Bill Hyatt, New York Post

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Quote# 84991

Eternal damnation or unemployment? A Georgia factory worker chose the latter.
Billy Hyatt was fired from a plastics factory job at Pliant Corp. after he refused to wear a sticker with 666, which boasted that the factory had been accident free for 666 days.
He believed the number would cause him to “accept the mark of the beast and be condemned to hell.”
He’s seeking punitive damages and back pay in a federal lawsuit.

Bill Hyatt, New York Post 78 Comments [11/28/2011 4:11:02 AM]
Fundie Index: 50
Submitted By: whoanelly

WTF?! || meh

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#1352771

OhJohnNo

He may be a fundie, but he had a right to not wear something that offends him. I think the factory are in the wrong here. So in a way, this IS a darndest thing, just not in the usual way.

11/28/2011 8:41:07 AM

#1352774

Another Swede

Even though it probably was more than this that caused his disemployment, refusal to wear stickers should not be a valid reason for firing people. They should've fired him on grounds of the real issues, not this stupid excuse.

11/28/2011 8:50:56 AM

#1352785

whatever

OK he was stupid and superstitious in the extreme, but the company he worked for should not have been so naive as to assume stickers bearing the number 666 would not cause some needless objection.

11/28/2011 9:20:50 AM

#1352790

Dr. Razark

Saw this on CNN.

If the sticker is the issue, they should have given him the day off, or exempted him (and anyone else that complained), or done something.

But termination for not wearing a sticker? There's either something going on with this guy that's not been said, and this was the excuse to get rid of him, or he's actively trying to be oppressed.

11/28/2011 9:27:34 AM

#1352807

Osiris

Did he also refuse to wear it when it had been 13 days without an accident? What about a Chinese worker who refuses every time the number 4 comes up? Superstitious people are stupid.

11/28/2011 9:56:29 AM

#1352832

Papabear

How does this 'tard do math? If part of the process results in 666 does he burn his paper and run to his bedroom?

11/28/2011 10:38:29 AM

#1352835

Anky

@ueah

No.

No.

No one is offended by the letter "D". 666 is commonly known as the mark of the beast and associated with the big bad in Christianity. I'm not defending fundamentalism here. It just seems from this quote the factory was being a douche.

11/28/2011 10:48:14 AM

#1352836

myheadhurts

He could have had an accident, thus voiding the sticker. Some people just are not creative enough.

11/28/2011 10:50:50 AM

#1352837

Anky

Meanwhile there are legitimate reasons to fire employees:

http://unicornbooty.com/blog/2011/11/28/united-airlines-employee-calls-gay-passengers-faggots/

11/28/2011 10:52:43 AM

#1352839

Frank

I'm in the deep south and want people to walk around wearing a badge with 666 on it. What could possibly go wrong?

Maybe they should have waited until the next day and gone with 667.

11/28/2011 11:13:23 AM

#1352841

aaa

Good luck with that, your ass won't win when your labor rights are so fucking poor.

11/28/2011 11:22:32 AM

#1352844

John

The law usually requires employers to make reasonable accommodation of peoples' sincerely-held religious beliefs. For example, they'd probably face problems if they required an orthodox Jew to take off his yarmulke if it wasn't interfering with his work. Its hard to see how letting him forgo wearing a badge for a day would affect the work of the company, so I suspect the company will lose on this one unless there are other factors.

11/28/2011 11:29:22 AM

#1352857

Hertzyscowicz

I'm wondering how many fundies working with atheists have just made a radical one-eighty in their views on firing people based on their belief system.

11/28/2011 12:21:33 PM

#1352863

dfmfundies

@ Matante:

This is no reason to fire someone, and if they already were going to fire him, they owe him to give him the real reasons. Hope he wins in court, businesses shouldn't feel like they can fire someone over the pettiest disagreement.

In the U.S., a business can fire an employee for any reason or none at all, as long as the reason is not based on a "suspect classification" (e.g., race, national origin, religion, etc.).

