Women's Rights Employment Law Blog

So what happens if someone takes part in a non-political march/rally? One would say, she/he gets to sport a new t-shirt and have a scoop of vanilla. After all, people take part in public spheres at all sorts of marches, including for breast cancer, and AIDS awareness, pro-choice, or even pro-life rallies.

Think again. Yesterday, a longtime columnist and features writer for Allentown-based Morning Call Frank Whelan was suspended from work without pay for having walked on a gay-pride parade.

Whelan, obviously disturbed and enraged, said, “I would be emotionally ill; I would be wretching; I would be incapable of working with these people. I cannot go back into that building. I was naive enough to believe the Morning Call would be happy [for me] because they are always talking about how they believe in diversity.”

And he is considering filing a lawsuit. Now that’s what you should do too, if you take part in a rally and you are suspended, because the rally you took part in does not suit the whims and fancies (or deep-seated prejudices) of the company bosses.