Office Depot reverses stance on printing anti-Planned Parenthood flier

Office Depot officials Friday said they've determined the content of a flier a Rolling Meadows woman tried to have printed at the company's Schaumburg store last month did not violate corporate policy.

Maria Goldstein of Rolling Meadows said she tried to have a flier critical of Planned Parenthood printed at the Schaumburg Office Depot on Aug. 20. A store employee declined the order citing company policy but never defined that policy, she said.

The pro bono law firm Thomas More Society, representing Goldstein in challenging what she saw as a violation of her religious freedom, contacted Office Depot on Thursday stating its intention to file a charge with the Cook County Human Rights Commission if the company did not make an adequate response.

"We sincerely apologize to Ms. Goldstein for her experience and our initial reaction was not at all related to her religious beliefs," Office Depot CEO Roland Smith said Friday in a written statement. "We invite her to return to Office Depot if she still wishes to print the flier."

Office Depot spokeswoman Karen Denning said the reason Goldstein's flier was initially interpreted as a possible violation of company policy was that it contained language that could have been construed as graphic or advocating the persecution of groups of people.

Thomas More Society attorney Thomas Olp said it's now up to Goldstein to decide whether Office Depot has made amends.

"They said, 'We misread our own language,'" Olp said of Office Depot's response. "They can have any policy they want, but they can't apply it in a discriminatory way. Essentially, they're trying to bow out gracefully here."

Goldstein could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.