Office Depot apologizes to woman over anti-abortion fliers

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) — The CEO of Office Depot apologized Friday to a suburban Chicago woman who said the company discriminated against her religious beliefs when its employees told her that making copies of an anti-abortion prayer violated company policy.

Maria Goldstein, who is Roman Catholic, asked the Office Depot in Schaumburg last month to make 500 copies of "A Prayer for Planned Parenthood."

The prayer was composed by the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of the anti-abortion group Priest for Life. It calls on God to "Bring an end to the killing of children in the womb, and bring an end to the sale of their body parts. Bring conversion to all who do this, and enlightenment to all who advocate it."

The prayer also includes statistics about abortion in the U.S. and decries "the evil that has been exposed in Planned Parenthood and in the entire abortion industry."

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/74f83785c17d4668b9a73b8c3a5ffec0/office-depot-apologizes-woman-over-anti-abortion-fliers

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Now I feel discriminated against!

[Dorian Gray]

4. or

graphic images.

[Omaha Steve]

7. It isn't a government office

Read the flyer.

No shirt, no shoes, inflammatory script, no service.

Office Depot prohibits "the copying of any type of material that advocates any form of racial or religious discrimination or the persecution of certain groups of people," as well as copyrighted material.

Again I feel discriminated against as a Presbyterian. We have no non-abortion edict.

We haven't talked about the prayer being copyrighted either. Was it?

[NutmegYankee]

10. PCUSA?

I'm Presbyterian also.

[Omaha Steve]

14. Presbyterian Church (USA)

[yeoman6987]

26. This is the opposite of the cake and pizza situation

Just do your job. Don't like it, resign and do something else.

[Omaha Steve]

27. The job is follow the work place rules

Could have been fired for making the copies.

[yeoman6987]

30. I thought the place apologized on behalf of the employee

The employee may not off the hook.

[NutmegYankee]

8. I disagree.

Office Depot prohibits "the copying of any type of material that advocates any form of racial or religious discrimination or the persecution of certain groups of people," as well as copyrighted material, company spokeswoman Karen Denning told the Tribune. The flier that Goldstein wanted to copy "contained material that advocates the persecution of people who support abortion rights," she said

I think the company policy is spot on.

[sinkingfeeling]

16. I disagree too. Her flier is condemning pro-choice people.

[tanyev]

11. Except Ms. Goldstein was welcome to use a self-service machine. She declined.

Attorneys say store associates gave Goldstein “the option of printing the flyer at one of our in-store, self-service copy machines”, which she declined to do, according to the letter.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/09/11/office-depot-defends-employees-refusal-to-make-copies-of-anti-abortion-hate-material/

Nobody seeking a marriage license has the option of using a self-service marriage licenses machine.

[davidpdx]

34. HA

She was a lazy idiot just looking for an excuse to complain.

[tanyev]

37. The most cynical part of me wonders how many locations she went to

before she finally found one that would refuse her.

[secondwind]

2. Here is a link to the flyer and the prayer. I think it's pretty inflammatory

http://www.scribd.com/doc/280087350/Planned-Parenthood-Fact-Sheet-and-Prayer



The 1,400,000 per day sounds like a lot, it's for 700 clinics a day .. so it boils down to $2,000 per clinic a day... hardly a windfall

[LuvNewcastle]

5. Unless there's a company policy to fall back on,

which would probably have been illegal anyway, the best thing to do is to make the copies. If you believe that doing your job entails doing some things you might not like sometimes because of our system of laws, then you really have no choice.

[7962]

12. I agree

[jeff47]

13. Anti-abortion protesters are not a protected class.

It's quite legal for a business to refuse. At least under federal law. State law may be different.

[branford]

20. Religious affiliation and practice, however, are protected classes,

and with the limited facts of the article that indicate the denial of service may be related to religion, there may indeed be a violation of federal and other public accommodation laws, or at least an issue for a jury. This is apart from the public relations problem for Office Depot.

The fact that Office Depot apologized is entirely unsurprising. They are in the business of selling office supplies and copy and printing services, not politics, and no less something as contentious and divisive as abortion rights. Whether we like it or not, a great many American oppose abortion or support restrictions, and alienating a large segment of your customer base is not profitable. I assume that as a company policy, they would be happy to print and copy fliers from all sides of the abortion debate.

Moreover, Office Depots internal corporate polices are not actual legal mandates or requirements, and can be interpreted or disregarded as the company wishes. The policies exist solely to protect the company, and provide ready justification for refusing service to groups or individuals where such refusal would be far less contentious.

[Ichigo Kurosaki]

15. It's all about

It's all about the money, follow the money.

He only apologized because he is working on a buyout from Staples.
I heard that they were getting a lot of email from companies and people threatening to take their business elsewhere.

If the buyout fails to go through he won't make his $47 Million on the deal.

[douggg]

17. Wouldn't this be a precedent

that businesses have to serve those whose beliefs are not the same as the business owners/workers?

[Chemisse]

18. The knife cuts both ways.

And neither way is defendable.

[ToxMarz]

19. Why wouldn't their policy just be that office equipment is used for company business

Everywhere I have worked that has been understood. How does their anti-abortion campaign involve Office Depot and expect they could use company resources.

[Reter]

21. Because their office equipment is available for customers, for a small price

Staples does this too.

[ToxMarz]

25. Yes I realized later, i was thinking just as employees, but they were acting as customers tootoo.

[jmowreader]

29. Office Depot stores have quick-print shops in them

[bluestateguy]

22. This is a private business's right

And I would say the same thing if they refused to print fliers promoting LGBT equality.

Then I would boycott the business.

[jmowreader]

23. Speaking as a printer, I would have run it off

You don't run things that are gravely offensive to most of the population - Klan fliers, Nazi propaganda, ISIS recruitment ads and the like are right out. OTOH, if your policy is not to run something that might offend even a single person that walks through your door, you probably shouldn't buy a press because anything you could possibly put on it has the capability to piss someone - INCLUDING the person who owns the press - off.

I've read the "Prayer for Planned Parenthood." It is like a jab in the eye with a pointed stick. However, this is America and he has the right to his opinion.

My Pavone problem is this bastard feels he has the right to deny me MY opinion. That shit needs to be stopped in his tracks, but the way to do it is not to deny him HIS.

[branford]

28. Exactly right, both in your appreciation for free speech and basic economics. nt

[Leontius]

24. I love how all these open minded liberals support discrimination when it suits their view of "right"

[BillZBubb]

31. As opposed to you open minded conservatives?

[Leontius]

33. Really that's the best you can come up with

If seeing people fall all over themselves to shit all over the principle of non-discrimination doesn't bother you I feel sorry for you.

[Yupster]

35. Really the most important rule of politics comes down to the old joke where the punchline is

it depends on whose ox is being gored.

You see over and over again from both sides defending the indefensible to ridiculous degrees when the exact same circumstances in reverse would be howled about.

When recognized or pointed out, the defense is generally, well that's because they did it first or most, or we're good guys and they're bad guys so we can do it.

It's a disheartening part of politics.

[snort]

32. irwinmfletcher73 is an internet hero

[Lars39]

36. A prayer by Frank Pavone?

:barf:

http://ncronline.org/news/people/after-year-exile-anti-abortion-priest-frank-pavone-back

[NonMetro]

38. So, These Priests Also Endorse The Lie That Planned Parenthood Sells Body Parts?

What other lies are these "Priests for Life" telling?