Rioters facing repercussions in workplace amid blowback
NEW YORK — A printing company in Maryland saw the photo on Twitter on Wednesday night: an employee roaming the halls of the U.S. Capitol with a company badge around his neck. He was fired the next day.
Others are facing similar repercussions at work for their participation in Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. Some business owners are being trashed on social media and their establishments boycotted, while rank-and-file employees at other businesses have been fired.
The printing company, Navistar Direct Marketing, declined to name the worker but said it can’t offer employment to people “demonstrating dangerous conduct that endangers the health and safety of others.”
More than 90 people have been arrested since Wednesday. People on social media have been trying to identify rioters photographed or filmed at the Capitol on Wednesday, pressuring companies that employ them to fire them.
At a data analytics firm in suburban Chicago, the employee in question was the top boss. Cogensia fired CEO Bradley Rukstales on Friday night for his participation in the riot.
Rukstales, who was arrested for unlawful entry, told a local CBS news channel that he had entered the Capitol and that he had apologized for his role in the events. Calls and emails to Rukstales weren’t returned.
Most private employers can fire workers for attending protests, since First Amendment rights prohibit only punishment by the government, not by a private employer, said Susan Kline, an Indianapolis-based labor and employment attorney at law firm Faegre Drinker.
There are some exceptions. Those who work for the government may be more legally protected, and so too are many unionized workers, who typically have a contract listing the reasons for which they could be fired. And some states may have laws that protect workers’ free speech.
Small businesses are also facing backlash on online review sites such as Yelp, which flagged at least 20 businesses for unusual review activity related to Wednesday’s rioting.