Comments on: “Bus driver who refused to take women to Planned Parenthood gets $21K in settlement”

By: robert

robert — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:04:45 +0000

The driver should have taken a principled stand and found another job on his own.

I love stories like this because they make people expose their inconsistency. Does a company have a right to hire and fire anyone at any time for any reason? Most conservatives, I guess, would say “yes.”

By: jb

jb — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:52:45 +0000

Ed,
I am just curious. I am studying to be an accountant, and I expect to work for all kinds of companies whose practices I approve of and disapprove of over the course of my career. Perhaps I will have the flexibility to choose who I work for eventually, but it just boggles my mind that people like this bus driver, and the muslim cab drivers who refuse to pick up drunk people, take their religious beliefs to such an extent.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:23:52 +0000

jb,
Why does it matter?

But to ease your curiosity, I am an instrument technician. I repair and maintain control systems and transmitters. Specifically, at an electrical generation facility.

So, stretch that to whatever length you like.

By: D

Tue, 03 May 2011 15:58:47 +0000

The actions of the bus driver had already been discussed at length, gitarcarver. If what one has to say does not improve the silence…

By: jb

jb — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:28:14 +0000

Ed,
I am curious what your job is. It seems to me that lots of jobs require helping people do things that might be against one’s principles.

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:58:06 +0000

Well, I share some of the driver’s stated convictions. As such, I probably would not have transported them, either.

HOWEVER

I would not have expected to keep my job, nor would I have sued. A conviction isn’t very convicting if you have nothing to lose by sticking to it.

By: bob neal

bob neal — Tue, 03 May 2011 09:29:40 +0000

The first commenter apparently doesn’t know the political makeup of Austin – the most liberal city in Texas.

By: gitarcarver

gitarcarver — Tue, 03 May 2011 02:25:04 +0000

I never would have thought of transferring the guy to another route either. I would have gone through the standard steps when an employee is being insubordinate and then at the very least suspended him.

While you notice the actions of the supervisor, I notice the actions of the driver. There is no way that he knew what the women were doing going to Planned Parenthood. It is his assumption that they were going there for an abortion that conflicted with his so called beliefs.

If a woman got onto the bus and wanted to go to a drug store, would he be within his rights to not take the woman because she might be going to get the “morning after” pill?

This lawsuit was settled because of the cost of litigation, not because the driver was right. That is a shame.

By: D

Mon, 02 May 2011 23:39:32 +0000

I noticed that the supervisor’s first impulse was to fire the guy. She had no thought of transferring him to another route. Frankly, her response was belligerent. Reading between the lines, she felt that her principles were under attack; she had power, so she wielded it. Voila, law suit.
If CARTS had tried to work something out this would have turned out much differently. Coping skills, folks.

By: Ron Miller

Ron Miller — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:13:52 +0000

I don’t know where conservative stand on this. On one level, they hate Planned Parenthood (at least some of their activities). On the other, they think businesses and municipalities ought to be able to fire whoever then want when ever then want (except for carefully delineated bad cause).

This driver is taking a principled stand. I absolutely respect that. I also respect the right of businesses to fire people for taking principled stands that don’t jive with the businesses principles.