A former Target employee has been offered her job back after the retailer “apologized” for firing her for wearing a nametag inscribed with “trust in Jesus”.
Denise Kendrick, a devout Christian who worked as a cashier at a store in Fargo, North Dakota, said she was dismissed from her role over the alleged dress code violation.
Kendrick said she arrived at work on Saturday wearing a plain red sweatshirt, jeans – which are within Target’s dress code guidelines – and the handwritten nametag reading “trust in Jesus” beside her first name.
The cashier had been wearing the badge to work since Halloween, she said in a video on her YouTube channel on Monday.
Kendrick was then approached by her manager who allegedly said she “can’t wear that nametag”.
“‘Well, I’ve seen people with rainbows on theirs,’” Kendrick retorted, referring to the multicolored symbol of pride for the LGBTQ community, she told KVLY 11. “‘I’m going to continue to wear this nametag.’”
Kendrick claimed her employee responded: “‘Well, you can’t work here anymore.’”
The manager refused to write a written statement about why she was fired, the former Target employee said.
They instead allegedly handed Kendrick a piece of paper with a list of phone numbers and suggested making some calls if she had “any questions about the violation of the dress code.”
Kendrick said she had worn Christian-themed shirts to work for months and had never had an issue, and was left confused why the nametag was any different.
“Just because Target is exclusive and they can express their beliefs (does not mean) that my religious freedom is lost,” Kendrick said in the video on her YouTube channel.
Target’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policy reads, in part, that it “prohibits discrimination” and an employee’s experience shouldn’t be hindered by their religious beliefs.
Target has since apologized and asked Kendrick if she would like her job back.
“Upon learning of the situation, we conducted a review and determined that the team member should not have been terminated. We apologized to her and offered to reinstate her immediately,” they told the news station in a statement.
“We are taking the appropriate steps to address the actions taken by the individual leader involved in this situation and are working with the store to ensure our policies are appropriately followed moving forward.”
Kendrick said she took them up on their offer.
“They offered it to me immediately,” she said in another YouTube video on Wednesday. “I enjoyed my job at Target, and I’m going to enjoy it again.”
Kendrick was due to return to work on Thursday, she said in the video.
The Independent has contacted Target for more information.
