Man Says Employer Told Him To Remove Obama Shirt.. (Sam's Club)

[SoCalDem]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/18533986/detail.html#-

Man Says Employer Told Him To Remove Obama Shirt
Employee: Supervisor Asked Me To Remove T-Shirt With Image Of New President

POSTED: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
UPDATED: 7:03 pm EST January 21, 2009


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville man who chose to show his support for the new president by wearing a shirt with President Barack Obama's picture has found himself in the middle of a T-shirt controversy.

Shane Rhiles said he wore an Obama shirt to work at a Westside Sam's Club on Monday, but was told by a supervisor to take it off. "Basically, she said, 'Take the shirt off or go home," Rhiles said.

snip

He said a supervisor told him a customer didn't like it, and she told him to change. "I was like, 'Is it that serious?' She was like, 'Yes, because we don't need any problems.' I was like, 'Well he's the 44th president of the United States of America," Rhiles said. Rhiles said he was surprised at the order because the T-shirt doesn't say anything offensive, and he said it's just one of the shirts, books and other things he owns saluting the country's new leader. "He's our president -- the first black president. This is an accomplishment for many people, so I didn't want to take the shift off and I wasn't going to take the shirt off," Rhiles said.

He said he bought another shirt and wore it over the Obama T-shirt, but he also looked up the company's policy. According to the Sam's Club dress code, clothes must be neat, clean and without holes or ragged edges, clothes must fit well and not be too tight and pants must fit properly. One thing specified about T-shirts in the store's dress code is that "associates may wear solid color T-shirts and denim shirts with logos as long as they do not contain messages that are offensive, crude or otherwise inappropriate." "His face is not offensive, to me, I don't know if they may have a problem with it, but I think if you have a problem with his face, you need to reevaluate yourself because he's our president," Rhiles said.

snip

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. 5 will get you 10...

The supervisor went to Lee High School. Just sayin'...

[hfojvt]

2. I used to have a problem with the President's face

Not that long ago. Seems like it was just last Monday the mere sight of the President's face sorta made me naseous or want to hit something. I think politics at work are not appropriate even when I like the politician.

[Lasher]

7. I agree.

The supervisor was right.

[Believing Is Art]

8. Agree

I had a summer job in college where I was forced to listen to Limbaugh . . . I asked the jackass if we could listen to a music station instead. He told me that kids my age should pay more attention to current events :eyes:

[Quantess]

14. Wow. I have a feeling that if you had been older at the time,

you probably would have been more assertive about not violating your audiotorial space.

[blondeatlast]

19. Agreed. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. Shane should tell them to go fuck themselves and work for Costco

They do have one in Jacksonville, apparently.

[shintao]

4. So he will live through Corporate Policy or Quit

A corp can make all kinds of unusual rules, and you either abid or move on. That is freedom. If Hooters says you can't wear a cross or a coat or closed tops - you can't do it.


I might add, if he had a union to go to bat for him, this wouldn't have happened. Individuals just have no corporate power pull.

[sohndrsmith]

5. whether a customer did or did not say something or the employer

used that as an excuse is irrelevant. If the employee is required to wear a uniform and doesn't, there is nothing illegitimate or scandalous about the employer expecting him or her to abide by the workplace rules. I find it hard to believe that the company policy, when referring to "logo" means something other than a "Sam's Club logo", because often logos are synonymous with advertising, and having no restrictions on that makes absolutely no sense. And as any well crafted "policy" the fact that the wording includes "otherwise offensive" means it's up to them, regardless of what it is or isn't. They leave themselves open with that vague description, and they are prudent to have done so. This clause alone means - it's up to the employer. Period.

Doesn't matter if it was an Obama shirt or a Mickey Mouse hat or whatever. If Sam's Club is like every other large store of it's kind, a uniform is required. An employee demanding that he/she be entitled to an exception because of personal beliefs is outrageous. If the employer has okay-ed it after being asked, then fine. But come on... if it's part of one's job to wear a uniform or clothing that represents the company that employs you, then demanding they change per your whim (or enthusiasm), against policy is, well, stupid. Expecting them to allow it for you - and then explaining to other employees why they can't show up in whatever get-ups they might invent is supremely bad judgment in my view.

