My name is James Gordon and I am married to the most amazing woman and my best friend, Holly Anne Gordon. We have 8 children, 5 of whom are still at home with us. In 2022, my family and I faced a shocking life change, when the position I held for the better part of two decades was suddenly gone based on the lawless actions of my employer, Morgan & Morgan. After working for this law firm for almost 20 years as a top performer, I was fired for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine. I had a clean disciplinary record with no prior instances for almost 20 years prior to Morgan & Morgan's pretextual firing narrative that started in the last months of employment. The firm ignored my faith-based refusal to get the shots, and John Morgan through firm-wide emails relentlessly mocked people of faith, like me, who would not get the shots. Mr. Morgan's emails contained explicit discriminatory and harassing content, repeatedly comparing COVID-19 non-vaccination to frightened dogs, irrational fears, and mental illness. The emails included the following statements: (from United States District Court Middle District of Florida, Case 3:25-cv-00203)

September 28, 2021 – “I have hoped that watching all of this death may prod you into the vaccination for yourself and for your family. I have come from a place of love and concern. But when you decide to say ‘ you’ to your vulnerable coworkers it’s time for you to go. I can’t imagine what people are thinking. Some people just don’t want to be told what to do I guess….But my choice is to protect my firm from your recklessness or sincere fear.”

August 23, 2021 – “But we do know that 95% of all Covid deaths are the unvaccinated and it is a very painful death. A vaccine..."

On August 25, 2021, he affirmed Defendants’ policy was a COVID-19 mandate: “I know making this mandate will cause us to lose great talent and friends….And I care enough about you to warn you. It is easier to get a job with a job.”

John Morgan speaking on behalf of Defendants asserted that religious beliefs and racial differences informed individual employees’ choice with regard to COVID-19 vaccination. “Interesting and ironic is the people most likely to be unvaccinated are evangelicals who voted Trump and African Americans and Hispanics.”

September 2, 2021 – “The cost to our insurance is staggering….I don’t judge anyone because of their fears. The vast majority of those unvaccinated are the undereducated and those with strong political beliefs.”

August 4, 2021 – “Some religious folks handle rattle snakes and are not vaccinated. Making sense of so many people is impossible”

August 25, 2021 – “For those of you who are not [getting the shot] because your spouse will be mad……….what they don’t know doesn’t hurt them.”

September 28, 2021 – “In Orlando I terminated a paralegal who refused to always wear a mask…. We are in a pandemic..."

Morgan & Morgan says they never fired anyone for not taking the shot and never had any Covid 19 shot mandate. Yet they fired others via email for it. We have those emails.

I was denied any accommodation for my auto-immune medical condition. The day I was fired, they gave me a document to sign that would waive my rights to sue them for discrimination in exchange for a “severance” of less than a month's wages. I did not sign away my rights. Our family has had a financially difficult time since I was unlawfully terminated in May 2022. I was unable to secure full time work back in my field at my age (55) and for about 2 years found whatever work I could find doing side jobs and contract work making far less than my former salary as a case manager at the firm. The other financial and emotional fallout from this life-changing event has left my family without the resources necessary to hold the firm accountable on top of providing for our household of 7. Litigation is very expensive.

However, we trust in the Lord, and we are willing to stand up against lawlessness. We are fighting a giant that we know has harmed others and is rarely held to account for its actions. We are fighting lawyers of Morgan & Morgan that will not accept responsibility and believe they are invincible and can crush us because they have more power and money.

Our family has been fighting this lawless employer for 3 years now. Morgan & Morgan refuses to even acknowledge they did any wrong despite all the evidence to the contrary. We are now up against a short timeline to raise funds to contribute to the litigation costs and stay in the fight. Would you please consider contributing to help us and so many other people, to fight for our constitutional rights and set a precedent so this never happens to anyone else again? Morgan & Morgan is not "for the people". Rather, they only care about their image, power and profits.

Gordon Family