Theodore Geisel Case

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Theodore Geisel works in a Silver City, a town of roughly 50,000 in Eastern Oregon. Theodore grew up in the area, went to the local college, served one tour of duty in Afghanistan and joined the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs. After ten years, he has finally worked his way up to Director of Veteran Support Services, a top ranked department in the state for its excellent customer service. Two years into serving as Director, Theodore starts to have problems in his department. A year ago, the Veteran Support Specialist position had opened up. Theodore conducted a search and ended up hiring an old high school friend, Richard Johnson. Richard had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan (one with Theodore) and two tours of duty in Iraq. Richard’s references always commented on how well he …show more content…

Theodore asks Kim to give him a couple days to develop a strategy and reassure her everything will be ok. Theodore sets a meeting up with Richard for Friday. On Thursday, Theodore receives a call from the Governor’s office asking why Richard is still working after posting such obscene comments. Theodore is directed to terminate Richard immediately. Theodore’s Administrative Assistant walks Richard to your office (Human Resources) where Theodore informs Richard that he is terminated immediately. Richard begins to scream, “I thought we were friends, I will never forget this. You just made a big mistake”. While the decision was hard, Theodore feels like he made the right choice. When Theodore arrives to work on Monday, he is informed that Richard has filed a lawsuit against him, the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs and the Governor for violating Richard’s 1st Amendment Free Speech Rights, his 1st Amendment Religious Liberty, and a disability discrimination