Please tell me people aren't defending this... I'm a super die hard Obama supporter, and this is just ridiculous (I don't mean the original poster, I mean the employee's story).

[mikeytherat]

13. Maybe you should read the whole article:

According to the Sam's Club dress code, clothes must be neat, clean and without holes or ragged edges, clothes must fit well and not be too tight and pants must fit properly. One thing specified about T-shirts in the store's dress code is that "associates may wear solid color T-shirts and denim shirts with logos as long as they do not contain messages that are offensive, crude or otherwise inappropriate."

Seems like the employee did follow the dress code (although, like you, I had assumed all associates had to wear some sort of uniform).

mikey_the_rat

[sohndrsmith]

20. I did. And I included both uniform and dress code in my reply.

Bottom line, I think what I wrote is valid, the policy leaves the description of what may be deemed "inappropriate" deliberately vague so it is ultimately their choice in determining what is or is not appropriate, and if they think a political image of Obama (which is not the same as a logo), or any other political figure or whatever - the choice and decision is that of the employer.

I'm not saying I agree with it - or not - I'm just reading it as a set of rules and the variables concerning the issue, and whether or not what happened was inconsistent with the rules of this company. I don't see how they are.

That's all! : )

[Journeyman]

6. Florida: employment "at will" state. . .

Shane Rhiles has no standing whatsoever to object to his employer's requests.

Change the laws. Forget about trying to influence opinions or change attitudes. Rectify the law, make it so employees have legal standing -- through legislation if possible, through unionization if needed -- and there'll be a lot less stories such as this cropping up. Dress code issues will probably always be a thorn in someone's side, but without a change in the employment arrangements there's little hope for reasonable disagreement being resolved in the employee's favor.

[bowens43]

9. The employer absolutly has that right.

If I was an employer, I would not allow my employees to do something that may piss off 30 percent of my potential customers.

[SoCalDem]

10. They need to beef up their dress code rules..

If they want them to wear only "Sam's Club" tee shirts, the rules need to say so.. If they leave it to the employee & individual store managers to decide, they open themselves up to these disputes..

C'Mon Sam's Club..you can afford to buy all the employees company shirts..and just require them to wesr them.. end of "problem"

[Connonym]

11. I can't believe the defenders here

You know damned well if it had been a W T shirt (or Nixon or Abraham Lincoln or Kennedy) it wouldn't have been controversial. It's no longer a political issue. Obama is now the president of the country and as such his likeness is representative of the country and not of a political party. Business of course has the right to do whatever the fuck they want partially because we let them get away with it. Aren't you tired of being a goddamned sheep? As someone posted about this on Fark, you know damned well Sam's Club had Obama Inauguration cheap plastic (made in China) crap for sale in aisle 5. While you're cleaning that up you'd better make sure there are no magazines or books with Obama on the cover... If the dress code didn't forbid shirts with pictures on them then this guy was well within his rights to wear it and you know it.

quit being apologists for the corporate overlords

ETA This is the exact reason the Democrats will never accomplish anything. We're being too busy seeing their side of the story. Fuck their side of the story. Let's tell our side and let them eat it the way we have been for so many years.

[Norrin Radd]

12. I agree.

[hfojvt]

15. my side of the story is that I believe in fairness

even after I've "won". The President does not represent our country the way the royal family represents the UK. He's a political representative even after he has been elected. If I am not a jerk for being offended by pictures of our last President even while he was in office, then an anti-Obama shopper has that same right, and a store has a right to enforce a dress code to keep from offending potentially half their customers.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

16. I'm really not too suprised with his supervisor

if I remember some time back, the BOSS of walmart,INC sent out a memo telling employees not to vote for Obama and vote for McPain.

[ClarkUSA]

17. WalMart is a huge anti-union GOP contributor and the Waltons want to eliminate the estate tax.

I'll bet any complaints about Bush II on a T-shirt were never acted upon in the same way.

[Catherine Vincent]

18. Leave it to a sore loser republican customer to complain about his shirt! nt