Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Posted on 04/21/2007 5:58:54 AM PDT by NYer
A call center employee says he has been dismissed from his job for posting an artist's rendition of the crucifixion during Easter week, even though other employees were allowed to post pictures and art as they chose in their cubicles.
Chris Romansky, a former employee of Barclays, told WND he was told there had been a complaint about the picture he put up to remind himself of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, a foundational belief in Christianity.
A company spokeswoman, Donna Sokolsky, told WND that the job termination "had nothing to do with anything religious whatsoever." But she said she was not permitted by human resources to know "more beyond that."
"What I CAN tell you is that Barclays has very strict policies around nondescrimination (sic), especially religious. I cannot speak for this particular individual's situation but I know that there was no religious descrimination. I do not think you have a story here."
She followed up several days later with a formal, unattributed statement, "We do not discriminate or take any action based on religious affiliation."
Barclays PLC, according to Sokolsky, is a large global financial service provider, offering banking, investment banking and investment management services. It operates in more than 60 countries and has 110,500 employees worldwide.
Romansky told WND his dismissal was effective April 13, and he has contacted state labor regulators about filing a complaint.
"We're actually allowed to hang up pictures on our cubes. I had a picture of my wife, and there's a cross in the background but that didn't seem to bother anybody," he said. He also had posted a couple of Internet clippings, but those generated no response either.
Then during the Easter season, he said, "I hung a picture of the crucifixion, actually it was before Easter. It was of the crucifixion of Jesus and it showed the Resurrection and it said 'Happy Easter.'"
"I came in on the following Tuesday, and it was face down on my desk, so I put it back up," he said. Then a team manager came and told him there had been a complaint that it was "offensive" and he had to take it back down.
The manager called him into her office. "She told me people were offended, and she told me anything with Jesus and God can't be up," Romansky told WND.
The manager told him to leave the building. "She took copies of the pictures," he said.
Several conversations with managers and the human resources department followed, Romansky said.
"She [the manager] then called me and told me they're going to have to let me go," he said. He said he'd never even been "corrected" before by the company, and she responded that he was being dismissed for insubordination.
"I said I want [copies of] all the corrective actions. I want an explanation," he said.
He said the "complaint" about his Easter picture may have been in retaliation, because earlier he had complained about the crudity of the conversation in the office.
"I feel I was singled out," he said.
Hard to believe.
"What I CAN tell you is that Barclays has very strict policies around nondescrimination (sic), especially religious. I cannot speak for this particular individual's situation but I know that there was no religious descrimination."Run that one past me one more time, Donna.
I am amazed that atheists get offended. It is not like they actually believe in anything.
While I recognize this was not a federal office, guidelines for federal offices proscribe any photographs that might be offensive to any visitor current or future. Taken to the obvious conclusion, one may not post any pictures. A picture of your wife might be offensive to a gay visitor. A picture of your dog might be offensive to a visiting PETA freak. Etc.
"We do not discriminate or take any action based on religious affiliation."Oh.
Thanks. Uh...I think.
Uh...does this make any sense? Anybody? Uh...I'm sure it's just me...but...uh...Donna seems to be going around in circles. One of us is an idiot. I'm sure it's me.
It's their conscience that fears the Truth.
“While I recognize this was not a federal office, guidelines for federal offices proscribe any photographs that might be offensive to any visitor current or future.”
Hmm. I can take you to numerous federal buildings and show you a plethora of Christian symbols, art and inspirational scriptures pinned up in the majority of the offices. While I expect that in MS, I’m not sure I would in, say, Madison, Wisconsin. It’s a local office culture thing, IMO.
Looks like they got rid of the guy because the was the Christian fuddy-duddy and not one of the “cool kids”.
Well, for one thing it was not a picture of Jesus, just an artist rendition depicting what he, the artist, thought it may have looked like. Since we have not seen it, it is possible it could have been graphicly repulsive in some aspects. A man hanging on the cross by nails and with a crown of thorns and a spear hole in his side showing lots of blood could be offensive to some.
You WHAT?!???
It seems to me that this is grounds for charges of antihomosexual discrimination--and could violate Barclays'...very strict policies around nondescrimination!
"She told me people were offended, and she told me anything with Jesus and God can't be up"
Brace yourselves! You're headed for a fall!
I have a friend who worked for them. Good reviews for years, no complaints, and a record of advancement.
Fired on his birthday for the crime of turning forty.
Nice place.
Oh, please. Most people have problem with Muslim pictures of torture mainly because they have so many extremists who seem perfectly willing for other innocents to suffer it as well. Sounds like you have an axe to grind against Catholics.
Always a wise policy when referring to WorldNet Daily.
Death=Satan=Islam
My Grandmother is a fantastic Irish woman. And oh yes, she is at Mass every Sunday. I have no ax to grind with the Catholic church, the majority of my family is Catholic.
He said the "complaint" about his Easter picture may have been in retaliation, because earlier he had complained about the crudity of the conversation in the office.Burying the lead.
This is the “slick” society that can’t figure out why incidents like Cho’s slaughter are happening with increased frequency these days. Take Christianity out of a society and watch the results !!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.