Florida man says he was fired for revealing company warned of layoffs if Biden wins

A worker in central Florida was allegedly fired for revealing a letter from his boss to company employees warning of layoffs if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the election.

The worker, Stan Smith, said last week he planned to quit after receiving the letter, but was fired this week by Daniels Manufacturing Corporation (DMC), WESH, an Orlando-area ABC affiliate, reported.

Smith told WESH last week the letter was provided to DMC employees by company President George Daniels along with recent paystubs.

“If Trump and the Republicans win the election, DMC will hopefully be able to continue operating, more or less as it has been operating lately,” said Smith, quoting the letter.

“However, if Biden and the Democrats win, DMC could be forced to begin permanent layoffs in late 2020 and/or early 2021,” Smith added.

Smith said he thinks he was fired because Daniels did not like what he told the media.

Daniels defended the letter in during a call with a WESH reporter, saying he has sent out the same type of company message to employees for years, adding that it is his duty to inform his workforce of potential consequences regarding the presidential election outcome.

Elaine Parker with Job Creators Network said she supports Trump and defended DMC’s letter, adding that it is not about revenge for whoever wins the election.

“Employers have the right to educate their employees about the negative impacts of policy and we believe they have an obligation to do so,” Parker said.

Smith has hired an attorney and plans to file a lawsuit over the incident.

“We believe that the evidence here is very clear … that (DMC’s) intent was to influence its employees to vote for one candidate over another to preserve their jobs,” said employment law attorney Richard Celler. “We are confident that this employer not only violated federal and state law, but also illegally terminated our client.”

Campaign records show Daniels has donated at least $614,000 to the Trump campaign, its PACS, and other Republican candidates this election cycle, WESH reported.

Several of Smith’s colleagues reportedly supported him, but did not speak up for fear of retaliation.

Daniels did not respond to a follow-up from WESH. The Hill reached out to DMC but did not immediately receive a response.