Black man fired for response to racist customer tells Home Depot he doesn't want job back

Maurice Rucker, a black man who was fired from Home Depot for his response to a customer's racist verbal attacks, doesn't want his old job back even after the company offered it, according to The Washington Post.

Rucker, who had worked for Home Depot for a decade, said the company hadn't treated him with respect throughout his years of employment, and that they only want to hire him back because of the backlash, not because they want him as an employee.

“It has to do with the media reaction to them firing me. ... The fact they can fire me after 10 years for reacting to someone who is racist is insane,” Rucker said.

What happened?

Rucker was reportedly berated by a customer on July 9 after he told the customer that he needed to put his dog on leash while at the store.

The customer, angry at Rucker's request, allegedly responded to Rucker by saying "F*** you. You're an a**hole, you're a piece of s***.” Rucker said the customer told him he wouldn't have a job if Donald Trump wasn't president, and also said other racist insults.

Rucker told the customer “You’re lucky I’m at work right now because if not, you wouldn’t be talking to me like this,” which Home Depot initially said was against company protocol. According to them, Rucker should have disengaged and alerted a supervisor.

Home Depot changes its tune

After media picked up the story and Home Depot began getting hit with severe backlash, the company tried to mitigate the damage by offering Rucker his job back, telling The Hill that the company had "taken another look" at the situation and decided to offer the job with back pay.

Rucker, citing "passive bias" against him and a potentially toxic environment, said he doesn't want to go back to Home Depot. He said he felt he could be fired for any minor task, after having been written up two times -- once for poor customer service, and once for putting fertilizer in the wrong trash can.

"I felt like there wasn't a whole lot of love for me there," Rucker said.

He shouldn't have trouble finding another job, however, as he has received much community support for his troubles, including potential employment with the county after county executive Daniel McCoy reached out to him.