A former employee of a Mattress Firm store in Westchester claims he was fired for texting politically incorrect views on religion and sexuality while off duty and using his own cell phone.
Vaughn Harper accused Mattress Firm, its CEO John Eck and manager Todd Shutter of religious discrimination, in a complaint filed Sept. 28 in Westchester Supreme Court.
Mattress Firm did not respond to an email request for its side of the story.
The Houston-based company employs 8,500 people and has 2,500 stores, including 18 in Westchester and Fairfield counties.
Harper began working for the company in 2019.
On two days in July 2020, the complaint states, Harper and his cousin exchanged heated text messages about religion and sexuality. The complaint does not include or describe the messages.
His cousin identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, according to Harper, and she became incensed by his views.
She allegedly forwarded the messages to Mattress Firm and the messages were purportedly “escalated” to Eck.
Harper claims that on July 29, 2020, Shutter, Harper’s manager, confronted him at the Mattress Firm store in Ossining and fired him, “citing the text messages as the reason.”
Harper argues that employees may not be fired for their creed or religious beliefs, under the New York Human Rights Law.
While his messages were not politically correct, he says, they were “nonetheless inspired by his Catholic upbringing and faith and therefore constitute a protected creed.”
He also argues that employees may not be fired for protected off-duty conduct, under the New York Labor Law, including recreational activities carried on without the employer’s equipment or property.
Harper’s heated exchange with his cousin, the complaint states, was a “legal recreational activity outside of work hours.”
He claims he has never expressed his views on religion and sexuality while on duty or to any employees or customers.
Furthermore, he says his conduct created no conflict of interest for Mattress Firm and did not jeopardize trade secrets, proprietary information or other business interests.
Harper is demanding unspecified back pay, front pay and damages. He is represented by West Orange, New Jersey attorney Paul S. Grosswald.
