Restaurant manager who refused to serve customer wearing MAGA hat paid a price

Teahouse restaurant manager Darin Hodge became the latest victim of the MAGA hat.

Hodge was fired from his managerial position of Vancouver’s Stanley Park Teahouse restaurant for refusing service to a customer wearing the symbol of Trump supporters.

The hats are looked upon by many as a gear of President Donald Trump's fans who support his racist, bigoted, and anti-gay rhetoric, as per Global News.

The fired manager said that the issue erupted when he asked a customer to take off their MAGA hat. In a statement sent by email, he said he would do it again and stood by his decision.

He went on to mention that he could not tolerate the customer's choice of headgear which he felt was offensive and was against his moral beliefs. Read more about Darin Hodge on our Twitter account @amomama_usa

The company previously referred to Darin as 'good' person with a big heart having a right to his own beliefs. However, in a statement, the company added that he was fired for violating the company’s 'philosophy of tolerance.'

The statement explained that Sequoia condemned intolerance of any kind and that these principles ensure that they cannot discriminate against someone based on their support for the Trump administration in the United States.

Employee and human rights lawyer, David Brown with Kent Employment Law said the Teahouse has the legal right to let go of people for factors not related to performance.

He mentioned that in Canada, there was nothing inherently wrong with terminating an employee, as long as the employee was not being discriminated against in some way that is protected under law.

It would be considered as a breach of the legal terms of employment if the termination had happened on the grounds of sex, race, religious faith or mental or physical disability.

He made the point that if the manager did refuse to serve the customer, the employer will have a strong case for termination of employment with cause, which would ensure the employee would lose out on severance.

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Brown explained that the employee could also argue that he was wrongfully dismissed. In that scenario, there could be a debate on if he was fired for cause or unfairly dismissed.

While the employees’ political views are protected under the human rights act, the customer's political views were also protected under the human rights act.

The MAGA hat has been a cause of controversy. Last year, a judge in Ontario wore one of the red caps in court and was suspended without pay. An oversight body found this action to be an inexplicable act of judicial misconduct.