Wiccan necklace may have been reason for discharge from Starbucks

[ZombieHorde]

A Starbucks employee who wore a Wiccan necklace to work raised material fact questions as to whether she was fired because of her religion, concluded a federal district court in Oregon, denying summary judgment to her employer. She was fired purportedly for a third corrective action notice when she failed to report for a scheduled shift. But the employee said she told her manager she would not be there due to an injury she sustained at work.

snip

Her managers' repeated, pervasive and disparaging remarks about her necklace, prompting her to contact HR about permitted jewelry, and her coworkers' display of Christian religious jewelry with impunity, created an inference of bias.

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Link:
http://hr.cch.com/news/employment/032108a.asp

Prejudice or bad employee?

[baldguy]

1. Both.

But having a poor performing employee is no excuse for bigotry - as if that could be excused.

[Eric J in MN]

2. A women who repeatedly receives written warning from her company....

...for not showing up, and who ultimately gets fired, isn't the best example of religous discrimination.

[americanyouth]

3. Exactly. A volunteer spokesperson is usually careful enough to show up for work.

[Donnachaidh]

5. Ahh, but there is a question about what turned out to be her final shift

It said something to the effect of her stating she couldn't work that shift, but was scheduled anyway, and fired when she didn't show up. There really is too little information in this article to make her out to be a total bad player.

I've known a few employers in the past who would look for ways to get rid of employees they didn't like. And especially with part-timers who were being given different schedules each week, they would start giving them shifts they (the employers) KNEW the person really couldn't work, to try to force them out. The employers would do this even after the employee stated time and again that they couldn't work certain days or certain times, perhaps because of childcare situations or classes if they were college students. The employer could always fall back on the *Oh I forgot* argument, and the employee would wind up getting written up or fired. Unless the employee had actual witnesses who would stand up for him or her - it was the employer's word against the employee's. Guess who usually wins out in these sort of arguments? :sarcasm:

I think there is more to this than is what is in the article. I'd give her more benefit of the doubt, Than to automatically call her the bad actor. :shrug:

[Eric J in MN]

6. Even before she was working at that location...

"At a prior location, she was placed only on an 'action plan' when she received four discipline notices in three months."

[man4allcats]

4. Damned witches! Burn'em at the stake -

just like the coffee!

[davidinalameda]

7. the article doesn't state why she had received the 4 write-ups

those could be bogus

I want more info but I'm willing to bet that her firing had something to do with her necklace