Employee fired for calling himself a ‘good little Nazi’ might get unemployment benefits

The Idaho Supreme Court has reversed a state agency’s decision that had denied unemployment insurance benefits to a supervisor at an Eagle business who called himself a “good little Nazi” on an office messaging platform.

Thomas Hennig was a weekend shift supervisor at Money Metals Exchange, a precious metals dealer. The company fired him on Aug. 15, 2022, saying that the Nazi comment was the “last straw” in multiple incidents involving Hennig’s interactions with other workers.

According to the court’s chronology:

Hennig started working at Money Metals in May 2022. He monitored coworkers’ clock punches.

Money Metals started monitoring Hennig’s electronic communications with employees three months into his employment, after management had received a complaint by another employee whose name was mentioned by Hennig during a conversation with a new worker.

Two days after this incident, Hennig saw a coworker eating lunch in the break room. Hennig messaged him to ask whether he had clocked out and then said, “I’m paid to be a good little Nazi, so I want to try to be the best little Nazi I can.. I probably shouldn’t have put that into writing… On a work chat.. Oh well, they’re the ones paying me.”

The company said this was the “last straw” and fired Hennig the following day.

Hennig said this was a joke about being diligent in enforcing Money Metals’ time clock rules.

At the hearing before an appeals examiner for the Idaho Department of Labor, Hennig said: “There are certainly words in the English language that are known to be universally reprehensible and carry an inherently cruel or cruelty or offense, but Nazi is not among these words, as it is a commonly used term to express a seemingly unnecessary rigidity in adherence to a particular set of rules or policies, especially when referring to an individual who closely watches their peers for any reason.”

Hennig said his “unorthodox humor” was encouraged by the company, and management was eager for him to use his “sense of humor and levity to keep the team comfortable” and make sure they found him “approachable as a manager.”

Money Metals said Hennig’s electronic communication was unprofessional and violated the company policy.

Hennig said Money Metals selectively enforced its communication policy and promoted another employee who had repeatedly made comments that included a racial slur in the presence of coworkers and management.

“To be clear, not only was (named employee)’s language not met with similar repercussions to my own, but, instead, it resulted in his being promoted,” Hennig said.

CEO: Employees must behave respectfully

Stefan Gleason, the president and CEO of Money Metals Exchange, told the Idaho Statesman there was no evidence of those allegations.

“Our personnel records show we terminated six employees between 2020 and 2023 for inappropriate communications and behavior in the workplace,” Gleason said in an email. “We require that employees act in a professional and respectful manner toward their coworkers, toward the company, and toward our customers – and these standards are clearly communicated both through our written policies as well as when situations arise.”

According to the court’s chronology, Hennig said Money Metals did not provide him a signed copy of its communication policy, which made the policy irrelevant. Gleason told the Statesman that the policy is communicated via a document that each employee signs and acknowledges upon starting employment, and that remains available to the employee.

The Idaho Department of Labor, which administers unemployment benefits, determined that Hennig was ineligible for unemployment because he was fired after violating company policy. Hennig then appealed to the Idaho Industrial Commission, a state agency that manages workers’ compensation and acts as an administrative court for unemployment insurance decisions made by the Labor Department. The commission upheld the Labor Department’s decision.

Gleason told the Statesman that he could not share Hennig’s rate of pay nor whether he worked full-time.

“It’s never fun when it ultimately becomes necessary to terminate any employee,” he said. “However, the question of whether any former employee is entitled to collect state unemployment benefits is a matter for the Industrial Commission to determine. And we have not been participating in this court case.”

Efforts to locate Hennig for comment were unsuccessful.

What’s next

The Supreme Court said the Industrial Commission failed to consider whether Money Metals allowed the other employee’s racist comments and encouraged Hennig’s irreverent humor. The court reversed the commission’s decision and returned it to the commission for further analysis and a new decision.

The commission declined to answer questions from the Statesman, saying it does not comment on pending cases.