J. Matt Barber, a born-again Christian from Villa Park, claims that, in December 2004, his employers at Allstate Corp. suspended him without pay and had him escorted from the company grounds in Northbrook after he wrote an online essay condemning same-sex marriage, according to an item in the Chicago Tribune. Allstate fired Barber three days later. The issue has lit a fire under conservatives. Christian groups have protested Barber’s fate on Web sites and in newsletters, generating what they claim are more than 240,000 e-mails and an unknown number of phone calls to Allstate. Barber filed a lawsuit in May in federal court in Chicago alleging that Allstate’s action constituted discrimination on the basis of religion, a contention some legal pundits are calling original. Barber’s representative is David Gibbs III of the Florida-based Christian Law Association, which represented Terri Schiavo’s parents in their high-profile efforts to prevent her feeding tube from being removed.
In court documents, Allstate said Barber was not fired for his beliefs, but for using company resources for his personal activities.
Company spokesman Michael Trevino said that Allstate has never terminated an employee for expressing his or her personal views away from the office. Barber said he wrote the articles at home but admitted that he sometimes sent personal e-mails, including some related to his writing, from his company laptop. Barber also stated that he made no more personal use of his laptop than his co-workers did.