Brenda Lawson and Trudy Rickerd worked at a Kroger store in Conway, Ark. until they were fired in the summer of 2019 after refusing to wear aprons that included the “Our Promise” heart-shaped emblem. Claiming they were victims of religious discrimination, the women filed a lawsuit with help from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their lawsuit has now been settled thanks to a $180,000 settlement.
In a discussion about the settlement on American Family Radio, attorney Abraham Hamilton III said the two women had to wait three years to get justice after they were unjustly fired.
“It shows the egregious nature of their religious freedom,” he told the “Today’s Issues” program. “Their religious liberty rights being violated.”
It has been pointed out in some media stories the heart emblem doesn’t match the LGBT-themed “rainbow” colors, a point that Kroger argued in court, too, but the EEOC lawsuit alleges as many as 20 co-workers at the Conway store also assumed the heart emblem represented Kroger's support of the "LGBTQ community."
It is also true that Kroger's upper management, like many corporations, has embraced rainbow flag-waving homosexual activism. The corporation boasted in 2021 that its targeted efforts to accommodate homosexual and lesbian workers earned it a "perfect score" with the Human Rights Campaign, the homosexual lobbying firm.
According to the lawsuit, the EEOC insisted Kroger management ultimately failed to compromise with its two employees who were disciplined for dress code violations and eventually fired.
Believing she was wearing “pride” colors on the apron, Lawson covered up the heart with her nametag but was written up for a dress code violation.
In the case of Rickerd, she offered to purchase an apron without the heart-shaped emblem.
Both women told management it was guilty of religious discrimination.
As far as any legal precedent, considering the lawsuit was settled, Hamilton says corporations should be aware the U.S. Constitution and its defense of religious liberty are still in effect.
"And it still must be respected," he says, "if you endeavor to to business in our nation."