One of the criteria for a suspect classification includes the group being powerless to protect themselves via the political process. Does anyone want to seriously argue that Christians are powerless in U.S. politics?

And as noted elsewhere in the comments, he had an option: take day #666 off.

He won't win his suit.

11/28/2011 12:37:43 PM

#1352864

lisamariefan

While I think it's pretty dumb to get fired over refusing to wear a sticker, as far as I'm concerned, 666 is just another number.

11/28/2011 12:41:44 PM

#1352867

Old Viking

He should have worn two 333's. Actually, that's the sign of the beast's half-brother, but it's unlikely this guy would know it.

11/28/2011 12:50:50 PM

#1352873

ShadowNet

I doubt that this was all to the story. Maybe they did hand it to him and he did get fired. That's if he acted like a rational person, then his lawsuit would be valid. Though I'm going to say that he probably didn't get fired for not wearing the sticker but probably for his reaction, perhaps screaming at his co-workers and managers calling them "agents of the devil."

11/28/2011 1:07:05 PM

#1352874

Auratwilight

Alright, Billy didn't do anything wrong here, you guys, and this isn't fundie. Yea, it's a bit superstitious, but it's not his fault his religious culture saturated the number 666 with apocalyptic garbage.

And why does he have to be forced to wear a sticker, anyway? What happened to having a damn sign on the wall? These stickers sound like a fucking money-sink, and if you're going to fire someone over not wearing a damn sticker, I feel the lawsuit is entirely justified.

11/28/2011 1:08:35 PM

#1352877

checkmate

One question:

Is this what the conservative fundamentalists mean by small government and unchecked free-enterprise? That the government should make laws to regulate companies and protect workers, right down to the bits, including tiny details about workers uniforms? Huh?

I thought this is exactly what they **don't** want. I thought this is what they call fascist liberal Obama marxist nazi communism.

This is called "wanting to have it both ways".

Personally I agree that *at face value* as presented in the press, the company went overboard on this. We don't however know the further circumstances. Having seen this man in the video, I feel it necessary to feel that there's more to this than just the sticker and this one instance.

11/28/2011 1:17:55 PM

#1352882

Anon-e-moose

(emphasis added):

'Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.'

-Bertrand Russell

'I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.'

-Franklin Delano Roosevelt (inaugural speech)

Isn't the only fear Billy-boy here is supposed to have, is Fear of the Lord...?

11/28/2011 1:33:31 PM

#1352885

If we let people wear religious hats, this is not really any different. Stupid thing to fire someone over.

11/28/2011 1:52:55 PM

#1352887

christopher

What part of "at-will employment" do the people who are talking about "legitimate reasons to fire people" not get!? In most states, there are specified lists of illegitimate reasons to fire people, and it is legal to fire someone for *any* other reason, or for no reason at all, as long as they don't have a contract that says otherwise. He disobeyed orders that were not unsafe or illegal; he should be fired. End of story.

11/28/2011 1:59:44 PM

#1352888

Mech610

Frankly, if the story is true as it appears, which is unlikely, then this isn't really all that Fundy. The man has a right to express his religious beliefs and the factory does not have a right to force him to wear something that goes against that. Honestly, if what the article is saying is true, I'm siding with the worker.

Edit: @christopher, except that you're forgetting that the factory violated his constitutional right to freedom of religion. He is constitutionally allowed to believe what he wants and practice what he believes and the factory is not allowed to fire him for doing so.

11/28/2011 2:01:26 PM

#1352889

MK

@dfmfundies -

Precisely. "At will" employment has been the rule of just about every state for many decades, some almost a century. Employers can terminate employment for any reason, even unionized employees. So it makes no difference why the employer here fired the guy. The sticker could just as easily be considered part of a "required uniform" like a hairnet at a restaurant. The guy has no chance at winning. (Not that I would defend the employer for choosing such a stupid reason to fire a guy, but it's their legal right.)

11/28/2011 2:03:40 PM

#1352891

Nicole

Unfortunately, poor Billy has actually been damned since he put on the sticker reading "616."

11/28/2011 2:05:47 PM

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