Fla. man says Home Depot fired him over God button

Fla. man says Home Depot fired him over God button

news.yahoo.com

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former cashier for The Home Depot who has been wearing a "One nation under God" button on his work apron for more than a year has been fired, he says because of the religious reference. The company claims that expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.

"I've worn it for well over a year and I support my country and God," Trevor Keezor said Tuesday. "I was just doing what I think every American should do, just love my country."

The American flag button Keezer wore in the Florida store since March 2008 says "One nation under God, indivisible

(visit the link for the full news article)

No respect for "One nation under God, indivisible" anymore, this is a shame and shows another example of how the core beliefs of this country are being dismantled piece by piece, person by person. I mean this is in the pledge! and this man was fired for wearing it on a button at work...wth? What's next getting fined for having a American flag outside your house? This is terrible, just terrible.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, the American flag resembles America, and America is represented one way by the Pledge of Allegiance which mentions god...so A=B, which B=C, so A=C, which means AMERICAN FLAG = RELIGIOUS ZEALOT!!

Oh, that will be used in court by someone, I swear! Not to god though...

No, I am sorry, but I can not agree with you on this one.

He wore a button with (granted questionable at best) a religious statement.

He was told that no religious buttons on "company smock".

He ignored company rules and was fired for not following company rules.

BTW, I believe the no religious stuff on work smock is so they don't get sued,
For example, A muslim sees under god and sues because he felt insulted by this.

Is it silly at best, sure, but it is the world we live in.

Also, he did agree to follow company rules "BEFORE" he accept employment from them.

[edit on 10/28/2009 by mrmonsoon]

Article further says:

A Home Depot spokesman said Keezer was fired because he violated the company's dress code.

"This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button," Craig Fishel said. "That's not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons."

Keezer refused, and he was fired on Oct. 23, he said.

He broke company policy. He refused to abide by company policy when told to do so.

I believe Home Depot was fully justified.

Home Depot is a private company. He chose to work there - therefore he chose to abide by their rules.

[edit on October 28th 2009 by greeneyedleo]

If his employer asked him not to wear the button and he ignored that warning, he got what he deserved. He has the right to his religious and patriotic beliefs, but that doesn't entitle him to wear anything declaring those beliefs at work.

If Home Depot is that rigid in faith in God and is that worried about offending someone because of faith in God, their management is shallow and unbelieving.

When America converts to Islam, Home Depot will be the first in line to put out things that worship Islam. If they don't, they will lose all their customers.

PS: Notice it doesn't say which God. It is a policy against freedom of speech, freedom of religion. It is an UnAmerican Policy. How long will you put up with this crap, America? Are you going to let the companies of this country and the schools and courts and all public places run God (of any kind) out of your life?

[edit on 28-10-2009 by Jim Scott]

It's a shame when the policy of a company goes to this length to avoid legal liability, this quote is in the pledge and last I checked The Home Depot is an American company.

reply to post by JIMC5499


My sentiments exactly, but what if every one of his former coworkers wore the same pin for the whole month of November...I bet it would
suddenly be appearant that in fact "united we stand" !

There is already another thread on this and I will post my comments here again anyway.

If they allow him to wear that then they must allow others to wear what pins they would like. " I love hitler" " Burn America", these would be fine.

The main reason they have these rules is to protect from Union activity though. You wouldn't want people to be able to wear things that support unions if your a business that hates unions ( all of them )

reply to post by plainmike


No, it would not.

With everyone looking for jobs, if people are foolish enough to do something they know will get them fired... they deserve it.

Also, I am sure they would have NO problems finding new employee's.

If tolerance was important to the company, then they would respect the beliefs of employees as well, I'm sure they allow workers to wear certain religious jewelry.

He broke the rules.

Also, he wasn't fired until he brought his bible into work.

reply to post by elevatedone


I'd be willing to bet that there are employees of other faiths that work for this company and who bring their books of faith into work, but they still have their jobs.

Originally posted by alyosha1981
It's a shame when the policy of a company goes to this length to avoid legal liability, this quote is in the pledge and last I checked The Home Depot is an American company.

Did you see how Home Depot is a private company who has had the rule that NO buttons other than HD issued were allowed to be worn? This has nothing to do with religion or America.

which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons."

“It never crossed my mind to take off the button because I’m standing for something that’s bigger than I am. They kept telling me the severity of what you’re doing and I just let God be in control and went with His plan.”
www.tcoasttalk.com...

I guess God's plan was: you did wrong, you loose your job.

Its all very simple IMO. Abide by the rules of the company you work for. If you do not like the rules, find another job. Simple.

Some important details in this case: The employee was first asked to remove the pin. He refused. He was also offered a company-approved pin that said, “United We Stand,” but he declined
gneil.blogspot.com...

[edit on October 28th 2009 by greeneyedleo]

Originally posted by mrmonsoon

...
For example, A muslim sees under god and sues because he felt insulted by this.

... so, Muslims don't believe in God?

What about all that Allah stuff?

reply to post by alyosha1981


Thats speculation on your part. No way to know for sure.

We're also probably not getting the whole story from this guy. I'd be willing to bet that he not only brought his bible to work, but could have been "spreading the word" to co-workers, preaching if you will. Which has no place in the work place. In my opinion that is.

I would guess that he was fired for breaking company policy, not because of the button itself. Seems that he knew what the policy was, yet chose to wear the button anyway. Probably did it with the expectation of getting fired...I bet he had a lawyer picked out before he went in to work that last day on the job.

Also notice how the title says "Fla. man says..."? So immediately my red flag goes off; telling me that, as of now, this is a one sided story.

Just my 2-cents

[edit on 28-10-2009 by Aggie Man]

Sheesh, so many people piling on top of this guy for "breaking the rules". He wore the button for over a year, people. No one had a problem until he started bringing a bible to work to read on his lunch break.

Sounds like someone got offended over the bible, not the button and used it as an excuse. I have to say as a Non-Christian I'm not offended in the least by someone wearing a button with our nations flag and word from the pledge on it.

As a private company they CAN do what they like, but I would be wary of pissing off the Christian consumers in this country, it doesn't sound like a wise business move to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they get enough pressure and cave and give this guy his job back.