IKEA fires Christian employee for refusing to use transgender pronouns

Things are getting much better in corporate America these days. DEI hiring standards are declining, LGBT support during “pride month” declined. It’s much easier for Christian employees to be who they are, without being shamed, coerced and even fired for taking Jesus seriously. But not every company sees it that way. And it’s happening in Indiana, of all places.

Here’s the story from The Federalist:

An Indiana IKEA employee was fired after refusing to call his co-worker “they/them” and filed an official complaint due to “unlawful termination,” the Indiana Family Institute said in a Wednesday press release.

Steven Ressler, a “devout Christian who believes there are only two genders” and who’s worked at IKEA since 2019, was under investigation in December for “misgendering” his co-worker. Soon after, Ressler filed for a “religious accommodation request” to “inform my employer of my religious beliefs and engage in the interactive process in good faith,” the press release said.

Three days after filing the religious exemption, Ressler was fired on the basis of “misgendering,” the press release said.

The article notes that Ressler has filed a complaint with both the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Indiana Civil Rights Commission.

On the face of it, I would expect his complain to easily succeed. First amendment rights protect you from compelled speech. Now, I expect that if the Biden-Harris regime was still in control, that the government would side with the corporation against the individual. But now there’s a new sheriff in town.

The article notes that this isn’t the first time that IKEA has trampled the rights of Christian employees:

IKEA, the Swedish furniture and home goods store, has a page on their website on how to be “an everyday ally” and “mak[e] space” for the “LGBTQIA+ community.”

In 2019, a former Catholic IKEA employee in Poland sued IKEA after being fired for not taking down Bible verses rebuking homosexuality he posted on IKEA’s article for “International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.”

Now, I’m not sure if you knew about this, but IKEA furniture has actually sold people dangerous furniture. Their products have actually killed people in the past.

Check out this article from Home Furnishings Association:

IKEA recalled millions of chests and dressers in June 2016 because of tip-over hazards. It repeated the recall announcement in November 2017.

In between, on May 24, 2017, an IKEA dresser toppled over on 2-year-old Jozef Dudek in his Buena Park, Calif., bedroom. The blow injured the child’s neck, causing him to suffocate.

Monday, a law firm representing Jozef’s parents reported that IKEA agreed to pay $46 million in damages, “believed to be the largest child wrongful death recovery in American history,” the firm stated. The settlement “includes non-monetary terms intended to protect other children from IKEA furniture tip-over incidents.”

A lawsuit filed in 2018 alleged that IKEA knew of many injuries and deaths associated with tip-overs of the MALM line of dressers prior to Jozef’s death but failed to take adequate measures to improve the safety and stability of its products.

I’m trying to be very wise these days about where I buy things. So, I’ll remember what IKEA did to Christians when I’m shopping for whatever it is they sell. I’ll also remember their past sales of dangerous products when I’m choosing where to shop. I’m sure I can find something more respectful of free speech and religious liberty from a smaller store in my red state.