Worker Causing 45 People to Walk Out After 'Good Boss' Was Fired Is Cheered

An store worker is being hailed on Reddit for reportedly persuading more than 40 colleagues to walk out of their jobs after their "good boss" was fired.

In a post on the Antiwork forum, a user called Melkor-The-Mighty, explained that they were LGBTQ and another employee had made "hateful comments" to them.

The boss tried to talk to the employee about his comment, but he refused—so the boss fired him. However, executives at the company took a different view, suspending and then firing the boss.

Melkor-The-Mighty wrote: "My boss, the only decent one I've ever had, had to fire somebody a couple of weeks ago for saying 'Man, 'LGBTQ+' is just a fancy way of saying I f*** kiddies in their tiny little holes.' In response to me answering a customer's question, when they asked why I was wearing a pride pin. All I said was 'I'm Bi.'"

In an update, the original poster added: "Good boss [gets] fired … 45 people quit."

Their post, uploaded on Wednesday, has already received more than 21,000 upvotes. Many of the Redditors who left comments said the incident sounded like illegal discrimination.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "forbids sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment," including hiring and firing.

It is also "unlawful to subject an employee to workplace harassment that creates a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation or gender identity."

The EEOC added: "Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about sexual orientation (e.g., being gay or straight). Harassment can also include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person's transgender status or gender transition."

Despite the law, many LGBT people have reported discriminatory treatment or remarks in the workplace. A survey of 935 LGBT adults, published in September 2021 by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, found that one in 10 had experienced discrimination at work in the previous 12 months.

Just over a third (37.7 percent) said they had experienced "at least one form of harassment at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity at some point in their lives." Two-thirds (67.5 percent) said they had "heard negative comments, slurs, or jokes about LGBTQ people at work."

The survey found that just over a third (34 percent) of LGBT workers had "left a job due to treatment by their employer."

More than 8 million workers in the U.S. identify as LGBT, according to the Williams Institute.

In the case described on Reddit, Melkor-The-Mighty said the employee fired for the comments "knocked over some displays, grabbed his stuff, then left before calling the DM [district manager] (who it turns out, is a Friend of his fathers)."

This district manager "then put (ex) boss on suspension for the investigation." A week later, they wrote, "the bigot comes back in to clock in and work. He chuckles and says that (ex)boss was fired, and he got a promotion."

Melkor-The-Mighty then rallied colleagues across three company locations, adding that the 45 workers who quit have refused to return until "the bigot is fired, we get a raise, and (ex) boss is back in position."

The original poster asked Antiwork readers: "What else can we do to try and put pressure on them? Is there anything we should have done here besides this?"

The EEOC advises that employees who believe they've been discriminated against can file a complaint. Workers in the private sector and state/local government employees can file "a charge of discrimination" by contacting the EEOC at 1-800-669-4000 or via the EEOC website. Federal government workers can start the complaint process by "contacting an EEO counselor at your agency."

Several Redditors offered similar advice. UnitedLab6476 wrote: "This should end in a lawsuit for discrimination, and you should report the [district manager] to the highest levels of corporate management..."

User serouslydoe posted: "Three simple words: hostile work environment. Say it loud and often. Those words carry more weight than the other three words: f*** that a**hole."

TheRealSugarbat offered a more light-hearted response, writing: "I love that you slipped a raise in among the conditions."

Newsweek has not been able to verify the details of this case. We have contacted the original poster and the Williams Institute for comment.