A Black man alleges he was let go from his job after he spoke out against a letter sent by his boss that threatened that workers would face layoffs if Joe Biden wins the presidential election.
Stan Smith says he was fired from Daniels Manufacturing Corporation in Orlando, Florida after he spoke to a local news outlet about the letter sent along with employee’s paystubs on Aug. 12 that spoke of layoffs that would take place if President Donald Trump doesn’t win the election. However, the company has denied Smith was fired.
“If Trump and the Republicans win the election, DMC will hopefully be able to continue operating, more or less as it has been operating lately,” the letter read. “However, if Biden and the Democrats win, DMC could be forced to begin permanent layoffs in late 2020 and/or early 2021.”
“Everybody has a choice to make their own decision,” Smith told WESH 2 News on Oct. 16, before he was allegedly fired. At the time, he planned to quit because of the letter, which was from DMC company president George Daniels.
Some workers were afraid to speak out about the letter, fearing they may lose their jobs. The company has 170 employees and produces electronics tools for aerospace, aircraft, and military industries. Smith says the letter is unfair.
“I don’t feel like it was correct, to do something like that,” Smith told WESH. “That’s like me coming to work — because we had all these black killings — and I should come in here and I should wear a Black Lives Matter shirt and bring out hats and pass them out to everyone. I felt like it was unfair.”
Smith believes he was fired has sought out legal counsel in preparation for a lawsuit.
“We believe that the evidence here is very clear… that (DMC’s) intent was to influence its employees to vote for one candidate over another to preserve their jobs,” attorney Richard Celler said. “We are confident that this employer not only violated federal and state law, but also illegally terminated our client.”
Daniels issued a statement regarding the letter saying: “I have been doing this for years. I have an obligation to let workers know what could happen, based on the outcome of an election. They certainly should vote for the candidate they want.”
The company says it didn’t fire Smith stating “DMC did not terminate Mr. Smith.” The statement alleged that Smith initially resigned, then asked the company if the resignation could be rescinded.
The statement said the company declined to rescind the resignation at first, however, later offered him an unconditional reinstatement offer.
According to documents obtained by WESH, Daniels shows he has contributed more than $600,000 to the Trump Campaign.
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