Cargill Issues Apology and Reparations
Luis Padilla lost his job at Cargill on Oct. 5. He is now back at work with an apology and back pay for his time away.
After being fired for a "harrasing political message" on on his pickup truck, Luis Padilla, a human resources clerk at Cargill in Broadway, has been rehired and given back pay from his firing on Oct. 5. Padilla, a 2005 EMU social work graduate, returned to work on Monday.
In addition to having the incident wiped form his employee record, Padilla received pay for the time lost during his absence from Cargill. "It was never about winning a case in court, nor about money. It was about my honor as a Christian man, as a family man," said Padilla. The marriage amendment, to be voted on Nov. 7, will decide whether same sex marriages will be legal in the state of Virginia.
On Sunday Oct. 1 night, Padilla wrote a short political message endorsing the marriage amendment, "Please vote for Marriage on November 7th," in white on the back window of his pickup truck. The next morning he parked his car at work the same as any other day, not expecting any unusual occurrences. Before lunch on Wednesday however, the manager of his department informed him that there were a few complaints about the message on Padilla's truck. He was asked to remove the message and complied.
That night, Padilla repainted the message and returned to work Thursday the 5th, parking outside of the gates to Cargill property. Just past 8 that morning, he was called to the human resources office where he was told his vehicle was still on property and that the writing would have to be removed. Padilla asked whether cardboard placed over the writing would be acceptable, which his manager agreed to.
Shortly after, Padilla decided a second opinion from his general manager would be prudent. Padilla confronted the manager on the subject, but was asked to wait until after a meeting which was about to begin.
At 9:30, Padilla was asked to return to the HR manager's office. He was told that his actions had created an unfriendly environment and that employees would no longer be comfortable coming to Padilla for help; he was told that his job would have to be terminated. On his way out, Padilla encountered his general manager who confirmed the termination. Cargill spokesman, Mark Klein. said the message was offensive to some employees who had complained. He also said Padilla's actions did not follow the spirit of the company's policies.
That afternoon, Padilla contacted Dean Welty, director of the Valley Family Forum. Along with a lawyer formerly from the Rutherford Institute, Rita Dunaway, Padilla drafted a letter to Cargill general manager Wesley Carter. The letter, written on Valley Family Forum letterhead, demanded that Cargill rehire Padilla and compensate with back pay and an apology. In reply, Cargill attorney Al Sufka said Padilla had left the company with no choice; his actions were inconsistent with his position in human resources.
Padilla met with a reporter from the Daily News Record the next Thursday evening. An article about Padilla's circumstances ran the next day, Friday, Oct. 13. Padilla's phone rang all day with encouragement, questions, church groups, and concerned friends.
Although a statement released by Cargill said the firing was due to insubordination, Padilla's letter of termination stated it was the result of the sign. At request from Cargill, Padilla, along with Welty and a Valley Family Forum attorney, met with Cargill spokesmen to discuss the case. In a joint statement confirmed by company spokesman Mark Klein, Padilla was cleared of any wrongdoing; "This was all a big misunderstanding.
After reviewing all of the facts surrounding this case, we are satisfied that Mr. Padilla did everything in his power to comply with our requests and that there was no insubordination on his part." Sufka said in his earlier letter that Cargill neither opposes nor supports Padilla's beliefs regarding the marriage amendment.
Padilla was offered and accepted his job back as well as pay for his time away. Dean Welty and the Valley Family Forum have offered to help Cargill write a new company policy to prevent future incidents. Padilla was happy to return to work this past Monday, saying "I feel confident. I'm here to do my job, and that's what I'm going to do." He has been allowed to keep the statement on his truck window.
Return to Burg
