Kodak Employee Fired For Calling "Coming Out Day" "Offensive and Disgusting"

News Source 13 ^ | October 21, 2002 | Mike Doria

[rochester]

Rochester, NY - A Greece man, who was fired a few days ago from Eastman Kodak, said giving his opinion in an e-mail lead to his termination. Kodak's diversity group sent out an e-mail asking employees to "be supportive" of colleagues who choose to come out on Gay and Lesbian Coming-Out Day. Rolf Szabo replied to the memo telling the company not to send him this type of information and that he found it "disgusting and offensive."

"I said it and I meant it. I'm not going to take it back," Szabo said.

Although Szabo does not condone the gay lifestyle, he said this isn't a gay issue. Rather, he said, it's an issue of Kodak crossing the line via e-mail.

"I don't need this to do my job. It has nothing to do with gay. It could've been any other topic. It's just that enough is enough. We really don't need this to do our jobs," he said.

Szabo said Kodak wanted him to sign a letter admitting he was wrong. He said after he refused, he was fired. A Kodak spokesperson said Kodak won't comment about personnel issues, but did say that any issues related to the treatment of employees are universal.

Szabo, who had been with Kodak for 23 years working with metals, said he'll get legal advice whether his rights were violated.

Labor and Employment attorney Matt Fusco said that he thinks Szabo has very few options and no chance of winning a lawsuit because employers cannot discriminate.

"If an employer goes a step further and promote diversity--you have no right to oppose that policy," Fusco said.

"The Eastman Kodak Company gives me a paycheck; they don't own me. I'll go somewhere else for a paycheck, that's all," Szabo said.

Whether or not he ends up filing a lawsuit, Szabo said he will pursue the issue claiming Kodak is wrong for catering to a select group versus a larger Kodak community.

[jude24]

Some of Kodak's plants are also in Greece. I live there and worked for Kodak this past summer.

[Poohbah]

For the life of me, I do not understand what business it is of Eastman Kodak to encourage homosexuals to come out of the closet.

From a purely profit-and-loss perspective (the only legitimate one in business), they DO have a fiduciary business in encouraging homosexual men to come out of the closet--because the average health insurance cost for a homosexual man is several times that of his straight counterpart. Kodak is going to get billed higher premimums if these people stay on headcount long enough.

However, this only works if it's legal to terminate them once they come out. It isn't now. But it will be at some point in the future, because the HMOs will donate veritable dump truck loads of money to political candidates that will vote to do this.

You have to pity the gay and lesbian community--the love that dare not speak its name now has no idea when to shut the f**k up, and said failure to STFU will end up being used against them.

[Conservative_Rob]

Kodak is, as was pointed out in the article, within their rights to fire this guy.

If I were to implement a policy that all employees would have to sign a paper that they agree with and have to abide by the teachings of the Old Testament of the Bible would I be within my rights??

I know your answer - the real question is why the religion of "no religion" is allowed special compensation.

[Criminal Number 18F]

A "Greece man" is a citizen of Greece, NY. It makes sense to local readers (and others who know that fact), but when they put it online and people from distant places read it, it must look verrry weird indeed.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[mlmr]

My email to Kodak:

After hearing about your Gestapo-like tactics in firing Rolf Szabo, a long time employee for objecting to your diversity/homosexuality emails, you can rest assured that my family will not purchase any Kodak products including Ofoto.com.

I will also make sure everyone on my substatial mailing list receives this information, with encouragement to send it on. If you have such a limited scope to your diversity, that you cannot stand a dissenting opinion....well you diserve to lose business.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

This sort of rampant pro-active diversa-socialism drove me out of EMC. And keeps me out of the other big companies.

It's one thing to protect homos from harm but forcing everybody else to embrace faggotism is sick. Why can't they leave people alone?

[SeeRushToldU_So]

This campus alone employs over 1,200 hard working Americans. Buying Fuji Photo Film keeps Americans working!!!

It looks like a win win for me and Fuji!

And Go Dawgs! I had to throw that in seeing you are a "Tiger".

[VRWC_minion]

If the guy wants to make his point and get some bucks he should claim he is gay (even if married). That ought to throw a wrench in the diversity works.

[Conservative Tiger]

Hey, congrads for making a clean sweep of the state this year. But remember, you have to come to the Valley next in 2003!!

[RooRoobird14]

This kind of P.C. fascism doesn't surprise me. Most Fortune 500 Companies have their H.R. departments packed with radical homosexuals, feminists and "get whitey" bureaucrats--all under the guise of "diversity" (read: anything except white men, Christians, heterosexuals, or conservatives)

I'm sorry this man lost his job, but he did the right thing by refusing to sign a letter of apology. I hope he files a massive lawsuit against Kodak and wins.

[GeneD]

Possibly one reason Kodak is PC is that it does a lot of business with the movie and TV industries -- and even that business is threatened by "digital film" and HDTV.

[jude24]

So much for Kodak Value #1 -- Repsect for the dignity of the individual.

Hmm... I knew a Szabo in high school. Wonder if that is his father.

[chaosagent]

Here's what I just posted to Kodak.

I recently read Kodak has fired an employee who protested Kodak's email endorsement of "Gay and Lesbian Coming Out Day" from your Diversity Group.

I'm now waiting for Kodak's endorsement supporting 2nd Amendment Rights, the Right to Life, and President Bush's War on Terror. How's that for Diversity?

Until then, it's now either Fuji Film, or my great new Sony Digital Camera.

[american spirit]

Geez, where is the tolerance? Isn't that whats stuffed down our throats about this whole perverse lifestyle?

[MistrX]

Fuji for me!

[MortMan]

My reply to Kodak:

From a Rochester area news report: A Greece man, who was fired a few days ago from Eastman Kodak, said giving his opinion in an e- mail lead to his termination. Kodak's diversity group sent out an e-mail asking employees to "be supportive" of colleagues who choose to come out on Gay and Lesbian Coming-Out Day. Rolf Szabo replied to the memo telling the company not to send him this type of information and that he found it "disgusting and offensive."

I will no longer be purchasing any Kodak products or services, including the use of Ophoto services. Your corporate decision to gut the free speech of Mr. Szabo in favor of the freedom to "come out of the closet" for others in your organization is rephrehensible.

Diversity is supposed to be the acceptance of *all* viewpoints and personal backgrounds, not the exclusion of some to the enhancement of others.

[jude24]

Kodak is a company that cannot manage its way out of a wet paper bag. They focus too much on appearances, but are unwilling to invest in product development.

I saw some of the effects of their mismanagement first-hand when I worked there this summer.

[smalltown]

The article only presents one side of the story.
I hate to go against the flow, but the firing seems so stupid that I think there may be more to tell.

[RobRoy]

According to diversity training, if something you do or say of a sexual nature is offensive to someone, you have indeed sexually harrassed that person.

This man used the key word "offensive" which is, I believe, how a word or action has to be defined by the harassee for their to be a case.

The fact that he was fired for BEING OFFENDED by a company email of a sexual nature (IT WAS SPECIFICALLY REFERRING TO A GROUP THAT SODOMIZES EACH OTHER) suggests to me that he was, in fact, discriminated against by the company and should sue.

[jimt]

"If an employer goes a step further and promotes diversity faggotry--you have no right to oppose that policy," Fusco said.

What about when the employer "goes a step further and promotes" bestiality, or sadism, or pedophilia? It's all just diversity, right?

Disgusting.