This belief is based on Revelation 13:18 of the Holy Bible which say that '666' is the 'mark of the beast,'" according to the complaint. "Plaintiff['s] sincere religious belief is that to wear the number 666 would be to accept the mark of the beast and to be condemned to hell." The plastics plant keeps a safety calendar recording the number of consecutive accident-free days, and workers wear a sticker bearing the number during their shift. "As the number of safely worked days crept into the range of the 600's, plaintiff began discussing with his co-workers and supervisors that he could not wear the number 666 as this number was the sign of the beast and his religious beliefs forbid him from wearing this number," Hyatt says.
He says his boss told him not to worry about it, as maybe someone would have an accident, or maybe they could let the calendar "to stay at 665 for two days, or some other manipulation to prevent the safety calendar from displaying '666.'" But it didn't happen. The plant reached safety day 666 on March 12, 2010, about 2 years and 9 months after Hyatt began working there. He says he asked his boss "for a religious accommodation," but the boss said "that he was not going to change the safety calendar, that Mr. Hyatt's beliefs were ridiculous, and that Mr. Hyatt could go to work with a '666' on his safety sticker or face a three (3) day suspension." Hyatt says he accepted the 3-day suspension, rather than wear the Mark of the Beast. On March 17, he says, he was fired for refusing to work on March 12, day 666.
Hyatt says he was subjected to harsher punishment for missing work because of his refusal to wear the Mark of the Beast, than he or others would have been subjected had they missed work for other reasons. "Plaintiff had a sincere, bona fide religious belief that wearing the number '666' could condemn him to hell," and he told his bosses, and they refused to accommodate him, Hyatt says. He says the plant could have just let him work without wearing a sticker that day. But it fired him. He seeks a trial by jury, back pay and front pay and benefits, costs, and an injunction. The complaint does not state whether he wants his job back.
9 comments:
It seems bizarre they'd need to all wear stickers advertising how many accident-free days they've had. I guess he could throw himself in front of a fork-lift every 2 years.
Heh heh, maybe he should have thought of that!
You're right, the stick requirement is odd. The boss should turn a blind eye to the employees reservations though, its a minor thing and would build employee/employer relations.
I have heard that the 'number of the beast' isn't actually 666, so maybe he wore the correct number after all.
He wasn't fired for refusing to wear the sticker - he got a 3 day suspension for that. He got fired for refusing to work on that date. He's probably right that he should not have been required to wear the sticker, but refusing to work is another story - it's not like it was a religious holiday or something. But getting fired for it seems out of proportion, no matter how foolish the basis for the refusal.
It seems bizarre they wear a number commemorating 666 days of accident free work. Why not 665 0r 667?
This guy deserves to be fired. You can't just go around making up stories how your belief in the supernatural makes you special. If your belief in gods is messing with your ability to do your job, you should be removed from your position. Employers should not be forced to accommodate every worker's peculiar supernatural beliefs.
Leonardo, they commemorate each accident free day with a number sticker, not just the 666th. A very odd custom indeed.
Mr Hyatt accepted the offered suspension as punishment for refusing to wear the sticker - sounds fair to me. He was not allowed to work without a sticker - sounds ridiculous to me but rules are rules, I guess. BUT if the day 666, on which he would not wear the sticker and thus would not work, and for which a punishment had already been agreed, was not counted as one of the suspension days, and not working on that day would get Mr Hyatt fired, then the offer of three days suspension was meaningless and deceitful, and he essentially was fired for refusing to wear the sticker.
If this is the case, the man was wronged, even if he is a superstitious loon.
The number of the beast was 616 in the earlier manuscripts it changed to 666 later. The reason for the change is not clear, it could have been a mistake in translation, there could have been some other reason. Whatever it is it would be interesting to know if the idiot wore his badge on day 616 without complaint.
However the major point here is that nowhere in the bible is there any instruction not to wear the number, whatever it may be. So this man was not acting upon legitiate religious instruction. He was just being a prat.
So Gareth, your religious interpretation is the only legitimate one?
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