Comments on: Worker: I was fired for being a good Catholic

By: GBM

GBM — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:16:29 +0000

You can tell the age of some of the posters by their attitude. My best friend growing up was not allowed to do many things on Sunday such as sew or dance. She was not allowed to play with “face cards.” A few Christian religions are still this strict. So are some practitioners of more mainstream faiths.
Just about everywhere there were Blue Laws: laws restricting activities or sales of goods on Sunday, which stems from the accommodation of Christian Sunday worship. Many states continue the use of blue laws for the sole sake of tradition. Many states in the Southern United States still practice of these blue laws.
This from July 6, 1987: Stores opened to Maryland shoppers Sunday following the statewide repeal of blue laws in all but three counties. The only states with blue laws still on the books are Alabama, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia

By: Anne Bernier

Anne Bernier — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:38:25 +0000

I think everyone is missing the point. It was only in the 70′s that Sunday was “liberated” and Catholics started “not keeping the Sabbath Day holy.” This gentleman obviously practices his religion, and in trying to do so, asked for reasonable accomodations up front. If the employee really does honor the concepts and practices of the church, then his arguement is not just going to mass – even though it’s offered on Saturdays and several services on Sunday, but he is truly trying to keep the letter of the law.

By: Blaine

Blaine — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:45:49 +0000

I agree with Charles, There are too many ambulance chasing lawyers out there looking for a quick $1 to 10 thousand dollar payday, and quick to grab on to a mega million dollar company lawsuit to get an out of court settlement, and get on to the next. As stated before, there may be more to the firing than we read here. I am sure any supervisor would try to work some sort of schedule out with an employee than firing any GOOD HARD working one. Beside if anyone is a really worth being employed and really want to WORK for a weeks pay, they are not going to run to a lawyer to try to sue. I understand McDonalds will set up a working schedule with most employees upon hiring if they have a necessity, and they pay more than minimum wage.

By: PCM

PCM — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:43:48 +0000

Working on Sunday is not a sin for Catholics. There are also masses on other days. Check out the churches on Saturdays.

There might be a reason why this employee needed Sunday off other than just a mass but it would have been up to him to let the managers know this.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:05:37 +0000

Anne – you said everything I wanted to say, only better. Kudos for speaking with understanding, logic and common sense.

By: Charles Parker

Charles Parker — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:00:58 +0000

The case should definitely be thrown out by the judge, but then most cases should, but then all judges were lawyers and protect their own profession (like most Congressmen and Senators!). Lawyers in our country are too eager to waste the court’s time to line their own pockets. I doubt very much SAM’S will settle this one out of court.

By: VT Payroll Admin.

VT Payroll Admin. — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:36:16 +0000

I agree with some of you and disagree with others. What especially bugged me was some of the comments Ann had. Yes, I DO agree with some of what you are saying HOWEVER you also need to understand that the employee knew that Wal-Mart was opened 7 days a week, therefore why did he even apply there in the first place.
If you don’t want to work on Sunday’s then find a job somewhere else, end of story! EVERYONE is replacable these days. There is alot of issues that goes on in a workplace today, do we all like it? NO! However it is up to US to decide if we want to just deal with it or move on. Noone was forcing him to stay there therefore LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB! Trying to sue them for something as small as this is stupid. However IF he has a written agreement from the start and now they are revolking it then Yes, he has a right to do something.

By: HR Director

HR Director — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:39:38 +0000

Another con artist working the system ! Mass is now held almost everywhere on Saturdays as well as Sundays. I’m sure that the NYS Div of Human Rights will give it away.

Oh, by the way how is the action brought by fired NYS Div of HR workers going against the state. Hope they win and get big bucks, everybody else does.

By: Clyde

Clyde — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:12:38 +0000

Was the accommodation formally requested and documented? If not, where is the proof that such an agreement ever existed? Maybe he had a verba abreement with his supervisor. If his supervisor changed and the agreement wasn’t known, then there may be no agreement.

This isn’t about morality or what religion is correct and proper. People who subscribe to the Church of Good Times can claim that they can’t work on Friday nights or Saturday. It’s about whether a binding agreement was breached or a law violated.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:31:49 +0000

It is clear that none of us have all the facts of this case, but it is interesting to see how quickly some of the responders jump to the conclusion that it is the Catholic employee’s responsibility to find a work-around by attending other scheduled masses. I am a senior manager at a large multi-national company. When the concept of “diversity” was rolled out by our HR organization several years ago, I was a strong supporter. In fact, I wrote the diversity mission statement for one of our company’s divisions. But what I have learned over the years is that the term “diversity” does not include everyone. In fact, what it appears to be is just a new code word for catering to minorities. On the one hand, no one seems to question why provisions are made for Muslims who want prayer breaks and foot baths, and no one questions why the gay community needs to openly promote and hold gay pride days at work, but let a Christian ask to have the Sabbath off, and immediately (as you can see) many of us assume that the employee is being inflexible and taking advantage of the company. I don’t pretend to know who, if anyone, is at fault in this particular case. The employee may be right or wrong, depending upon his work “agreement” with Wal-Mart and if Wal-Mart had made work schedule accommodations for other employees. But what strikes me with this dialogue is how many of you, without knowing all the facts, are quick to blame the employee and use words such as “ridiculous” and “outrageous” to describe his lawsuit. You even go so far as to put the employee’s faith in question by saying that a good Catholic would not create such a lawsuit. Shame on all of you who think in this very biased way. The truth is, in this country, it is not “cool” to be a Catholic…or a Christian for that matter. Christian values have been cast aside and are viewed by many as obsolete or out-of-touch. These days you’re only “cool” if you are identifying yourself with liberal viewpoints and catering to minorities. Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable in this day in age for a Christian to request an accommodation for Sunday religious observance. In response to such a request, companies and their HR management, need to be equally considerate and fair to ALL of their employees, not just the “diverse” minorities. I’m not saying or suggesting that companies like Wal-Mart should close down on weekends for Jewish and Christian religious observance, but what I would expect in this particular case is that the company demonstrates some flex and tries to work with the employee. I’m sure that it is possible for a creative and very large organization such as Wal-Mart to come up with some better solutions than firing the employee, IF the company wants to. The problem is that with some companies, they don’t want to. It’s easier to just get rid of the problem, in this case the employee. You HR people……your bias is showing. Time to step back and reassess both your corporate and personal value systems.