is not one of his job duties. It wouldn't affect the workplace, productivity or anything else if he didn't wear the sticker, particularly for just one day. Letting him skip the sticker for one bloody day was an immensely reasonable accommodation. The employer is blatantly wrong here.

[ButterflyBlood]

22. Both sides were pretty ridiculous here

The guy was ridiculous for his reasons for refusing to wear the sticker, especially as he presumably wore the 616 sticker which is also likely the "number of the beast" under a proper translation anyway. But to fire him for it is pretty inane. For that I hope he wins his lawsuit.