Employment Lawyer on MAGA Hat Restaurant Controversy: CFAX

A Vancouver restaurant manager was fired for cause when he refused to serve a customer who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat.

The slogan was popularized by U.S. President Donald Trump in his 2016 campaign, and can be found on bright red baseball caps worn by his supporters.

The terminated manager of Vancouver’s Teahouse in Stanley Park has been identified as Darin Hodge.

Eva Gates, vice president of operations and human resources for the Sequoia Company of Restaurants, which owns the Teahouse, says the capped customer was seated on the restaurant’s patio on Tuesday, June 26th when Hodge approached him, and asked him to take his “Make America Great Again” hat off in order to dine. The patron ultimately opted to leave the restaurant instead.

A Vancouver employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined host Adam Sterling on CFAX 1070 in Victoria to discuss whether or not the employer had “just cause” to terminate Hodge, and what an employee’s rights are in this particular situation concerning termination, severance pay and wrongful dismissal.