Facebook has long been associated with ruined relationships and lost jobs. Countless people have ended up in divorce court because of unfortunate pictures they (or someone else) posted on social media, and a startling number of people have jeopardized their careers because of how they chose to represent themselves online. And this story is no different. What makes it stand out from the rest, however, is the fact that this time, the person who lost their job was a CPS employee!
The former CPS employee says his rights were violated
Calvin Congdon, a former CPS employee from Tipton, Michigan, posted a picture of himself wearing a santa suit and holding a semi-automatic rifle on Facebook in 2015. The result, he says, was less than favorable. According to Congdon, he often dressed as Santa for local charity events, and is a firm believer in his right to bear arms, but management at CPS disagreed.
The gun-toting Santa made headlines in national news!
Congdon says he had only recently started working for the department, but that he was treated differently at work after he posted the picture. He also says that a manager at work told other employees that he had “looked crazy” in the picture, and to be careful around him. He reported this discrimination to his state representative, and shortly after that, nine months into his probationary period, he was told he was emotionally unfit for the job.
Congdon says the photo was the real reason he wasn’t kept on at the agency
At the end of his year-long probation, he was “let go” and he believes the manager’s dislike of his gun-toting santa picture is the reason. He also says that, as an Army veteran who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, the agency discriminated against him because of his disability.
He says he was repeatedly discriminated against at work
Before the picture on Facebook, and the manager’s resulting comment, Congdon says he had never been in trouble before at work before. He had never been written up, never cited, and never had complaints filed against him. After the picture everything changed. According to the lawsuit, two weeks after he posted the picture, Congdon was written up for the first time. And then it kept happening. He was repeatedly cited and written up for his grammar and spelling in reports, and faulted for falling behind in filing paperwork. However, other employees who made the same mistakes, Congdon says, were never punished.
Congdon has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Michigan!
Condon filed a lawsuit in federal court against the agency, claiming that they violated his rights to free speech, and to bear arms. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, names the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and three supervisors, namely Allison Zinn, Emilee Hudson and Zoe Lyons. The suit is requesting an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages, and the right to return to work. We have no idea how this interesting lawsuit against CPS will turn out, but we’ll keep an eye on it and keep you updated as it develops!