Claim Jumper's bracelet ban spawns PR headache

Nation's Restaurant News, May 30, 2005 by Lisa Jennings

IRVINE, CALIF. -- When officials of Claim Jumper LLC established a no-bracelets policy for servers last December, the 34-unit casual-dining chain had no idea it would end up on the nightly news as a result.

The company's goal was to prohibit the wearing of the colorful, silicone bracelets that are the latest cause-related fad nationwide, though Claim Jumper had cited safety and sanitation concerns as its reasons for the ban.

The bracelets, which resemble thick rubber bands, typically are embossed with words or phrases, often promoting charities. But some include potentially offensive messages--such as "F*** Bush," anti-war sentiments or boasts of sexual achievement--and guests were complaining, officials of the Irvine-based chain explained.

Earlier this month, however, former bartender Brian McKillip threatened to stage a protest at a Claim Jumper in Roseville, Calif., saying he was unfairly terminated from his job there because he refused to remove his band with the phrase "LiveStrong," which he bought to benefit a cancer-related charity.

The resulting negative publicity came at a bad time. Earlier this year Claim Jumper had begun exploring the possibility of a sale of the company or its first public stock offering to fuel Midwestern expansion of its exceptionally high-grossing dining concept.

Concerned that the company might be perceived as unsupportive of anti-cancer causes, officials modified the policy to allow servers to wear one cause-related bracelet on each wrist. A rule that the bands be washed regularly retained the caution about sanitation.

Sanitizing of another sort also was required, with only certain approved messages being allowed.

Attorneys, however, say the company may be stepping into a legal minefield by allowing some bracelets and not others, especially in Claim Jumper's home market of California, where servers claiming to be expressing religious beliefs or gender identity might argue that those are protected rights.

At issue are the multicolored bands made popular in large part by bicycle racing champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. who wore a "LiveStrong" band during last year's Tour de France.

Nike began selling the bracelets for $1 each to raise money for the nonprofit Lance Armstrong Foundation's efforts to support cancer research and awareness. Their popularity spawned a wave of knock-off bracelets, some sold as fund-raisers, with messages ranging from support of sports teams to benign phrases such as "Drama Queen" to more controversial slogans.

Craig Nickoloff, who is founder, president and chief executive of gold-rush-theme Claim Jumper, said the more controversial bracelets were the ones that drew customer complaints.

"We've had a situation where we had employees wearing more than one bracelet with offensive messages, like 'F*** Bush," anti-war [sentiments] and all kinds of statements that were offensive to many, many of our guests," he said. "I don't think you want to be waited on by someone who has the 'F' word on his wrist every time they refill your iced tea."

The company, feeling a need to address the issue "with a broad brush," banned bracelets altogether, Nickoloff explained.

The concerns about safety and sanitation were real, according to Robert Ott, the company's chief operating officer. Claim Jumper has prohibited the wearing of jewelry by back-of-the-house staff for 15 years for safety reasons.

Nickoloff said he could not discuss the details of McKillip's termination, but he said the bartender's refusal to remove his bracelet was only part of the reason. "There were other issues," he said.

McKillip, 29, said he began wearing the bracelet last June after his stepfather was diagnosed with cancer. Other family members also had cancer, and the bracelet represented his support for those loved ones, he said, adding that the no-bracelet policy initially had been only loosely enforced.

After McKillip announced plans to stage a protest at the restaurant, however, Claim Jumper officials were forced to rethink the issue.

Their policy modification to allow one cause-related bracelet per wrist required that messages be those of a qualified, national, health-related charity. The rule said bracelets must fit snugly and must be washed whenever hands are washed.

Claim Jumper also pledged $10,000 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and agreed to sponsor both McKillip and his stepfather for $10,000 each in an American Cancer Society fund-raising event in June.

The protest was canceled, and McKillip asked that he not be rehired. "He just wanted a change in the policy and an apology," Ott said. "I did both."

Nickoloff, a cancer survivor himself who has lost family members to the illness, said he was particularly hurt by the implication that Claim Jumper was insensitive to cancer-related concerns, noting that the company long has been a quiet supporter of cancer-related organizations.

In a statement Claim Jumper officials said McKillip "made us aware that there can be very deep and personal emotions behind the bracelets."