[OT] OMG - Part Deux!

CatNipped wrote:
I was just called "on the carpet" into the HR Director's office again. It
seems the President/CEO/Owner's wife (the CFO) was complaining about me to
the HR director again.

What did I do this time that was so awful as to warrant a dressing down
(although the HR Director had the grace to look shame-faced about having to
do it)?

I sent a note out to everyone (this being about 10 people, since we're such
a small company) to remind people that the company's vice president has a
birthday this Saturday.

OMG, Katy bar the door!!!! She thinks this was "unprofessional" of me and
that I was mis-using the company's resources by sending an email that was
not about company business. The HR Director tried to excuse it again by
saying that she is a *very* religious catholic and didn't believe in giving
Christmas or birthday gifts (I was raised a catholic but I somehow missed
the part about gift-giving being a sin). I didn't suggest a party or that
people buy him something, I simply stated the fact that Saturday was his
birthday in case anyone wanted to wish him happy birthday (most executives
*WANT* to be reminded about things like this since it makes them seem more
caring to their employees!!!)

Geez, folks, what the heck am I going to do? I'm still looking for other
employment, but the pickings are *really* slim here in Houston.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Lori, that is just crazy. Every place I ever worked, there was someone
(usually the most organized person in the office)....who kind of took
it on herself to manage birthday memos, office parties, etc. I have
never, EVER heard of an employer taking offense to it.
You gotta get yourself outta there. Good luck. Hang in there the best
you can, and above all, don't take that garbage home with you. (easier
said than done)

Sherry

wrote:
Not really, not in all states. I think TX is also an "at will" state
(is that right term?) You can be fired for any reason, or no reason at
all. Somebody correct me if my understanding of this is wrong. It
doesn't affect your right to draw unemployment, but you can't really
sue for being wrongfully fired. I'm sure there are extreme exceptions
to this.

You are correct. In order for an ex-employee to win a lawsuit in Texas,
he/she would have to *prove* that he/she was fired in violation of
federal law. That is, that he/she was fired for being male/female,
young/old, religious/non-religious, vet/non-vet or for his/her national
origin or for having a disability.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"Victor Martinez" wrote in message
...
You are correct. In order for an ex-employee to win a lawsuit in Texas,
he/she would have to *prove* that he/she was fired (snip)...for being
male/female, young/old, religious/non-religious, vet/non-vet or for
his/her national origin or for having a disability.
Victor M. Martinez

Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult or impossible for an employee
to prove that the employer's actions to discipline or fire the employee was
because the employee was a member of one if the protected groups.

However, if the employee is still with the company and has filed a
complaint with the employer and the EEOC, alleging discrimination due to
being a member of one or more of the above categories that Victor listed,
the employer must be very careful if taking any additional disciplinary or
firing action against that person, at least while the complaint is pending.

Otherwise, the employee could accuse the employer of retaliation, and that
would be easier to prove and harder for the employer to disprove.

That is about the only protection that I know of that an employee has in
Texas.

Annie

On Fri, 5 Jan 2007 15:39:48 -0600, "jmcquown"
wrote:

Within the departments in IT we were always sending stuff about birthdays,
planned pot lucks, etc. No one so much as batted an eye, certainly not HR!

My department's HR rep sends out birthday / anniversary announcements
(among other "fun announcements"), and her admin creates small (8-1/2
x 11) posters on powerpoint, prints them in color, and hangs them
outside the honoree's cube.


They have to allow you to rebut/refute the "charges" (so to
speak).

Not in Texas. (a "right to (not) work" state) They can send you right
out the door for no reason whatsoever (even if it's something totally
silly like you wore a green skirt to work and they don't like green),
and unless you can prove discrimination there's absolutely nothing
that you can do about it.



Jeanne Hedge

============
http://www.jhedge.com

On Sat, 6 Jan 2007 09:17:14 +1100, "Yowie"
wrote:

My goodnesss! We get e-mails to the whole department like "has anyone found
my glasses?", "There's some leftover birthday goodies in the tea room, help
yourselves" and "I'm about to renovate my kitchen, can anyone recommend a
good builder and/or who to stay away from?"

Our managegement's attitude is that its far cheaper for all involved to do
that sort of thing over e-mail than for the individual going around asking
everyone they see face to face, simply because a face to face conversation
may start "have you seen my glasses?" but can (and often does) involve
'thread drift' and means two (or more) people chatting about non-work
related stuff in the corridor for 10 minutes or more.

