I Was Fired Today, For My Bumperstickers!!!

Yes, offensive in a work environment ,especially where there's kids. I have had pro- bush stickers on my car and the police never gave me a ticket when pulled over. maybe try working on your politics?

Here's a question for the original poster...if your former employer had taken you aside and asked you to either remove the bumper stickers or risk being fired, what would you have done?

I don't mean to be mean, but you work at a daycare center and you have pedophile on your car? I know it's a joke, but it is very offensive. Child Care Centers have to be very careful who they hire. The most innocent person could be a parents and child's worst nightmare, so they have to be careful. Personally, I'd be angry too... but when you put jokes like that on your car, internet, anywhere expect to face stuff like this.

Gosh, I hate to be the storm cloud. Here's kinda the way the law swings...at least here in my state. The job you had is controlled by a privately owned company. Legally, they can't fire you based on sex, race, religion, etc. BUT since is is PRIVATE and no tax (other than possibly grants) goes into the daycare they can fire you for pretty much anything whenever and however they want to. As long as they didn't come up to you and say "Hey, your white or black, your fired!" or "Your a democrat! FIRED!" They can see those bumper stickers (which are really funny btw) and ASSUME your really liberal or what-not. Assuming is morally wrong, but not always legally wrong. From what you say, they fired you based on the bumper sticker. The law doesnt go into specifics about this but it's along the same lines of wearing a T-shirt into the daycare with the same message. The message doesn't convey the same viewpoints of the daycare, therefore since you're at work, your a representative of the daycare and they don't like being represented by that message. That's probably going to be a defense for them if you take it to court.

[edit on 12-5-2008 by Mekanik]

There is certainly a lot of great insight from the posters on your thread.

I'm sorry you got fired. Glad to hear you don't have TB.

This should go down as a life lesson in my opinion. Your valuable energy would be better spent on understanding what went wrong, and finding another job. Fighting this would just exhaust monetary resources and personal energy.

Understanding what went wrong: "Poor judgment." Everybody does it from time to time. We do best by accepting it, learning from it, and moving on.

You were most likely on a trial period, and they can fire you for no reason.

You got some free legal advise from one of your posters Dad who is an attorney. It's not your own personal free speech, it was written down.

If you believe in yourself, you will find a new better job.

Good luck to you.

reply to post by Inceptor


Probably the same thing - post in indignant outrage, as the OP doesn't get why it could be an issue...

I recognized your car. I live near you. Which day care was it if you don't mind me asking?

For Goodness Sake HBT - DON'T answer that question! It's a small world and you have enough to worry about, what with finding a new job and all. You don't need to add to your problems by being too specific on an anonymous forum board.

[edit on 12/5/08 by kosmicjack]

State Supreme Courts have dealt with this issue many times. In the U.S. we are NOT protected from discrimination based on politics. If your boss is a Democrat and you are a Republican he can fire you for exactly that reason, and he can tell you why he did it without commiting a crime.

Please don't waste a lawyer's time with this.... wait, on second thought, I hate lawyers.

Please waste a lawyer's with time.(unless you don't want to waste your own time and money)

Vas

reply to post by bmxkeeler

Well, I dont trhink it would right to just name the daycare on a public board, but post more and u2u me, I would talk to you about there. Do you have experiences like this in Louisville? I must be off the wall extreme in my views, because I had another incident happen to my child at school, and I took my outrage all the way to the schoolboard. I was freaked out by the level of apathy and PC this school district employed. I love Louisville, but I expected more liberal minded people in a city. I dont even know if I feel safe with my bumper stickers on my car anymore, and just like a girl, now I feel like crying.

reply to post by Vasilis Azoth

Thank you for this reply. As my other bumper sticker wished gayness on that fetus one just saved, I wondered if they thought I was GAY and thats why they got rid of me. That is an issue I do want to get clarification on, from these places. I dont have any money so I dont think anyone here has to worry about me suing anyone!!

