Beliefs: Veteran employee, a vegetarian, is suspended by OCTA for refusing to pass out hamburger coupons. Animal rights groups spring to his defense.

By DAVID HALDANE, Times Staff Writer

A vegetarian Orange County bus driver has been suspended without pay and faces possible firing for, as he views it, refusing to hurt a cow. Bruce Anderson, a five-year veteran driver for the Orange County Transportation Authority, said Wednesday that he was ordered off his bus and put on unpaid suspension after refusing to hand out coupons to riders for free hamburgers at Carl's Jr. restaurants.

He didn't expect to become a poster boy for vegetarianism when he went to work early Tuesday, but as he was about to leave the depot, a supervisor gave him a stack of coupons, each worth a free hamburger. to pass out to passengers.

The giveaway, Anderson was told, is part of a promotion to encourage people to take the bus by offering them free burgers each Tuesday through June.

The 38-year-old bus driver refused to take the coupons. "I told them that I don't eat dead cows and no one else needs to either," said Anderson, a strict vegetarian whose beliefs also preclude him from eating dairy products or wearing leather. "I told them that I wouldn't support Carl's Jr. in their slaughtering of cows." OCTA officials were not amused.

Half an hour later, according to Anderson's account, authority officials met him at a bus stop with a replacement driver, ordered him off the bus in front of his passengers and suspended him indefinitely without pay for insubordination.

"It was embarrassing," Anderson said. "I'm paid to drive a bus, not sit there and hand out coupons for something I don't believe in."

Anderson's employers didn't dispute his version of being forced off the bus, and sent a letter informing him of a "hearing before discharge or disqualification" on the grounds of "insubordination."

A spokesman for the authority, John Standiford, wouldn't discuss the Anderson case, but did say, "the passing out of coupons, in this case, is part of operating the bus. It's one of the many things that drivers do as part of their jobs, like handing out transfers or calling out stops. If drivers make conscious decisions not to do part of their jobs, they have to be held accountable."

The suspended bus driver has already garnered the strong support of a local animal rights group he belongs to.

"We think this [suspension] is completely out of bounds," said Ava Park, founder of Orange County People for Animals, a 2,300-member animal rights group which, like Anderson, is opposed to the slaughtering and consumption of animals for reasons of both ethics and health.

"It's a 1st Amendment issue," Park said. "You don't leave your ethics at the door when you go to work. He is being asked to pass out propaganda opposed to his ethical beliefs. This is bully-ism at its worst."

Park said her group will do "whatever is necessary" to support the suspended driver, including eliciting the aid of other civil rights groups, initiating a legal challenge of the authority's action and accompanying him to his pre-discharge hearing today.

Anderson said he's being backed by the Teamsters Union Local 952. Union officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Carl's Jr. said the hamburger promotion will continue.

"The decision to eat meat is a personal one," company spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. "It's an unfortunate incident with this driver, but from what we understand, many of the other drivers are very excited and supportive of the program."

But as much as he wants to keep his $16.60-an-hour job, the vegetarian bus driver said, he will never cave in to the hamburger interest. "What I did," he said, "probably saved at least half a cow."

Bus Driver Fired Over Burger Promo

By LISA RICHARDSON, Times Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times

The Orange County Transportation Authority fired a vegetarian bus driver Friday who refused to distribute coupons for free Carl's Jr. hamburgers. The authority cited driver Bruce Anderson's refusal to follow orders--not his dietary beliefs--as the reason for his dismissal.

"To us the issue has never been about hamburgers or meat or anything else," said authority spokesman John Standiford. "It's a case where he made a conscious decision not to do a reasonable part of his job. It's a matter of not following orders." The nature of the agency's business requires its drivers to observe strict discipline, Standiford said, or bus service would suffer.

On the advice of his lawyer, Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, Anderson declined to comment on his firing. Union officials said they would fight for Anderson's reinstatement. They plan to file a grievance.

"I think to the authority it's very simple--it's insubordination," said Mike Patton, business representative of the Teamsters Local 952. "But to us it's a huge overreaction.

Several hours into his route Tuesday, Anderson was ordered off his bus. Before starting work, he had refused instructions to hand out the coupons. In the promotion, riders receive free hamburgers at Carl's Jr. Orange County restaurants if they also buy soft drinks. The promotion is scheduled to run each Tuesday this month. At a disciplinary hearing Thursday, Anderson had offered to be assigned to different duties for those three days.

