Hospital employee suspended for 'God Bless America'

November 19, 2013

A retired military veteran was placed on administrative leave after his employer denied his right to display "God Bless America" with his e-mail signature. The veteran, Boots Hawks, was asked to remove the statement from his signature block by his employer, Dameron Hospital, in Stockton, California.

When he said he wanted to obtain legal counsel about his rights, he was placed on leave for insubordination.

"Here we are right after Veterans Day recognizing individuals like this veteran, who fought to defend freedom and liberty for our country," said Hawks’ attorney, Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), "being punished simply because he wanted to have the display 'God Bless America' on his own email signature block."

Hawks returned to his job after Veterans Day to find his computer password suspended and lock combinations changed.

"No employee should ever be punished and disciplined for a patriotic statement like 'God Bless America,' and unfortunately this is exactly what this hospital decided to do," Dacus told OneNewsNow.com. 

PJI sent a strongly worded letter to supervisors reminding the hospital that Hawks has been a dedicated employee for 10 years and even earned "Employee of the Year" for his work.

Since then, Dameron Hospital has cleared Hawks of insubordination, but continues to ban him from using "God Bless America" with his signature.

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