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Benefits May 19, 2005
Coors Drinking CO Man Sues over Budweiser Firing
May 19, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Colorado man who
worked for a Budweiser dealer claims he was fired after he
was spotted drinking Coors beers in a bar.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
Because of the firing, Ross Hopkins, 41, filed suit in a Colorado state court, saying American Eagle Distributing Co. has no right to tell him what kind of beer to drink when he is not working, the Associated Press reported.
Hopkins said he was let go in May 2003 after the son-in-law of the distributorship owner spotted him in a bar in Greeley, Colorado hefting a Coors. Jeff Bedingfield, an attorney for American Eagle, declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit to a reporter but said “there are two sides to every story.”
In its court response, American Eagle said Hopkins was fired “for conduct that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement that is reasonably and rationally related to the employment activities and responsibilities of a particular employee,” according to the news report.