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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Company's firing of activated Marine reservist triggers dispute
Monday April 14, 2003
By GAIL SCHILLER
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) A Marine reservist serving in Iraq was
wrongly fired from his civilian job at Hyundai Motor America after
he was called to duty, his wife and attorney claimed Monday.
But Hyundai Motor America said Sgt. Clifford E. Moffitt, 35, of
Irvine, was fired because of numerous instances of ``extreme sexual
harrassment'' that came to light after he left for active duty.
Attorney Gloria Allred told a press conference that Hyundai
Motor America gave Moffitt no reason for his termination and the
reservist did not believe there was any good cause for the firing.
Allred took no legal action, but released a letter to Hyundai
Motor America President and Chief Executive Finbarr O'Neill in
which she said the firing ``flies in the face of federal and state
laws that protect members of the armed services from termination
while on active duty.''
In a statement released in response to the charges, O'Neill
said, ``The details of this situation have been completely
misrepresented.... Mr. Moffitt was terminated after a thorough
legal investigation which confirmed that he was responsible for
numerous instances of extreme sexual harrasment involving multiple
employee victims.''
Moffitt, a member of the Marines' 4th Force Reconnaissance unit,
was a national manager of collections for Hyundai Motor Finance, a
sister company of Hyundai Motor America, for the past four years.
Moffitt's pregnant wife Shari, 33, who also works for the
company, said her husband received assurances that his salary and
benefits would continue while he was away.
``Instead he was sent a letter from Hyundai and received it on
the battlefield, advising him that Hyundai had decided to terminate
his employment only two months after he had left,'' she said in a
statement.
Regardless of any reason that Hyundai may claim to justify the
firing, Moffitt ``has been denied the fundamental right to give his
side of the story,'' Allred said.
After Hyundai responded to Allred's news conference, she issued
a statement saying her position was unchanged. ``Giving a pink slip
to a Marine who may be in the red zone of war is in our opinion an
unforgivable act. Semper fi,'' she said.
O'Neill said the company ``is extremely supportive of our
American troops serving in Iraq and we honor employment agreements
with all individuals who are called into service for our country.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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