The issue at hand is discrimination against different
groups. Just so you know where I am coming from, all my thoughts have been
stirred over the “Duck Dynasty” controversy. In case your head has been buried in
the sand, this is what happened (in a nutshell): A popular TV show called “Duck
Dynasty” is all about a family that became wealthy by selling duck calls. It
just so happens to currently be the most popular reality show on television and
is aired on the A&E Network. The patriarch of the family, Phil Robertson, was
interviewed by GQ Magazine. He expressed his views of homosexuality, which
angered many people in the LGBT community and its supporters. His view was a
very literal reading of a passage from 1st Corinthians in the Bible,
particularly that homosexuality is a sin. He also used very “colorful” language
to express his views. The homosexual advocacy group, GLAAD, called for A&E
to respond to the remarks and Phil Robertson was suspended from the show “indefinitely.”
To this, GLAAD praised the network for its swift action. A&E said that Phil
Robertson’s remarks in no way reflected the networks beliefs, that they are,
and always have been, supporters and advocates of the LGBT community. That is
pretty much the scenario of what got the wheels turning in my head.
Here’s what is bothering me. A&E basically “fired”
someone because his value system did not agree with their own. There was a
fear, on the part of A&E, that insulting the LGBT community was going to somehow
adversely affect their network. This may be a very real concern. I am not going
to dispute that. But it raised a few questions for me, such as under what
conditions does the network have the right to fire someone? If Phil Robertson’s values are
in conflict with his employer, does the employer have the right to fire him? If
his views would reduce viewership, essentially causing a loss in profit to the
network, do they have the right to fire him? If his views have outraged a particular
group within society, do they have a right to fire him? These are the questions
I’m wrestling with.
Let’s look at the first question. If Phil Robertson’s values are in
conflict with his employer, does the employer have the right to fire him?
A&E and GLAAD seem to be saying that they definitely have the right in this
case. Phil did not hold back his opinions on homosexuality. It was clearly not
in agreement with A&E’s value system. He was “suspended indefinitely.” So
let’s look at it this way. I own a business. I believe that homosexuality is morally
wrong. I hire a salesman who I find out later is openly gay, do I have the
right to fire him? First of all, it is illegal to ask him during the interview
his sexual preference, so I was not given this information before I decided to
hire him. His lifestyle completely violates my value system, so according to
A&E and GLAAD, based on their previous statements concerning Phil
Robertson, I should be able to fire him. This employee is completely in
conflict with my value system, as Phil was in conflict with A&E’s value
system. In case you are wondering, I purposely chose this scenario because it
reverses the roles of the employer/employee. I thought it was obvious, but I just wanted to be clear.
Moving on, let’s look at the second question. A&E is a
business. Their product is entertainment. If his views would reduce viewership,
essentially causing a loss in profit to the network, do they have the right to
fire him? The sole purpose of a business in a capitalistic society is to make a
profit, so if his views cause a loss in profits, can he then be fired? I found
this one thought provoking. I actually wrote a paper on this in my Business
Ethics class 8 years ago. My topic was “it is found out that I have an employee
with AIDS preparing food, what do I do?” So here’s the situation: I own a restaurant.
I hire someone in food preparation who has AIDS. Now I know that AIDS cannot be
transmitted through the handling of food. However, the general public is not so
well informed. They see this situation as a possible “risk” to their own well
being and let me know that they will not patronize my establishment because of
it. Do I have the right to fire this person in order to protect my business? As
I stated, there is no health risk to my customers, but those same customers
have a fear, based in ignorance perhaps, but never the less, it is still a
fear. Is it discrimination because it’s based in public opinion and not fact?
What if we go back to the first scenario of having a gay salesman. If my
customers say they won’t do business with someone gay (perhaps I do business
with churches who have a strong stand against homosexuality), do I have the
right to fire him because it is bad for my business?
Let’s move on to question # 3. If my employee’s views have outraged
a particular group within society, do I have a right to fire him? Let’s say I
hire someone who I later find out is racist and is quite vocal about it. Is
that grounds to fire him? Obviously, this will go back to the previous situations
of disagreeing with my value system and customers not doing business with me
because of his views, but going one step further, what if he outrages the
African American community? Can I fire him for that? What if the majority of my
customer base is white and no one is really offended by his views because he
doesn’t mention them in the company of whites? But on his own time, he is
blatantly racist? Is there some basis for firing him in this case?
In my quest for answers to the above dilemmas, I found that the
federal website, www.eeoc.gov, says this about the Civil Rights Act, “These
laws prohibit discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national
origin, age, disability, and genetic information.” So I have to ask, did
A&E violate the law when they “suspended” Phil Robertson “indefinitely?”
His values stem from his Christian beliefs, so isn’t that discrimination based
on religion? The Civil Rights Act clearly defines that as one of the reasons a
person cannot be fired.
As I stated in the beginning, I am not saying what is right
and what is wrong, I am simply seeking answers to the questions I posed. I will
also claim here that I do not endorse discrimination of any sort. I’m just a
regular guy asking questions that I believe many others struggle with. If I own
a business, what are my rights in the pursuit of maximizing my profits? Do our
laws help or hinder me in ethical situations? What can I do to protect my
business from all the different advocacy groups that may disagree with my
business practices? Do I have rights that outweigh the rights of those seeking
employment with me? If I had all the answers to these questions, I would not be
putting it out there for others to read. So please feel free to tell me what you think.