Just recently my department head sent out an email saying "has anyone
seen my Blackberry?" Turns out, she left it in the women's room. At
least that's where security found it ^_^



Jeanne Hedge

============
http://www.jhedge.com

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:35:28 -0600, Victor Martinez
wrote:

wrote:
Not really, not in all states. I think TX is also an "at will" state
(is that right term?) You can be fired for any reason, or no reason at
all. Somebody correct me if my understanding of this is wrong. It
doesn't affect your right to draw unemployment, but you can't really
sue for being wrongfully fired. I'm sure there are extreme exceptions
to this.

You are correct. In order for an ex-employee to win a lawsuit in Texas,
he/she would have to *prove* that he/she was fired in violation of
federal law. That is, that he/she was fired for being male/female,
young/old, religious/non-religious, vet/non-vet or for his/her national
origin or for having a disability.

The "Big Six" in Indiana (another right to work state) is age, sex,
race, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. If you can't
prove you were fired for one of those reasons, you're S.O.L.
Otherwise, they can fire you for having a hot dog instead of a burger
for lunch.



Jeanne Hedge

============
http://www.jhedge.com

On 5 Jan 2007 16:46:43 -0800, "Enfilade"
wrote:

Is it possible to ask someone for a list of what is acceptable and
unacceptable? Phrase it that apparently your prior employers had
different definitions, and following their definitions has gotten you
in trouble you didn't intend, and could they please clarify for you
what their guidelines are.

A good idea! Ask the HR Director for it (that sort of thing is
his/her job, after all), and get it in writing.



Jeanne Hedge

============
http://www.jhedge.com

gracecat wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
CatNipped wrote:
I sent a note out to everyone (this being about 10 people, since
we're such a small company) to remind people that the company's vice
president has a birthday this Saturday.

OMG, Katy bar the door!!!! She thinks this was "unprofessional" of
me and that I was mis-using the company's resources by sending an
email that was not about company business.

Document, document, document. And if they reprimand you in writing,
refuse
to sign anything until you can mull it over and add your two cents
if you want to. They have to allow you to rebut/refute the
"charges" (so to speak). Purrs for your nerves and keep on looking,
my dear!

Jill



Depends on the State, Jill. If Texas is similar to Louisiana, short
of the federal big three (age, sex, race) it's a "no fault" (to use a
divorce term) state. If Lori refuses to sign the written reprimand
she can be fired on the spot. As long as the employer has an honest
grievance then he cannot be held accountable. And it seems using
company equipment (computers) to send personal messages (email about
birthdays) could be construed as an honest grievance. I'm not saying
it's right, and that Lori shouldn't be disgruntled at being called on
the carpet for a small thing, but if she kicks up too big of a scene
over it by refusing to abide by their wishes or signing a reprimand
(which I doubt with a very small company of this size) then she can
be out on her ass without so much as a pity two weeks pay in advance.
You can disagree with the charge but you still have to sign it
without risk of being fired.. at least here in Louisiana And I
don't think, with a much needed paycheck, it'd be good to say hell no
I'm not signing it when all it is, is just a piece of paper that
ultimately doesn't matter.

Grace

You're probably right. I don't think Tennessee is such a state because when
I encountered a problem I requested time to formulate my response and it was
not a problem.

I hope Lori gets out of that hell hole soon. It's all too ridiculous.

Jill

wrote:
Enfilade wrote:

So, you've had your warning...dont' do it again. It always ****es
me off when people choose to punish after the fact rather than lay
down in advance what isn't acceptable. It's one thing to do it
when you've been told not to but quite another to be told all is
fine and suddenly get a kick in the arse.

I think the real issue here is that the wife of the CEO (I forget what
her position is - CFO?) has it out for CN. So she'll use anything as
an excuse to get CN in trouble. This isn't just a matter of having a
poorly publicized company policy. It sounds capricious and random to
me, just based on the b**ch's whims.

Joyce

Sounds that way to me, too. First she was criticizing her clothing, wasn't
she? And it's not like Lori was showing up for work in a mini-skirt and a
tube top.

Jill

Enfilade wrote:
OMG, Katy bar the door!!!! She thinks this was "unprofessional" of
me and that I was mis-using the company's resources by sending an
email that was not about company business.

Still, it seems liek the HR director is both embarrassed about having
to warn you over something so stupid and unlikely to fire you because
of it. Though I would still document, document EVERYTHING.

Yeah, regardless of their ability to "fire at will", as Victor phrased it,
it cannot hurt to document these instances of what is obviously harrassment
instigated by the wife of the CEO/CFO (whatever).

Jill