Again, the company must prove one of two things in order to repel the anti-discrimination lawsuit 1) That their requirement of pork abstinence while on company premises is not religious based, or 2) if the pork abstinence is religious based, it is necessary in order for the company to carry out its business. It does not matter that its a private company - federal law makes it quite clear that rules that discriminate based on religion is unacceptable in almost all circumstances. These laws were enacted precisely so that actions repugnant to American ideas of liberty did not need several generations to be weeded out of the marketplace. Sometimes, waiting things out takes too long and hurts people in the present. Anti-discrimination laws are meant to prevent such harm and should be enforced.
DaD, I don't know... I don't agree with the company. I just think that life is unfair sometimes. It is one's culture that determines right and wrong. What's obvious to us is not so obvious to others. I just want to add that I do not think the young lady is innocent in all of this... She could of gone out to eat the BLT... I do think most people are hypocritical though. It is ABSOLUTELY ILLEGAL TO SINGLE OUT ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE. It happens all of the time... Blacks, Latins, Muslims, Asians, even whites... But it happens every day and it is accepted!
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!! AWESOME. Anyways, once we get into tryign to disprove the law of supply and demand, then I know people are reaching... DaDa, you actually make some good points... Especially about freedom. But shouldn't the owner of this company have the individual freedom to use his INVESTMENT, his money, however he wants? You have kids don't you? How many times have you said "You live under my roof, you live by my rules"? If it affects the business, then the lady has NO case whatsoever. If it doesn't, then the case can go either way IMO. If a Christian guy opens up a company and says that I'm not allowed to bring my Qura'an into his restaurant, then I will either not work for him or I will not do it. Only an absolute idiot would join the company and then read the Qura'an, and then complain about it. This lady who ate the pork knows exactly what she's doing. P.S. FDA approved meat is not good enough for some people. they've been wrong in the past, they've missed little things hre and there in the past... Who's to say in 10 years they won't come out and say "through the miracle of technology and science, we've found that it's better to NOT eat pork"? It's more than JUST a possibility.
Sane, You do not have the right as an employer to dictate what people can and can not eat. Also, even though you say "the live under my roof thing" that does not preclude US law. You can not have religious reasons for firing her, that is discrimination. Did she do it on purpose, irrelvant, the rule against good ole Piggy meat is wrong. If they guy doesn't like it, he is free to pick up his business and capital and move to one of many countries that do allow religious persecution like Iran, or Saudi Arabia etc..etc...but not here. DD
What if it affects the business? What if most of the workforce is Muslim, and someone else eating pork reduces productivity? My uncle eats pork, but not in front of me because I tend to vomit when watching him eat pork. You need to understand that the reasons are not religious. If a company wants to ban eating pork on their property, they can do it. It has nothing to do with religion. The guy doesn't have to pick anything up or go anywhere. It's a free country, and since this is NOT religious discrimination, he is not doing anything wrong.
Quick question. Lets take Islam out of this. If the company said we have a rule... You cannot eat pork while you are at the office, no jean shorts, no facial hair... Would we have an issue here?
My point exactly. Facial hair: If it applies - i.e., restaurants. No jean shorts: Again, depends when it's appropriate. According to another thread - NEVER. Pork: If almost theentire workforce hates it, its bound to affect productivity, so what's the big deal?
Many beverage companies have rules that state you can't be seen drinking the competitor's beverage even outside of work. This is where they screwed up.
funny that you wuold invoke that the LIVE UNDER MY ROOF THING then tell them to leave if they don't like living under the US ROOF Why can a company tell you what you Can and Cannot wear in their facility but not what you can and cannot eat [or rather in this case BE SEEN EATING] I don't see the difference If seeing a man with an earring hurts business. . you ok with that but If seeing a woman eating a pork hotdog hurts business . .you say the company has to just take it. . . that is kind of hypocritical as an aside. . . DADA you come off as down right HOSTILE toward religion . . i don't know if you are or if that is your intent but you do seem a bit . . .. bias against it is it in all forms or just islam? Rocket River
my question I say NO YELLOW SHIRTS it is ok . . . but if you found out my religion was against yellow shirts. . that is a problem? that is ridiculous. . . in fact that is discrimination AGAINST religion . . Rocket River
No, it would not be ok to say no yellow shirts (for religious or non-religious reasons) unless you could prove that wearing yellow shirts somehow was counterproductive to business. For example, if the shirt was bright florescent yellow, you could argue that such attire presented an image that could potentially repel clients. That is an argument that could be successful. However, if you are banning yellow shirts because it is against your religion, you are discriminating against those who do not share your religion and may want to wear yellow shirts. You are thus effectively imposing your religion on another. And to argue that allowing yellow shirts discriminates against your religion, you'd be somewhat correct. However, the courts will almost always rule on the side of the person whose liberty would be most curtailed. If they side with the yellow shirted person, you are still free to not wear yellow shirts and thus stay in compliance with your religion. However, if they side with you. the person cannot wear yellow shirts at work. The latter is a greater restriction of liberty and would probably be ruled unlawful.
Assuming "you" means employee of the beverage company, this makes sense. If an employee of Beverage Company A is seen drinking Beverage Company B's product, anyone could reasonably conclude that the employees of Beverage Company A do not like their own product. Thus, this could hurt sales and courts will usually interpret sales as a legitimate business end.
What does seperation of church and state have to do with a private company? Its not like she was fired from a government job over a religious issue. She was fired from a private company for breaking a rule.
Because with companies over a certain size, you're not allowed to discriminate based on certain factors. I'm pretty sure religion is one of them.
