He was sent home from work -- for wearing an American flag pin on his jacket. Now, our newspartner Channel 4 reports that he no longer has a job.
Sean May is the front desk supervisor at Casa Monica Hotel in downtown St. Augustine.
He says he's worn the pin on his uniform every day for the last two years.
"I wear it with pride because I like where I live. . .and I love this country," May, who's not a military veteran, tells Channel Four.
"I said I don't feel I need to take this off. She told me, 'You've got a choice -- you can go home or you can remove the pin.' I said I'm not going to remove the pin, so I guess I'm going home."
The hotel says it's always had personal appearance guidelines and they're being enforced.
May says he's willing to risk losing his job over the pin.
"They're so upset about a little pin. Yet I come to work every day, and flying over the hotel is a giant American flag."
This morning, we received a statement from Anthony Lazarra, the General Manager for the Casa Monica Hotel sent us this response :
"The Casa Monica has an extensive uniform policy that is clearly stated and addresses this issue as follows, "No other buttons, badges, pins, or insignias of any kind are permitted to be worn. The only exceptions are for those items authorized and supplied by the hotel." All Grand Performers (our employees) are notified of this policy, sign acknowledgement of same and we enforce our policies across the company. It is unfortunate that this has been interpreted and communicated to the public as an issue with the American Flag which is not the case at all. The Casa Monica proudly flies the Stars and Stripes high above the hotel."
But it's not only Casa Monica sending out statements regarding the issue. WOKV received a statement Friday afternoon from St. John's County commissioner Mark Miner about the incident.
Statement from Commissioner Mark Miner referencing Casa Monica Hotel:
“The Casa Monica Hotel and Kessler Enterprise certainly have the legal right to forbid their employees from wearing an American Flag pin. However, their inability to discern between the flag of our nation and other pins and buttons their policies forbid is of great concern to me. St. Johns County is home to nearly 20,000 military veterans and is made up of an ideologically and culturally diverse population whose collective love for the United States is second to none. I want to make clear that the actions taken by the Casa Monica Hotel and Kessler Enterprise do not represent the patriotism shared by St. Johns County residents and businesses. I hope Kessler Enterprise will act quickly to correct the disrespect they have shown the flag of our great nation and end the embarrassment they have brought upon St. Johns County.”
We have tried to reach out to the Casa Monica hotel for confirmation of the termnination of Sean May. We have not heard back yet.
