By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer Last updated: 6:43 p.m., Thursday, October 16, 2008
ALBANY - A former deli worker named John F. Kennedy is suing Wal-Mart for $1 million, charging he was wrongly fired from a Sam's Club store in Latham for simply being a good Catholic. The 45-year-old North Greenbush man contends Wal-Mart, which operates the store, reneged on an agreement allowing him to miss working Sundays so he could attend Mass, according to a lawsuit filed in the Albany County Clerks office.
Kennedy griped to his employer about the situation and wound up getting "terminated because of his complaints" about working Sundays, the lawsuit said.
He charges his ex-employer gave a "pre-text" for firing Kennedy, but added, "the reason is (Kennedy) was fired because he is a practicing Catholic and because of his desire to worship and to attend church on Sunday in the Catholic Church."
When Kennedy had been hired, the lawsuit stated, "he explained to defendants, as a devout and practicing Catholic, he could not work on Sundays because that was his day to attend and to worship as he always had."
The lawsuit noted Kennedy filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights.
Kennedy is suing Wal-Mart and Sams Club, charging the store giant violated his civil and religious rights.
Asked why the needs for $1 million, Kennedys attorney, John Aretakis, said among other reasons, the "lawsuit needs to be a number that's gonna catch their eye and concede to wrongdoing and maybe try to resolve this."
Go back to the what--------BLUE LAWS...................This would be the answer to MT's "what would you do?"......GOD FORBID.....we find something else other than consume, to do on a Sunday........so here we are having this dumb conversation.......the pendulum is a-comin' down.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Well, look at it this way. Sure, years ago everything was closed on Sundays. We lived through it and had no problem. Then everything gradually became open on Sundays. So what, now, people will lose their job if they say they can't work on Sunday?
Betcha if the guy was Islamic, Walmart (or any employer) would bend over backward to accommodate.
Christmas Day which is the day commemorating the birth of the Son of God is a holiday for goverment and for government schools. Government schools are closed on, what is it, Rosh Hashanna (did I spell that correctly). Look up state goverment stuff, you will find that while they don't close on assorted days, there is a calendar of all the religious holidays with the encouragement that nothing of high importance is scheduled on those days, i.e., don't schedule training classes on Good Friday, don't schedule a staff meeting on some Hindu holyday, etc.
We don't necessarily need to return to blue laws, which is difficult because different religions have different days of the week as their main day of attending services and if they want to call it a day of rest or whatever. Employers should be accommodating. I mean really, is Walmart going to respond to this lawsuit by saying that this employee simply could not be spared on Sundays? Is Walmart going to say that there absolutely was no other employee who could work that day? But then, does Walmart think their employees have no life outside Walmart? I hear they some of their managers work 12 hour days, sometimes 6 and 7 days a week!
But then I think Walmart doesn't care anyway. They started being open on Thanksgiving, then their competitors started opening on Thanksgiving. All in the name of money
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Well, when you have the news media blah blah blahing about EVERYONE having columbus day off.....I'm not sure what religion they follow other than government propaganda rules......the ONLY MAJORITY with columbus day off are the feds/state/schools......the rest of us morons go to work so they can shop at the stores for the BIG COLUMBUS DAY SALES........WALMART SHOULD SUCK IT UP........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Betcha if the guy was Islamic, Walmart (or any employer) would bend over backward to accommodate.
Betcha you are right!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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