| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"MrPepper11" |
| Date: |
17 May 2005 05:44:38 PM |
| Object: |
Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
May 17, 2005
Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer
MILLIKEN, Colo. (AP) -- A former supervisor at a Budweiser
distributorship says he was fired for drinking a Coors beer in public.
Ross Hopkins, 41, filed suit in Weld County District Court, saying
American Eagle Distributing Co. has no right to tell him what kind of
beer to drink when he is off-duty.
Hopkins said he was fired in May 2003 after the son-in-law of the
distributorship owner saw him drinking Coors in a Greeley bar.
Jeff Bedingfield, an attorney for American Eagle, declined to discuss
the specifics of the lawsuit but said "there are two sides to every
story."
In its court response, American Eagle said Hopkins was fired "for
conduct that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement that is
reasonably and rationally related to the employment activities and
responsibilities of a particular employee."
The court filing does not directly challenge Hopkins' claim that he was
fired, at least in part, for drinking Coors in public.
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| User: "Wordsmith" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
17 May 2005 08:21:00 PM |
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I've heard of brand loyalty, but... *shrug*
W : )
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
17 May 2005 05:49:35 PM |
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O deer.
My family disowned me
For drinking drinking
Tab.
I can RELATE!
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| User: "Bob Ward" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
17 May 2005 06:17:54 PM |
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On 17 May 2005 15:44:38 -0700, "MrPepper11" <MrPepper11@go.com> wrote:
May 17, 2005
Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer
MILLIKEN, Colo. (AP) -- A former supervisor at a Budweiser
distributorship says he was fired for drinking a Coors beer in public.
Ross Hopkins, 41, filed suit in Weld County District Court, saying
American Eagle Distributing Co. has no right to tell him what kind of
beer to drink when he is off-duty.
Hopkins said he was fired in May 2003 after the son-in-law of the
distributorship owner saw him drinking Coors in a Greeley bar.
Jeff Bedingfield, an attorney for American Eagle, declined to discuss
the specifics of the lawsuit but said "there are two sides to every
story."
In its court response, American Eagle said Hopkins was fired "for
conduct that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement that is
reasonably and rationally related to the employment activities and
responsibilities of a particular employee."
The court filing does not directly challenge Hopkins' claim that he was
fired, at least in part, for drinking Coors in public.
What - it took two years to sober him up enough to hire a lawyer?
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
17 May 2005 06:36:07 PM |
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Bob Ward wrote:
On 17 May 2005 15:44:38 -0700, "MrPepper11" <MrPepper11@go.com>
wrote:
May 17, 2005
Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer
MILLIKEN, Colo. (AP) -- A former supervisor at a Budweiser
distributorship says he was fired for drinking a Coors beer in
public.
Ross Hopkins, 41, filed suit in Weld County District Court, saying
American Eagle Distributing Co. has no right to tell him what kind
of
beer to drink when he is off-duty.
Hopkins said he was fired in May 2003 after the son-in-law of the
distributorship owner saw him drinking Coors in a Greeley bar.
Jeff Bedingfield, an attorney for American Eagle, declined to
discuss
the specifics of the lawsuit but said "there are two sides to every
story."
In its court response, American Eagle said Hopkins was fired "for
conduct that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement that is
reasonably and rationally related to the employment activities and
responsibilities of a particular employee."
The court filing does not directly challenge Hopkins' claim that he
was
fired, at least in part, for drinking Coors in public.
What - it took two years to sober him up enough to hire a lawyer?
Detailed story:
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20050514/NEWS/105140050
Greeley Tribune
May 14, 2005
Drinking Coors? You're fired
Brady McCombs
Imagine a Pizza Hut employee losing his job for eating Blackjack pizza
on his night off.
Or a Pepsi employee losing her job for drinking a Coca-Cola while
eating at a restaurant.
It might sound absurd, but Ross Hopkins claims something similar
happened to him. He said the American Eagle Distributing Co., a
Budweiser distributor, fired him two years ago for drinking a Coors at
the Cactus Canyon Bar in Greeley on a Saturday night.
Hopkins, 41, of Milliken, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against
the company and is suing for the loss of back pay, loss of future pay
and loss of benefits.
According to Hopkins, on May 17, 2003, he ran into Jamie McCawley, the
son-in-law of company majority shareholder, Jerry Helgeson. McCawley
turned Hopkins' bottle to see the Coors label and then offered to buy
Hopkins a Budweiser. Hopkins declined and went on with his night.
Two days later, May 19, 2003, the American Eagle Distributing Co. fired
Hopkins. Hopkins claims that Jeanne L. Bauer, vice president of
administration, told him that his drinking a Coors was "putting food on
the competitor's table, while we are putting food on yours."
