Should a New Jersey Transit worker be fired for burning a Koran?

I find myself agreeing with Mr. Fish in this discussion. This was an act of public hatred and bigotry and the NJ Transit system has every right to decide that they don't want people who will go to such lengths in their employ. I wonder if this moron was aware that Jesus is mentioned about 25 times in the Koran? I think I have that number right...but I could be wrong.

No. If it was alright for the military to burn Bibles sent to the troops in Afghanistan, if it was alright for some who destroy Bibles on the mistaken belief that separate of Church and state means no one should read the Bible, then it is all right for someone to tear pages out of the Koran and burn it. From what I heard, it is the last part of the Koran that is dangerous and tells the Muslims that all have to be convert to Islam and that infidels are to be destroyed and if that is the part that is burnt, he may have saved lives. I suppose had he burnt pages out of the Bible, would he have been fired? I doubt it.

After you call him a moron, you say you are going to withhold your opinion? Too late. No, he definitely should not have been fired. It was probably an act of political correctnes by NJ transit. The actual firing was probably based on a zero tolerance policy for anything they don't like, or it was and act of cowardice for fear of political correctness. For those not bound to the religion of politcal correctness, we can see it was a very good thing this man did. He could have burn more and he surely should not have been alone. Freedom of religion is very important in our country and the wasy Osama Obama and his ilk trip over themselves protecting muslims is disgusting.

i can't really say whether he should be fired or not. he should of known(maybe he did) such an act could cost him his job though. legally he can do such an act though since its in the same legal category as flag burning. simply put, there's nothing illegal about burning the koran in the U.S. however, the reason for is firing is he has made himself a lighting rod and his employer doesn't won't to deal with it.

Not knowing what New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics is, it's hard to say whether or not he should have been fired. The company I worked for had (and probably still has) a code of ethics. There were things after work we were asked not to do. If the Transit authority had him sign an agreement to obey their code of ethics and this act violated it, they have every right to fire him. On the other hand, if this act does not fall in line with their code, I don't see that they are justified in firing him. I also don't think they are justified in firing him if they don't let their employees know what their code of ethics is or if they are just trying to look politically correct.

No. No. No. He should not have been fired. Ripping the pages out of the Quran and burning them is an act that is protected under his constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. What he did was reprehensible but violating his constitutional rights are just as reprehensible. The one thing that separates us from many countries is that we do have certain rights under the Constitution that no one can take away from us. Did the company publicly say that this was the reason for his termination? I haven't yet heard the story

Free speech is one thing (we're not in a totalitarian state here) but hate crimes are another. I would not want to associate with someone who'd burn a flag or any culture, or a holy book of any religion. This person needs to suffer for his immature behaviour.

He's a moron and what he did was stupid and wrong, but NO, he should not have been fired by the NJ Transit System. If he'd worked for a private employer, it would be a totally different story but this is what the First Amendment is all about; a GOVERNMENT agency can not infringe on someone's free speech rights. I don't know if you know this or not, Taskr, but your favorite TV host had the NJ Transit System as the "Worst Person(s) in the World" last night. Annie

As much as I despise the act of book burnings of any kind (unless it is the twilight series...just kidding) I would say he was well within his rights to do what he did. Now if he had of been wearing his city uniform or something of that nature than I could see why they would have a reason to fire him. But from everything I seen so far from the link your provided and the link from the original post inside it I don't think he should have been fired. I would have to see the video myself before I would even consider it further.

Even though it may not be illegal, I think I would have fired him. I wouldn't want someone working for me who has a lot of hate and our customers can be Muslim people too. Ethical it is wrong so it would be a valid reason for me.

no obvious answer - a lot depends on the employment law where he is and his contract. he hasn't broken the law and presumably he wasn't doing this while working but companies sometimes can fire people who do things outside of work they feel reflect badly on the company. my personal view is it is ok up to a point, but make it clear in the contracts what would put somebody's job in jeopardy.

Waaaaaaait, public burning isn't illegal? America just lets people start fires anywhere they please? I am so moving to America. Y'all should set up a pyromania tourism industry or something. :3

It's a good question, but unless he had a permit to light fires on a New York city street, and did so in accordance with local fire safety regulations, his actions were illegal.

That was a little harsh of his work to fire him over that... Crazy seriously. What makes the Quran so frigging special its all of a sudden more important than our bible?

I don't think that he should be fired, but I think that he should take a tolerance class, if that makes any sense? I think that he should be taught to learn about the religion, and that he should be taught that burning books never solves anything.

It is my considered opinion that he should not have been fired. I feel that it was a violation of his 1st Amendment Rights to be fired for a political statement that he made on his own time away from his place of employment. This is my opinion, which I am entitled to and have every right to hold... and if that opinion offends anyone, then I suggest that they get over themselves.

Hi Taskr, Actually, no. I don't think it is fair to fire him for something he did off the clock that was not illegal. I know a lot of companies have strict standards for their employees even off the clock. I do think that what he did was stupid but it isn't illegal to be stupid.

I don't approve of burning the koran, nor of burning the bible, American flag, or anything else. These are stupid provocative acts that only help to cause further trouble. That said (notwithstanding any code that the company may have, the details of which I am not aware of), he hasn't done anything illegal in respect of the US constitution, so on that basis he should not have been fired.

No, he should not be fired. If it's done to him then any company could start doing it on the basis of one's opinion and then that destroys freedom of expression.