Expert: Michael Troy - 10/21/2001

Question
Dear Mr. Troy,
Hello.  I am writing on behalf of my father who was fired from his job on October 15, 2001.  He is a 63 year old pharmacist originally from Pakistan.  He worked in a private hospital in NY.  The incident happend on the day of the September 11th attacks.  When he and his co workers heard of the news, his co-workers as well as his boss blamed it on Muslim terrorists.  Stating that all Muslims are terrorists.  My father who is Muslim was upset by this.  He commented that not all Muslims are terrorists.  The muslim radicals feel that US policies are unfair to the Muslims so that is why they try to hurt Americans.  His boss, who is Jewish, made more comments about Muslims.  so my father said to him that the Israelis have been unfair to the Palestinians.  The boss could not tolerate this.  So my father was fired for these comments.  The reason on the letter handed to him staeted he was fired for making comments against Jewish people and the US.  He has lived in America for 25 years.  Love this country.  He was telling them why certain countries hate the US.  Not that he hated the US!  His boss made many derogatory remarks against Muslims also.
We want to know if firing him for these comments infringed on his freedom of speech?  He was not threatening anyone.  he was sharing his opinion.  He belongs to the Local 1199 Union.  Can the Union help him mediate or should we contact a discrimination lawyer?  I would appreciate it if you can please advise us. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Samia,

Sorry to hear about your father's difficulties.  Unfortunately, the First Amendment only applies to Government action.  A private employer is not constitutionally required to tolerate any speech it does not like and may take any action.

However, you may have several options here.  First, I would try to work with the Union.  Most Union contracts have rules that must be followed when someone is fired and the conditions under which they may be fired.  They should be able to help you with this.

Second, it sounds like at least part of the motivation for this firing was your father's religion and/or religion.  This is not a Constitutional violation, but it is a violation of various federal and state laws.  I recommend speaking with a discrimination attorney about this.  If you contact the local chapter of your ACLU, they should be able to find an attorney in your area who can help you.  Also, do not wait too long to file a complaint with the EEOC or your State Human Rights Commission.  These commissions can help you, but have rather short Statutes of Limitations, often only a few months.

I would pursue both the Union route and the legal route at the same time.

Good Luck!
- Mike