The popular Sweden-based furniture retailer IKEA is being sued after it fired an employee in Poland for posting Bible verses to voice his objection to the company’s promotion of “LGBT rights.”
The former employee, identified only as Tomasz K., told state broadcaster TVP Info that he was let go from the store in Krakow after he declined to delete a comment he posted on the company’s intranet.
The comment in question was critical of an event the company hosted in May to show solidarity with the LGBT community.
“I was shaken up, I’ve been hired to sell furniture but I’m a Catholic and these aren’t my values,” Tomasz explained.
In a statement, the company said it published an article on May 16, the international day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, presenting IKEA’s “values and position” on the LGBT issues.
The statement added that the employee published a comment under the article voicing “his opinion in a way that could affect the rights and dignity of LGBT + persons.”
According to the Catholic News Agency, Tomasz posted two verses from Scripture in his objection to the company promoting homosexuality.
One verse was Matthew 18:6, which reads: “Woe to him through whom scandals come, it would be better for him to tie a millstone around his neck and plunge him in the depths of the sea.”
The other verse, Leviticus 20:13, reads: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
The company further noted in its statement that many fellow employees contacted IKEA human resources about Tomasz’s post.
“The employee actually used quotes from the Old Testament about death and blood in the context of what fate should meet homosexuals,” the statement reads. “Many employees concerned by this entry contacted our HR department.”
IKEA stressed that there is “no room” in the workplace for “violating the dignity of other employees.”
“We oppose and react when there is a risk of violating the goods or personal dignity of each employee. In our opinion, this was the case, which is why we decided to terminate the contract with the employee,” the statement continued. “I emphasize that views were not a problem, but a way of expressing opinions that excludes other people.”
Tomasz and his attorneys believe that his right to express his beliefs was violated.
He told the Polish state broadcaster that he was asked to remove the offending post but said that he “cannot censor God.”