CARY - Publications as diverse as Mother Jones and Fortune have recognized SAS as a top workplace, lauding it as a great environment for seniors, mothers, and IT professionals to make a living.

That shining reputation, built over the years by benefits such as on-site child care, flexible scheduling and unlimited M&M candy, makes it all the more unusual that an employee has been protesting at SAS for more than a week.

The man bringing the unwanted attention to SAS is Louis DuPree, who says he's gotten a raw deal from the world's largest privately held software company.

SAS' image has already suffered this year, from a restructuring that affected at least 100 sales and marketing workers. For years, the company has been one of the most stable in its industry, with turnover of less than 5 percent.

So although people once talked just about how to land a job at SAS, now they're also discussing DuPree.

"I've never seen anybody be disgruntled at SAS," said Rob Verboon, a senior consultant at Relativity, a Raleigh software company.

Likewise, it's hard for David Motsinger to reconcile the protest with what he knows about SAS. For the executive at Durham's StrikeIron, pickets and signs signify unfair treatment of workers, not plush benefits such as free health care and fitness facilities.

"What kind of unfair treatment could there be at SAS?" said Motsinger, who met Verboon for lunch near SAS' campus. "SAS is known to be lenient on work hours and offer major benefits to employees to make them happy."

DuPree claims the company is firing him because he complained of harassment by his manager and because he has HIV, which would be costly to SAS in coming years. He has picketed at SAS' main entrance on Harrison Avenue every day since July 11. "If there was ever a dirty deal that's happened to me in my life, this is it," he said.

SAS says DuPree's job as a 3-D designer was one of fewer than 100 positions cut last week in a consolidation of two marketing divisions. Those workers will stay on SAS' payroll until mid-September, and they can apply for other jobs.

DuPree gets honks and thumbs up from some drivers, but others are more skeptical of his claims.

"People will listen to him and say he must be honest," said Quentin Tilman, who works in sales at Bytewyze, a Cary computer company. "They won't measure his reputation against SAS' track record."

DuPree has every right to be out on the sidewalk, said chief marketing officer Jim Davis, who doesn't remember any other protests in his 12 years at SAS. "It would be extremely inappropriate for somebody from SAS to say, 'Take the signs down,' " he said.

Davis wouldn't comment on DuPree's specific claims, but he was adamant that SAS does not discriminate.

The company continues to hire and its jobs are still in demand, he said. SAS regularly receives 200 applications for a single position within 48 hours of its posting.

"I still believe we're an employer of choice," Davis said. "I still believe that what we do for employees, our benefit package ... exceed what most companies offer."

DuPree says he just wants to keep his job and his health coverage at SAS. His doctor tells him he will have a hard time getting insurance from any other employer, now that he's HIV positive. "My best chance for a good quality of life is to fight for my benefits," he said.

There aren't any openings in 3-D graphic design at SAS, he said, but Davis said he could apply for other positions. While it's "highly unlikely" DuPree will get his old job back, he hasn't broken any company rules, Davis said.