Yep, over a christmas hat. At a garden center during one of the most busiest periods for them. They were already under-staffed when I worked there. Now they're absolutely cratering hard with the lack of employees. The person who fired me is the son of the owner, who spends his days on his phone doing nothing or giving us 2 hour jobs and complaining when we haven't finished them 20 minutes later..
So this person, let's call him John, John has absolutely no concern over the way he treats his employees. He makes our delivery driver who is in his late 60s work right down to the bone doing solo deliveries. Deliveries that entail moving tons and tons of landscape bark / compost to customers. The delivery driver has previously survived cancer and suffers from hip pain from on work injury. Yet he's hounded at constantly to hurry up and “WHERE ARE YOU” while he is still doing the job he was previously asked to do. This is very typical behaviour for John, every day it's the same. Needless to say no one likes this guy. Everyone who works there wishes he would just stop working and enjoy the easy money from his dads company.
Now i've set the picture, let's begin. So today, I arrive at work 30 minutes early from my usual 9 am start time. Everything is going well, John was not around and we were able to get some more christmas trees down to where we have customers look at them. Nothing too complicated, however the moment John arrived and decided to come speak with us he asked me very simply “Why are you not wearing a christmas hat” I told him specifically the reasons behind why I cannot wear one and yet he becomes frustrated with me “Everyone else will be wearing one”. Then goes on about how you have to be apart of the team and that if I don't wear one there will be problems with people saying they won't need to wear one either.. Yet no matter what I said he did not listen, did not care to undersand. He then threatened it's either wear the hat or go home. He then called another manager to go with him to the office to change the rota, as if he's already made his mind up.
30 minutes later, I am called into the office and given the same exact question in a more definitive way. If you don't, you're out. I stared at John for a little bit without answering the question. Eventually I asked him if I can get back to work or is there no other christmasy thing I could wear that could satisfy his christmas facism. Thankfully or unfortunately? nothing could satisfy his absolute control freak nature. So I was sent home because I never agreed to wear an abitrary christmas hat.
TL;DR Wear a christmas hat or you're out. Did not comply. Fired by a christmas fascist.