Carl's Jr. says it did not influence the authority's decision to fire Anderson. Anderson's case has become nationwide news. Animalrights groups, 1st Amendment advocates and others have offered opinions on the case. "The Orange County Transit Authority is punishing Bruce for his beliefs by taking this unnecessarily drastic measure of firing him," said Ava Park, founder of the animal rights group Orange County People for Animals, of which Anderson is a member. The group has set up a fund to help Anderson pay his living expenses while unemployed.

But by firing the bus driver, the authority "educates Orange Countians about the institutionalized abuse of millions of animals in factory farms, in laboratories, in the entertainment industry and the making of fur," Park said.

Fired Bus Driver Got a Bum Steer

Thank you to The Times for reporting in such depth the case of the vegan bus driver, dismissed for his beliefs. It is to be hoped you will continue your coverage with an investigation into who leaned on the Orange County Transportation Authority. It's not so many years ago that fired bus driver Bruce Anderson would have been dismissed for "insubordination" had he refused to implement a policy of making persons of color stand in the back of his bus. This situation is no different. Anderson is standing up against speciesism now as he undoubtedly would have stood up against racism then. He is to be highly commended as a man of courage, not dismissed under the guise of some pathetic excuse of insubordination.

CHRISTINE WATT

* I'd like to support the OCTA bus driver who refused to dispense Carl's Jr. fast-food coupons. What's next--catalogs, beauty products, etc. Why doesn't OCTA issue, upon request, a receipt for fare which might then be used for promotional or advertising purposes. The veteran Long Beach Transit bus driver whom I chatted with was aghast at the idea of turning pitchman.

SCOTT HOGARTH

* We read with great interest about OCTA's firing of Anderson for his refusal to distribute hamburger coupons. As members of a 5,000-year-old spiritual tradition, we applaud the efforts of anyone who seeks to limit animal slaughter and strongly support the principle of vegetarianism, which was the basis of Anderson's action.

The Krishna consciousness movement represents many people of both Western and Eastern descent in this region for whom vegetarianism is an important spiritual principle. The Vedic scriptures of India, the world's oldest religious teachings, prohibit meat eating on the grounds that animal slaughter violates the universal law of karma. These scriptures teach that all living beings have a right to life and that the law of karma exacts harsh penalties for those who violate such rights. Millions of people around the world follow religious traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which advocate the spiritual importance of vegetarianism. Ethical considerations have attracted many of the world's leaders to adopt a vegetarian diet.

In a time when spiritual values are sorely needed, we think it unfortunate that Anderson has been punished for standing up for his beliefs. We urge the OCTA to give him every possible consideration and to abolish its policy of free hamburger coupons.

REBECCA CORNIA

International Society
for Krishna Consciousness
San Diego

* I am not a vegetarian but I fully support Anderson's decision not to hand out free hamburger coupons to his bus passengers. He is correct; his first priority should always be to the safety and transport of his passengers.

In light of his ethical beliefs as a vegetarian it does seem a violation of his 1st Amendment rights that OCTA would suspend this man for insubordination. What I find absurd and disturbing are the statements by OCTA and Carl's Jr. spokespersons.

The OCTA spokesman stated that handing out the Carl's Jr. "free hamburger" coupons is just like handing out transfers or calling out stops and that drivers have to be held accountable for their decisions.

The Carl's Jr. spokeswoman stated that while the suspension was unfortunate she understood many other drivers are very excited and supportive of handing out the coupons.

Do these spokespersons actually believe what they're saying? Both statements are at best naive, misinformed and stupid. At worst they are absurd and dishonor many people who follow and believe in a strict vegetarian lifestyle.

While Anderson is being held accountable for his actions, what of OCTA's lack of leadership and Carl's Jr. insensitivity?

Dismissed Bus Driver Files Federal Complaint

A bus driver who was fired for refusing to hand out coupons for free hamburgers filed a lawsuit Monday accusing the Orange County Transportation Authority of discriminating against him because of his ethical beliefs.

"We feel that his belief system should be given the same weight as religious beliefs," said Gloria Allred, attorney for driver Bruce Anderson, who was dismissed June 7.

"They are part of his identity," Allred said. "This case may be the first of its kind in the nation, and we believe that it is important not only for vegetarians but also to all those employees who wish to have their employers respect their strongly held moral and ethical beliefs." Anderson first refused on June 4 to hand out coupons providing bus riders free Carl's Jr. hamburgers if they also purchased a soft drink, a promotion sponsored by the OCTA. Speaking Monday at a press conference at Orange County Superior Court, Anderson said the termination had changed his life.

"Since I lost my job," he said, "I have had a lot of sleepless nights. Sometimes I talk to people and break down in tears. I worry a lot about what is going to happen next. . . . I would just like to go back to driving a bus, as long as I don't have to pass out coupons that are based on the abuse and slaughter of animals."

