Some companies are cracking down on employees' off-duty behavior...

[blaze89]

Off-duty behavior can affect job (http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050613/tc_usatoday/offdutybehaviorcanaffectjob)
By Stephanie Armour and Julie Appleby, USA TODAY
Mon Jun 13, 6:56 AM ET


Some companies are cracking down on employees' off-duty behavior, raising questions about how far employers should go in policing what workers do on their own time.

Employees are being disciplined or fired for such behaviors as drinking on their own time, using competitors' products and displaying political bumper stickers. No one tracks the number of such cases, but some workers rights' groups are concerned that the practice is on the upswing.

"The shock is that there's no legal protection," says Lewis Maltby, of The National Workrights Institute, a non-profit based in Princeton, N.J., that focuses on employee rights. "You can get fired just for having a bumper sticker the boss doesn't like."

For example:

• At the Atlantic City, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, bartenders and waitresses can be fired if they gain more than 7% of their body weight. They are first given a 90-day unpaid suspension to lose the weight. Officials say it is a recent clarification to the company's appearance policy.

About 200 cocktail servers and bartenders, known as "Borgata Babes," are covered by the policy, and have to submit to weigh-ins. Weight gain for valid medical reasons, such as pregnancy, are exempt, but the waitresses have 90 days to comply with the target weight upon return.

"We believe the policy in place is not only legal and non-discriminatory, it is also fair," spokesman Michael Facenda said in a statement.

• Lynne Gobbell was fired from her job packing insulation by her Moulton, Ala.-based employer for displaying a John Kerry bumper sticker on her car, according to the Associated Press and numerous media reports. Gobbell could not be reached for comment.

• Ross Hopkins, who worked for a Budweiser distributor, sued after he says he was fired for drinking a Coors at a Greeley, Colo., bar after work.

But Jeff Bedingfield, attorney for American Eagle Distributing, says Hopkins was fired in 2003 for making disparaging comments about the company while at the bar wearing a company uniform. The case is expected to go to trial.

While about half the states have laws preventing employers from firing workers who smoke off duty, questions remain about other legal, off-duty activities. Some states have passed broader protections, says Kary Moss, executive director of the ACLU in Michigan.

"It's a growing trend," Moss says. "But whether or not they will go further to protect workers is an open question."

[Clandestino]

don't like the rules find another job

[SpursWoman]

How much would you be willing to bet that those were absolutely not the reasons those people were fired?

Although, I'm sure most people would share that sense of denial that they suck and couldn't handle the job. :lol

We discussed the waitstaff weight thing before....I think as long as the employee knows about it straight-up before they are hired, then they can't complain. If a business is selling a particular look (are there any flat-chested women at Hooters?) ... then they have right to manage what they are selling.

[Clandestino]

How much would you be willing to bet that those were absolutely not the reasons those people were fired?

Although, I'm sure most people would share that sense of denial that they suck and couldn't handle the job. :lol

We discussed the waitstaff weight thing before....I think as long as the employee knows about it straight-up before they are hired, then they can't complain. If a business is selling a particular look (are there any flat-chested women at Hooters?) ... then they have right to manage what they are selling.

go to hooters on fred/wurzbach.. ugly, fat, skinny, no titties, etc.. you name it, they have it...or don't have it..

[MannyIsGod]

I'm not sure about these cases, but there are cases of people being fired over things that were absolutely none of the employers business.

I know in Texas you have very little recourse regardless of the reason you get fired. It's pretty sad really.

[SpursWoman]

I'm not sure about these cases, but there are cases of people being fired over things that were absolutely none of the employers business.


Like what?

[SWC Bonfire]

How much would you be willing to bet that those were absolutely not the reasons those people were fired?


No shit, don't you know how hard it is to fire somebody at some places? At one of my former employers three major offenses had to be documented and witnessed by another officer of the company.

Total litigation b.s.

[MannyIsGod]

Like what?
You name it and I'm sure there are cases of someone being fired for it. Married to the wrong person? Goodbye! Homosexual? Goodbye!

I'm just throwing out random examples, and I'm not saying it's a huge epidemic, but I'm sure it happens.