American Eagle Distributing Co., 3800 Clydesdale Parkway, Loveland,
declined to comment. The lawsuit shows that the company has denied the
allegations that they fired Hopkins for drinking a Coors, denied that
Bauer made the comment and denied that he was a good employee.
Hopkins said it took him six months to find a job after the firing.
Today, he works for Northern Colorado Paper, 295 71st Ave. in Greeley,
where he said he makes significantly less than he did at American
Eagle.
"Financially, it killed me," said Hopkins, a divorced husband with two
teenage daughters. "Emotionally, it was very tough. I rather enjoyed
the liquor business. I took a lot of pride in it, especially working at
American Eagle."
Hopkins said he had worked for American Eagle for two years prior to
the firing. He said he'd received positive evaluations and earned
performance-based incentives. Two weeks prior to the firing, however,
he had been demoted from warehouse supervisor to warehouse worker. But
he said he never expected to get fired all together.
"One day, you're doing fine, making good money, life is great," Hopkins
said. "And then you come back on a Monday and have the rug pulled out
from beneath you. It's very upsetting."
Today, Hopkins lives at home with his mother. He's considering going to
college to study to become a teacher. Hopkins said his lawyer, Britton
Morrell, of the Morrell Law Office, has informed him that the suit will
likely go to settlement hearings before reaching a trial.
He said he'd use the settlement money for his education and his
daughters' education. If it goes to trial, he said he stands a good
chance of winning.
Hopkins still can't believe his life changed so drastically because he
declined a Bud and kept drinking a Coors that fateful night.
"I hurt someone's feeling is what I think I did," he said.
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| User: "Bob Ward" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
17 May 2005 06:57:16 PM |
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On 17 May 2005 16:36:07 -0700, wrote:
Bob Ward wrote:
On 17 May 2005 15:44:38 -0700, "MrPepper11" <MrPepper11@go.com>
wrote:
May 17, 2005
Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer
MILLIKEN, Colo. (AP) -- A former supervisor at a Budweiser
distributorship says he was fired for drinking a Coors beer in
public.
Ross Hopkins, 41, filed suit in Weld County District Court, saying
American Eagle Distributing Co. has no right to tell him what kind
of
beer to drink when he is off-duty.
Hopkins said he was fired in May 2003 after the son-in-law of the
distributorship owner saw him drinking Coors in a Greeley bar.
Jeff Bedingfield, an attorney for American Eagle, declined to
discuss
the specifics of the lawsuit but said "there are two sides to every
story."
In its court response, American Eagle said Hopkins was fired "for
conduct that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement that is
reasonably and rationally related to the employment activities and
responsibilities of a particular employee."
The court filing does not directly challenge Hopkins' claim that he
was
fired, at least in part, for drinking Coors in public.
What - it took two years to sober him up enough to hire a lawyer?
Detailed story:
I'm probably at least as familiar with Google as you are - none of the
141 articles I found gave any sort of a reason that it took over two
years for Hopkins to file a suit. Sounds like he thought the finger
lady and the runaway bride were hogging the spotlight and he now wants
his fifteen minutes of fame.
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| User: "Steven M. Scharf" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
19 May 2005 07:42:39 PM |
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"Bob Ward" <bobward@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:731l81t79j90rs1f9tl4id032raesoi0g8@4ax.com...
I'm probably at least as familiar with Google as you are - none of the
141 articles I found gave any sort of a reason that it took over two
years for Hopkins to file a suit.
That's because the lawsuit was filed in 2003. The plaintiff did not
publicize it until last week, after the defendant served him with papers
requiring him to "explain certain facts about the case."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2744491
Of course this will never go to trial due to the bad publicity. Budweiser
will force the defendant to settle out-of-court for an undisclosed amount of
money. The last thing Budweiser wants to do is to offend the blue collar
workers that constitute their customer base.
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| User: "Larry Bud" |
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| Title: Re: Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer |
19 May 2005 02:58:21 PM |
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[snipped all unrelevant info]
Two days later, May 19, 2003, the American Eagle Distributing Co.
fired
Hopkins.
....
Hopkins said it took him six months to find a job after the firing.
....
Hopkins said he had worked for American Eagle for two years prior to
the firing. He said he'd received positive evaluations and earned
performance-based incentives. TWO WEEKS prior to the firing, however,
he had been demoted from warehouse supervisor to warehouse worker.
But
he said he never expected to get fired all together.
Ok, obviously the guy wasn't doing a good job. He was demoted before
being "caught" drinking a coors.
Hopkins still can't believe his life changed so drastically because
he
declined a Bud and kept drinking a Coors that fateful night.
"I hurt someone's feeling is what I think I did," he said.
No, you're a shitty worker, and you were going to be fired anyway. You
were demoted 2 weeks before this incident ever occurred.
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