Chicago car salesman fired for wearing Packers tie to work

[blueapplepaste]

A car salesman in Oak Lawn, Ill., was fired on Monday for wearing a Green Bay Packers tie to work and refusing to remove it.

"I didn't know you could get fired for wearing a tie," John Stone told McClatchy News about his dismissal from Webb Chevrolet.

"I'm supposed to dress up. I'm a car salesman."

Ridiculous! Looks like a wrongful termination suit waiting to happen.

Chicago car salesman fired for wearing Packers tie at work - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com

 

[DesertSky]

Most employers can tell you how they want you to look at work. There's no basis for a lawsuit. Wait, there's no basis for a successful lawsuit. Anyone can sue over anything.

 

[Skaloop]

Ridiculous! Looks like a wrongful termination suit waiting to happen.

The employer was well within his rights to require the tie to be removed, considering he's trying to sell goods to people from Illinois, a good number of whom would likely be Bears fans and not be too happy to see someone supporting the very team that just ended the Bears' Super Bowl hopes. That he's wearing it in memory of his grandmother isn't that relevant.

So the request that the tie be removed was justified as it had the real potential to cause an issue for the business.

Once he refused to remove the tie, it went from being about the tie to being about listening to his employer. So he wasn't fired for the tie, he was fired for insubordination (for lack of a better word). Whether that is grounds for immediate termination would depend on the employment laws in Illinois.

 

[lux et lex]

Wearing a Packer's tie is not a protected class. You can sue over anything you want, but I doubt he will prevail (or in other words, he shouldn't prevail).