[thispego]

thats such bullshit
why would any employer care what their workers are doing when they are no on the clock??? it's not any of their business what you so when you leave work, it's not anybodies fuckin business but your own.
It really really pisses me off when i go around looking for jobs and fill out applications only to see when i'm almost done filling out all those little blanks, that a drug test or some bullshit is required...

[MannyIsGod]

Some things are fair game, such as the weight issue above. Also, if the guy is in a uniform afterhours, I say anything he does is fair game as well because he's representing the company.

But there are aspects of your life that are private, and should be treated as such.

[SpursWoman]

No shit, don't you know how hard it is to fire somebody at some places? At one of my former employers three major offenses had to be documented and witnessed by another officer of the company.

Total litigation b.s.

At United Airlines (union) you'd pretty much have to murder someone on duty to get canned.

[samikeyp]

I know someone who used to work with me and she got busted for saying the company name on the radio. It was the day after 9/11 and she said that we need to stick together during a bad time and when the flights resumed to carry on as normal. They told her that she violated the "dealing with the media" policy because she didn't have permission to use the company name even though she was off work. That poilcy, in spirit, is designed for when the media comes to you and asks you questions about the company. It mentioned nothing about calling a radio station. She didn't even talk about the company, just mentioned where she worked. She was a great agent but was not an ass-kisser. They found a way to let her go.

[desflood]

thats such bullshit
why would any employer care what their workers are doing when they are no on the clock??? it's not any of their business what you so when you leave work, it's not anybodies fuckin business but your own.
It really really pisses me off when i go around looking for jobs and fill out applications only to see when i'm almost done filling out all those little blanks, that a drug test or some bullshit is required...
You don't think that a prospective employer should be concerned with drug use among it's employees?

[JoeChalupa]

I understand the drug testing stuff but I think it'd be nice to be able to smoke a blunt in the evenings on my own time and then go to work in the morning, SOBER, and know that I can perform my job and the fact that that nice blunt will stay in my system for 30 days or whatever sucks.
I know dudes who do coke because it is out of your system in what..like 3 days?
Or an alcoholic can get plastered every night but not worry as long as he can do his job during working hours.
I don't like the drug testing....but I can understand it.

[mookie2001]

drug testing is alright if youre a pilot or longhaul driver

but not for a fucking job at the mall

if its obvious that youre high, or you look like shit or youre falling down, then yeah, drug use led to you getting fired, it shouldnt be because you smoked a joint 2 weeks earlier to celebrate the spurs in the finals

[Clandestino]

drug testing is alright if youre a pilot or longhaul driver

but not for a fucking job at the mall

if its obvious that youre high, or you look like shit or youre falling down, then yeah, drug use led to you getting fired, it shouldnt be because you smoked a joint 2 weeks earlier to celebrate the spurs in the finals

there are other reasons for not wanting drug users in the workplace. how about the drug user has a higher propensity to commit employee theft than non-users? employee theft is the #1 cause of losses for companies.

[JoeChalupa]

there are other reasons for not wanting drug users in the workplace. how about the drug user has a higher propensity to commit employee theft than non-users? employee theft is the #1 cause of losses for companies.

As do gamblers, people in debt, alcoholics, people who like to steal, those who have access to the cash, most often than not those who embezzle do it because of greed..not weed.

[Clandestino]

As do gamblers, people in debt, alcoholics, people who like to steal, those who have access to the cash, most often than not those who embezzle do it because of greed..not weed.

i agree with you that all those people are prone to stealing... but so are drug users... that is why companies try to rid themselves of all of those types of workers..

[JoeChalupa]

i agree with you that all those people are prone to stealing... but so are drug users... that is why companies try to rid themselves of all of those types of workers..

I concur and like I said, I understand it, just don't like it.
Perhaps a scantily dressed code would be in order to make sure my female employees are not stealing office supplies.

[Mr. Ash]

... people in debt ...

Funny you should mention that one. Many financial companies are now checking the credit histories of potential employees...

[Clandestino]

your insurance company does it as well!

[mookie2001]

not mine.

[Mr. Ash]

not mine.

You might be surprised. I only know one or two large insurance carriers that do not currently use credit scoring for determining your risk pool.

[Clandestino]

not mine.

do you even have an insurance company?