FARMERSVILLE, Ohio — Kristin Hauser has been a server at the Village Inn for the past two years. But not anymore. Last Friday she said she was fired for refusing to wear a ‘Trump 2020’ face mask— something she said her bosses have instructed every employee to do.

“I very much so liked my job there,” Hauser said.

In a very detailed Facebook post, Hauser explained that on her first day back to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her boss, handed her a face mask to wear. 

But this wasn’t a standard issue mask — this was a custom ‘Trump 2020’ mask. 

“I felt like if I didn’t say something, I had co-workers that would be put in a difficult situation,” she said. 

Hauser said she didn’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers by wearing a politically-charged face mask, so she asked if it was permssible to wear it inside out. But after a back and forth with her boss and the owner, there were no way around wearing the mask. 

She refused, and was told to clock out and was eventually fired.

“It’s been rough — I think especially since I’m like getting choked up, just especially what it’s done to my co-workers,” she said. “It’s been awful. 

Her Facebook post, which has been shared more than five thousand times, has drummed up a lot of support. But it’s also led to people impacting the restaurant’s reviews, which was not her intention.

“The fact that people think that my ultimate goal was to shut the place down, that’s absolutely not it,” Hauser said. “My goal is for a policy to be put in place to protect my co-workers from a situation like this.”   

To ensure a change is made, Hauser has hired Dayton attorney Jason Matthews to represent her.

“Initially it is our goal to see if the case can be resolved amicably through a negotiated agreement with the restaurant,” Matthews said. “What Kristen is seeking is simply damages that she’s going to suffering from losing her job, as well as a change in the employer’s policy to make sure others aren’t being subjected to the same treatment.” 

But there may be trouble filing a wrongful termination lawsuit. 
 
“Unfortunately, it’s not covered by any of the antidiscrimination laws, either at the federal level or in Ohio,” Case Western Reserve University School of Law Professor Sharona Hoffman said.

Hoffman said support for a political candidate is not covered by anti-discriminatory laws. 

And she said with Ohio being an at-will state, the employer and employee both hold the right to end employment at any time. 

“If you don’t have a contract of employment for a specific period of time with specific conditions for which you can be terminated, then the employer can terminate you at will, and you can quit at will as well," she said. 

Matthews said they have not filed a lawsuit yet, but they do have a case.

“The termination of Kristen gives rise to a public policy wrongful discharge claim, premised on Ohio Revised Code section 3599.05 — which prohibits an employer from coercing employees to vote in a certain manner or to support a certain political candidate,” he said. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out for comment from the Village Inn, and owner Scott Jacobs provided this statement via text message: 

“Other than to say that the post unfortunately contained a combination of inaccurate and incomplete information, The Village Inn will not be commenting further about the ongoing personnel matter or related issues at the present time.” 

The restaurant took down its Facebook page due to the fallout Hauser’s post has created.

Hauser said on the day she returned back to work she also had put in her two weeks notice because she found a new job — which has caused some confusion for people to believe she quit and was not fired — but she said that was not the case. And in the end, she hopes a resolution can be reached. 

“A lot of people are taking this as a Republican versus Democrat issue, but that’s not it,” Hauser said. "The whole issue is that I have the right to remain impartial and not make a political statement at my place of work. Shouldn’t be forced to make a choice for or against a certain candidate.”