Trash Hauler Fires Man Over Video Of Snow Plowed Onto Orthodox Jewish Men

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A private garbage collection company has fired a man in the wake of a video posted to social media showing a snow plow throwing snow and slush onto two Orthodox Jewish men on Saturday.

Waste Management posted a statement to Twitter saying the man had been fired.

"While the incident did not involve company equipment, the employee associated with this social media post is no longer employed with WM," the company said in a tweet. "The conduct of this former employee is unacceptable and not in accordance with WM’s code of conduct, commitments and values."

The two men who were hit by the snow and slush have been identified and will press charges, News 12 New Jersey reported.

On Monday the company confirmed the man was an employee and was off-duty at the time. The man who posted the video has disabled his Facebook account, and the man who was tagged in the video has deleted all of his public information.

The video, first reported by The Lakewood Scoop, shows two men in traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing walking along a road in Lakewood.

As the truck approaches the two men, the plow lowers and begins throwing snow. The driver and the passenger, who was recording the video, can be heard laughing as the snow sprays the men.

The video originally was posted to Facebook but is no longer visible there, but it was recorded and shared on Twitter.

The incident is under investigation, Lakewood police confirmed Monday, by police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. Neither office has commented on the investigation.

"The hateful conduct depicted in this video is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of inclusion and diversity we hold as a company," the Waste Management statement on Monday said. "The employee is suspended while we investigate this incident, but we can confirm that this behavior will not be tolerated from any WM employee and we will not employ those who act in this way."

"We are absolutely disgusted by this video footage which appears to show a snow plow operator intentionally and callously targeting two Orthodox Jewish men," the Anti-Defamation League said in a tweet. "This conduct is as dangerous as it is disturbing and we urge the victims to file a report with the @Lakewood_PD."

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