Fired For Voting? Ohio Woman Claims Her 2012 Obama Vote Cost Her A Job

If sequestration goes into effect in March, many Department of Defense jobs may be furloughed, leading workers to blame either the president or Republicans in Congress, depending on their political point of view. But one Ohio defense contractor worker who lost her job back in November has decided to sue her company for wrongful termination. She believes the real reason she was let go was because she voted for President Obama.

Patricia Kunkle is seeking $25,000 from Dayton-based defense contractor Q-Mark, Inc. after she was fired just three days after Election Day on November 9th. Kunkle claims that she spoke to her employer about her vote on November 7th. The suit claims that Q-Mark president and owner, Roberta Gentile threatened to fire employees if President Obama won the 2012 election and that Obama supporters would be the first to go.

Gentile’s attorney, Brian Wildermuth, wrote in a statement to the Dayton Daily News that “Ms. Kunkle was laid off for economic reasons – nothing more.”

Defense attorneys have until mid-March to respond to the sure-to-be-controversial case. Kunkle’s lawyer indicated that if her client wins the case, it would be the first time a judge sided with the plaintiff in a wrongful termination case based on the employee’s vote.

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