I have to say too, I am such a comedian IRL. I am always trying to make people laugh, what have you. I never thought there were people smart enough to be employed that would NOT get my humor. Just really NOT know what GOP was or stood for. The girl who asked me what goop was, she did not know if she was democrat or republican. She asked the coworker which one she was, the one for the poor people, and the other coworker said, democrat, silly!


Thanks for all the replies.

i don't think your security is threated because of your politics. In Iraq, different story, but here in the US, the Dems and GOP haven't resorted to roadside bombs yet. Don't get overwhelmed. Somebody posted above that take this as a lesson learned. We've all been there.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


i'm sorry about you losing your job and technically your right about the bumper stickers being free speech. but you will lose your case...why?... they simply have to say that your stickers could be offensive to republican parents, and they could pull their kids out of the daycare and that would have a negative effect on the business. in other words, your employment would lose them business, and that is a rock solid case for dismissal. by the way...the bumper stickers, while crass, were amusing...to me anyway. next time use a differnt mode of transportation to your job. it might save you alot of grieve in the future.

Get rid of the bumper stickers.

Become just a tad more enigmatic and you'll do much better.

You don't need to tell the world that they are sheep and and they are lead by pigs before you even get out of your car.

Imagine if you were to walk up to strangers and say to them the things that are on your bumper stickers.

Be more respectful and you will find that you are respected more.

After living her for so long I honestly think half of louisville is full of this type of political crap. The worst place I worked at was Charter Communications. It always seemed if the supervisor did not like you then you would be fired or if you didn't agree with their political views. I would remove the stickers and try to live with it. It'll also help for people like me t o not recognize your car...more low key. Sorry if it weirded you out. I know there are policies set forth here in Louisville for this type of problem. I would check it out and possibly contact someone at the Leo (I know sounds strange). They help people with odd problems like this a lot.

Sorry you lost your job, it must be very upsetting for you.

Unfortunately I can see exactly why they did it. Paedophilia is a very sensitive issue - especially to parents. The daycare centre doesn't want to upset its customers.

Its also a question of compliance. An employee is a representative of the company that employs them and as such is expected to present a professional image. A bumper sticker about paedophiles in a daycare centre contravenes this.

I really wish you luck getting a new job, and I hope its a better one than the one you lost.

Yeah, get rid of the bumbersticker.
I would think it's also offensive to gays, unless all gays are also pedos.

Whos Free You or Them ? seems you have to work to get paid nothing wrong with that -- Just Think about this a moment . You can Patent and have Intelectual Rights to a Living Thing created by man ... You can blame Ronald Regan for breaking the Unions back. down hill since the 70's. weve just esculated recently under GW's watch.

really - sorry to hear that this happend to you, you could persue the First Ammendment ordeal - but I think thats a stretch after all, we did go through the Conspiracy of Silence thing... in the mid 80's

video.google.com...

Its a crazy world we live. may I suggest a Razor Blade and some denatured Alcohol... and beg and plead - bring a photo of your bumper...'

But what if it was turned in the other direction? What if you were the daycare and you hired someone to take care of the children in your business and then later you saw bumper stickers that said things you disagree with and actually despise. You have to remember that when you work for some one else that you work for them. It's not about you and your bumper sticker jokes or your freedom of speech. If you work in a Mormon church then I bet you would get the same deal, but maybe a chopper shop would care less. Or try working at a bank and them seeing bumper stickers that say " Banks are the route to all evil ". Or maybe a veterinarian hospital and you have a bumper sticker that says " Animals were meant to be eaten". I actually saw that bumper sticker on a pickup truck that had deer antlers on the back of it and a gun rack in the back window. I'm sorry you lost your job and you're probably great with children, but those bumper stickers are the last thing a parent wants to see at a daycare.

[edit on 5/12/2008 by Solarskye]

you cant see why that is wrong!!??

If I saw that bumper sticker on an employees car at my kids daycare, id take my kids out immediatly!!

Cant wait for your next post " I got arrested for joking about having a bomb on an airplane"

some folks