On The Front Lines

Rutherford Institute Attorneys Secure Victory for Virginia Employee Fired Over Message Supporting Same-Sex Marriage Amendment

ROANOKE, Va. -- After intervention by Rutherford Institute attorneys, a Virginia man who was allegedly fired by his employer for insubordination and harassment for displaying a pro-marriage message on his truck will be reinstated to his job at Cargill, Inc., with full pay and benefits.

"Individuals should not have to censor their religious viewpoints in order to keep their jobs," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "We are pleased that officials at Cargill have agreed to respect Luis Padilla's First Amendment rights in the workplace."

In support of a proposed state constitutional amendment that, if passed, would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, Luis Padilla wrote "Please, vote for marriage on Nov. 7" on his vehicle's window. Padilla, an employee of Cargill, Inc., an international provider of food and agricultural products and services, claims that he had parked his truck in Cargill's parking lot for two days before he learned of a complaint about the message on his rear window. Padilla was ordered to remove the message and was subsequently fired by Cargill, allegedly for insubordination. Padilla was also informed that his message was inconsistent with Cargill's policies of tolerance for homosexuals and that his message violated the company's policy against harassment, reportedly because other employees had complained that they were offended by it. A Cargill spokesman justified the dismissal by stating that Padilla "has no legal right to act in a manner that violates our company policies of equal employment opportunity, non-harassment and tolerance of differences." Rutherford Institute attorneys intervened to urge Cargill to recognize its employees' rights to not have to censor their religious viewpoints. In addition to reinstating Padilla to his job, Cargill officials are considering adopting a policy that would foster respect for the right of their employees to hold and respectfully express their own views.