An OCTA spokesman said the lawsuit would not change the agency's contention that Anderson was fired for good cause.

"It's a case of insubordination," said John Standiford. "It never had anything to do with vegetarian beliefs. It's the case of a driver making a conscious decision not to do his job, and the lawsuit isn't going to change those facts."

Anderson's lawsuit asks that he be returned to his job and awarded an unspecified amount of money for "extreme and severe mental anguish and emotional distress." He is also seeking compensation for lost earnings and possible medical expenses.

O.C. Vegetarian Wrongly Fired,
Bias Panel Finds
By DAVID HALDANE

In an unusual ruling that raises vegetarianism to the same level as religious beliefs, a federal commission said Friday that an Orange County bus driver was wrongly fired for refusing to hand out coupons for free hamburgers as part of a promotion to boost ridership.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the Orange County Transportation Authority "failed to reasonably accommodate" driver Bruce Anderson in violation of laws against religious discrimination. In doing so, the commission said, the OCTA discriminated against Anderson for his "strongly held moral and ethical beliefs."

The action violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because Anderson's beliefs, although not directly religious, were held "with the strength of traditional religious views," the commission said.

"We're very happy about this," said Gloria Allred, an attorney for Anderson. "It's very exciting. This may be the first case of its kind in the nation dealing with whether an employer can discriminate against someone on account of their strongly held moral beliefs."

Anderson, 38, was dismissed in June after he refused to hand out the hamburger coupons as part of a promotion by the OCTA and Carl's Jr. restaurants. As a devout vegetarian, Anderson said, the promotion violated his aversion to the killing and eating of animals.

Officials disagreed, terminating the bus driver on the grounds of insubordination for disobeying a direct order from his supervisor.

Allred, acting on Anderson's behalf, then filed a lawsuit against the agency and also filed a discrimination complaint with the EEOC.

"It's a spiritual belief," Anderson said of his strict vegetarian beliefs. "Animals can't speak, so somebody has got to do it for them."

An OCTA spokesman said Friday that the agency disagrees with the ruling and will not change its stand.

"This is only the first step in a long process and it's not going to change anything," spokesman John Standiford said. "This action will not affect his job status."

Some lawyers characterized the ruling as rare in the amount of weight it gives to beliefs that are not obviously religious.

"It's kind of surprising," said Don D. Sessions, an employee rights attorney based in Mission Viejo. "Where does it end? Does this mean that if some guy [has strong beliefs] against taking a bath for four weeks that it's a religious belief?"

But Erwin Chemerinsky, a USC professor specializing in constitutional law, characterized the commission's ruling as consistent with the Supreme Court's previous definitions of religious belief.

"It is unusual," he said of the ruling. "But the Supreme Court has said that religious belief doesn't require a belief in a supreme being--it just has to be a set of beliefs that occupy a place in a person's life similar to that which religious beliefs occupy in the life of a religious person."

Regarding the Anderson case, he said, "this is consistent. Under Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act] there has to be reasonable accommodations. This case follows existing precedent rather than going off in a brand-new direction."

Previous cases have established that strong beliefs, such as conscientious objection to war, carry the same weight as religious beliefs, Chemerinsky said. He added that this the first case in which vegetarianism was raised to that level.

In a letter sent to both sides of the dispute this week, Patrick Matarazza, director of the commission's San Diego area office, outlined the next step. Before taking any further action, he wrote, the commission will "endeavor to eliminate the alleged unlawful employment practices by informal methods of conference, conciliation and persuasion."

Both sides said Friday that they would be willing to discuss the matter, although an attorney for the OCTA reiterated the agency's opposition to returning Anderson to his job.

"We will participate in any process that might be appropriate," general counsel Ken Smart said, "but our position remains the same."

Should no agreement be reached, according to EEOC attorney Pamela Thomason, the commission could ask the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue action against the OCTA on Anderson's behalf.

"Typically, we would be seeking back pay and reinstatement," Thomason said. "We also might be seeking emotional distress damage."

Anderson's lawsuit is still pending in Orange County Superior Court.

Since being terminated, Anderson said, he has found part-time work as an instructional aide for the Orange County Department of Education and applied for a bus-driving job in Oakland.

But Anderson left no doubt that he wants his old job back.

"This is a great day for vegetarians," he said. "They're finally taking us seriously."

Bruce Anderson settled out of court for $50,000
GOOD FOR YOU BRUCE!

That'll buy just a few veggie burgers!