Ex-Marine Fired From Job for Lowering Flag on Memorial Day

There is a lot more to this than the news story - it's local here to me and it's been discussed on another thread on this board.

First off the flag wasn't flown in correctly - the rule for Memorial Day is half-staff to noon, then full staff till dusk. He lowered the flag at 2:30pm - the flag was being flown correctly.

Secondly, while he is wrapping himself in patriotism the truth of the matter is he acted unprofessionally, with zero self-discipline. If he believed that the flag was being flown in correctly, he could have raised the issue with the appropriate folks and it would have been dealt with.

Third - he wasn't 'fired' - his contract was let go - he was a contract worker on a temp placement. If I was hiring a contract temp worker (and I have) - I want that person to do their job period - I don't want an HR issue, I don't want someone who isn't professional - he would have been gone period.

This individual is not some poor picked on 'hero' - all the earmarks of a problem who wasn't worth keeping around.

I didn't say that he was a dirt bag, I just said that simply being a veteran doesn't make you a model employee. It definitely doesn't make sense for any company to fire someone for lowering a flag, so to me it seems that there is more behind the scenes that we don't know. Doesn't mean he was a dirt bag, but maybe he had a problem following company policies. Even before I was in the military I worked in management and had to fire people on multiple occasions. More often than not, it was not one large reason they were fired, but instead a pattern of events that led to the firing. If someone was to look at the final thing they did as the reason I fired them, they could turn it around and make me look like a crazy person firing them for a small infraction. When in fact it was just the tip of the iceburg. Regardless of how patriotic or political you are, you must abide by the policies of the company you choose to work for if you want to stay employed by them.

Sgt Joe LaBranche - Actually if you read the article and then do a little research he was an argumentative problem who wasn't adjusting well to the civilian world. He was wrong about the flag to begin with - it was at full staff at 2:30 when he lowered it, precisely where it was supposed to be (Memorial Day - half staff till noon, then full staff till dusk).

On top of that, he was not 'fired' - he was a temp placement worker - and as someone who has hired temps, I hire them to do a specific job - and if they are causing me grief in any form, they are gone and I will get another one.

I'm sure just like anything else, the President will be blamed.

1stSgt Eugene Harless - Of course..Obama also assassinated both the Kennedys, got us involved in the Vietnam War, caused the attack on the twin towers, - also assassinated the Archduke and caused WWI too - you can look it up!

I think he also caused the Great Depression, but the judge of history is still out on that, definitely responsible for the Black Death in the middle ages and caused the Year without Summer because he personally ordered temporal time agents from the CIA to plant a nuclear device in Tambora and cause a volcano ....and did you know that Obama is directing the chem-trail operation seeding alien DNA and mind control agents into the atmosphere ? ..I saw it on a youtube video.... seriously

MSgt Jonathan Stump - I read the linked article after I commented. Very informative. I suspect that you read it too.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article81658827.html

I am from Charlotte - a little insight - the flag was being flown correctly. The protocol for Memorial Day is half staff till noon, then full staff till dusk. When this individual 'fixed' the flag, it was 2:30 in the afternoon - he was wrong about the flag, he approached the 'issue' incorrectly and was belligerent about it.

Bottom line, no employer wants to deal with issues like this - if the flag was truly being flown wrong and he raised it appropriately, it would have been addressed. Most employers I know are pretty sensitive to potential PR issues like this.

He took a bad approach, got canned for it and now is wrapping himself in the flag so folks will feel sorry for him. ...and btw, he wasn't 'fired' - the company told his placement agency not to send him back - he was a temp worker. As an employer I certainly don't want a temp worker being a HR issue - I would have let him go as well.

GySgt Carl Rumbolo - I could care less if he did it at 9 in the morning. He is still wrong. Flag code is not enforceable law. There was also a lot more to the store than that. He was raging at work and posted a video of his actions on Facebook.

MSgt Jonathan Stump - Totally agree - I was merely pointing out to those folks who are outraged at his 'firing' this guy was a problem and an explosion waiting to happen - I'd have fired him myself.