DEERFIELD BEACH, FL – An ex-Comcast worker has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging that he was terminated under false pretenses in January after he said that he had refused to engage in the telecommunications conglomerate’s mandatory “diversity training” – reportedly based on critical race theory – that he found to be “racist” and “discriminatory.”
According to his attorneys – Peter Ticktin and Jamie Sasson of the Ticktin Law Group – Edward Asbury of Ft. Myers, Florida was required by Comcast to attend what they referred to as mandatory, critical race theory based diversity training program. Asbury, a 19-year veteran at Comcast, claims that “persons of color” were not required to attend these training sessions.
Asbury said that he had attended the first of these training sessions and ultimately found the experience to be “demeaning and insulting,” according to lawyer Peter Ticktin.
“A lot of the training centered on ‘White Privilege’ and Edward said it was fundamentally racist against white people,” he said. “The materials included a ‘privilege checklist’ where the first question was ‘I am white.’ They were taught not to be blind to skin color and that it is bad to say that ‘all lives matter.’ During the meeting Edward expressed that he felt the views and thoughts expressed in this material were hurtful and demeaning.”
Other options choose from the diversity training checklist, according to Ticktin, included “I am male,” “I am heterosexual,” “I am cisgender,” “I do not have a disability,” “I have a 4-year college degree,” “I was born in the United States,” “English is my first language,” and more.
After attending the first meeting, Ticktin said his client told him that he had heard rumors – that The Published Reported is unable to verify – from “unnamed individuals” that the company would be allegedly favoring the hiring and advancement of persons of color over other individuals. He said that he subsequently refused to attend any further diversity training sessions, and claimed that he was fired on January 28 of this year as a result.
However, Asbury’s lawyers say, Comcast did not blame the firing on his refusal to attend the diversity classes; instead, they claim, Comcast alleged that Asbury violated its “off-duty actions policy” and “social media policy” by posting what they said was “harassing content” on his personal social media accounts, including images of his attendance at the January 6th Washington D.C. rally held by former President Donald Trump. However, his lawyers were quick to point out that Asbury never illegally entered the U.S. Capitol building later that day when numerous Trump supporters rioted at the U.S. Capital Building.
“Edward did attend the rally in Washington D.C., but he never entered the Capital or anything like that. He was very peaceful,” Ticktin said. “But when he got back he was called into a meeting, and he was terminated for what they called ‘unlawful harassing actions on his social media posts,’ simply because he was posting political things online…just traditional conservative viewpoints. He asked for clarification of the alleged harassment, but he was simply told that it was not up for debate and that he would be terminated immediately.”
“My two cents is that when you have a guy like Ed Asbury who companies don’t like because he’s standing up for his rights and refuses to be discriminated against, they’re looking for any reason they can to get him out,” attorney Jamie Sasson added.
Edward decided to file this lawsuit because he was unjustly terminated, Ticktin said.
Edward feels that he was retaliated against because he refused to participate in these workshops… he felt there was no other recourse than to file a lawsuit, he said. “He couldn’t sit by and let this happen to him, he felt very strongly about that.”
So far the lawsuit is and its earliest stages, however, Asbury’s attorneys are hoping that Comcast agrees to arbitration and to award their client the financial compensation they feel he is justly owed.
“The fact is that you’re allowed to fire anyone for any reason, except for reasons that aren’t legal,” Ticktin said. “One of the reasons that aren’t legal is racial discrimination, and that’s what this is.”
Despite the fact that Comcast is a large and powerful corporation featuring unlimited resources to combat a lawsuit, Sasson said this is more than just about winning or losing; it’s about doing what he says is right.
“Sometimes you have to stand up and make a statement against what you feel is wrong,” he said. “Ultimately, what it comes down to is that you’re not allowed to do what they did to this man. People are people, and everyone needs to be able to have dignity no matter what the color of the skin is. I honestly can’t understand why so many of these companies are trying to be political like this. It’s going too far.”
In addition to compensation, the attorneys of the Ticktin Law Group are hoping that they can also create what they call “real change” to prevent all forms of discrimination in places of employment.
The Published Reporter reached out to Comcast for a comment on the lawsuit, but as of press time has not received a response. We will update this story if a response is provided.
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