Fired for Wearing Orange?

[Joebob034]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/law-firm-fires-14-employees-wearing-orange-shirts-181404912.html

Law firm fires 14 employees for wearing orange shirts
By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/7oevxV91cpMLvoEqqKe0Pg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thesideshow/orange.jpg

They weren't wearing sagging pants or revealing clothing. But dressing in an orange shirt is apparently enough to get fired at one Florida law firm, where 14 workers were unceremoniously let go last Friday.

In an interview with the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, several of the fired workers say they wore the matching colors so they would be identified as a group when heading out for a happy hour event after work. They say the executive who fired them initially accused them of wearing the matching color as a form of protest against management.

Orange is widely considered to be one of the most visible colors to the human eye. Orange vests are worn by most hunters as a safety precaution and by school crossing guards. Most prisoners are required to wear orange jump suits.

The color orange is arguably Florida's defining color. The self-described "Sunshine State" is widely known for its orange juice exports.

The law offices of Elizabeth R. Wellborn, P.A. offered "no comment" to Sun-Sentinel reporter Doreen Hemlock, but four ex-employees tell the paper they were simply wearing their orange shirts to celebrate "pay day" and the upcoming Friday group happy hour.

"There is no office policy against wearing orange shirts. We had no warning. We got no severance, no package, no nothing," Lou Erik Ambert told the paper. "I feel so violated."

Ironically, had the employees been wearing orange as a form of protest, it would have been illegal to fire them, ABC News reports.

After the 14 employees were fired, an executive said anyone wearing orange for an "innocent reason" should speak up. At least one employee immediately denied any involvement or knowledge of a protest and explained the happy hour color coordination. Nonetheless, they were still fired.

"I'm a single mom with four kids, and I'm out of a job just because I wore orange today," Meloney McLeod told the paper.

And there's really nothing anyone can do about the terminations since Florida is an at-will state, meaning employers can fire an employee who doesn't have a contract "for a good reason, for a bad reason or even for the wrong reason, as long as it's not an unlawful reason," Eric K. Gabrielle, a labor and employment lawyer at Stearns Weaver, told the Sun-Sentinel. Gabrielle said there was no apparent violation of the law in this case.

[Jezter]

WTF? Aussie school doesn't allow shaved head and a US law firm doesn't allow certain color clothing? Oh my word...

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Must be damn Seminole fans [-(

The U forever!

[DemonGeminiX]

Must be damn Seminole fans [-(

The U forever!

Bobby Bowden doesn't appreciate that.

:nono:

[Yt Trash]

There's more to this story then mentioned here, and I'm sorry I don't have all the facts, but apparently the group was boycotting the payroll clerk who wore orange. There was an inter-office email bringing attention to wear orange on payday. They had worn orange on several other Fridays and it fell on Pay day. The law firm saw it as a retaliation against the payroll clerk and fired them.

Think about it? Really? Are you going to dress like all your co-workers to meet up at happy hour after work? That would look kinda goofy. There were some employees though that were collateral damage though, cause they were not included in the mass email list and were coincidentally wearing orange, but got fired anyway.

[Hal-9000]

still.....it's a law firm and any competing law firm should take this case

""There is no office policy against wearing orange shirts. We had no warning. We got no severance, no package, no nothing,"

[Hal-9000]

Florida :facepalm:


"since Florida is an at-will state, meaning employers can fire an employee who doesn't have a contract "for a good reason, for a bad reason or even for the wrong reason, as long as it's not an unlawful reason,"

[DemonGeminiX]

Florida :facepalm:


"since Florida is an at-will state, meaning employers can fire an employee who doesn't have a contract "for a good reason, for a bad reason or even for the wrong reason, as long as it's not an unlawful reason,"

That's not just Florida. There's about 12 US states that are at-will employment states. Georgia is another. And it's not as cut and dry as they're making it out to be. But I am going to buy what Yt Trash has posted. He probably has more info on the case than what this nationalized article is presenting.

[Yt Trash]

Florida :facepalm:


"since Florida is an at-will state, meaning employers can fire an employee who doesn't have a contract "for a good reason, for a bad reason or even for the wrong reason, as long as it's not an unlawful reason,"

Tell me about it. Back in 2006, I got suckered punched at work, didn't retaliate, went to my superiors and told them about incident. I told them I wanted to press charges for assault. I was told not to, cause they didn't want the negative publicity to the dealership. I said okay. Went to the police department after work, filed a complaint. Showed up for work the next day. Cops showed up to interview any witness to the event. Within a half hour of cops showing up, I was fired. I had pre-paid legal through my wife's work, consulted with an attorney and told me the same thing as above. Dealership didn't need a reason to fire me, but what it boiled down to was that no negative publicity in a police blotter.( To top it all off, witnesses to the event were told to keep quiet or they'd lose their jobs too.)

My immediate supervisor off the record told me I should have just scuffled with the guy and settled whatever beef we had in the shop and I'd still have a job rather trying to do the right thing. :meh:

[MrsM]

Tell me about it. Back in 2006, I got suckered punched at work, didn't retaliate, went to my superiors and told them about incident. I told them I wanted to press charges for assault. I was told not to, cause they didn't want the negative publicity to the dealership. I said okay. Went to the police department after work, filed a complaint. Showed up for work the next day. Cops showed up to interview any witness to the event. Within a half hour of cops showing up, I was fired. I had pre-paid legal through my wife's work, consulted with an attorney and told me the same thing as above. Dealership didn't need a reason to fire me, but what it boiled down to was that no negative publicity in a polite blotter.( To top it all off, witnesses to the event were told to keep quiet or they'd lose their jobs too.)

My immediate supervisor off the record told me I should have just scuffled with the guy and settled whatever beef we had in the shop and I'd still have a job rather trying to do the right thing. :meh:

Wow - that's sucks

[DemonGeminiX]

Tell me about it. Back in 2006, I got suckered punched at work, didn't retaliate, went to my superiors and told them about incident. I told them I wanted to press charges for assault. I was told not to, cause they didn't want the negative publicity to the dealership. I said okay. Went to the police department after work, filed a complaint. Showed up for work the next day. Cops showed up to interview any witness to the event. Within a half hour of cops showing up, I was fired. I had pre-paid legal through my wife's work, consulted with an attorney and told me the same thing as above. Dealership didn't need a reason to fire me, but what it boiled down to was that no negative publicity in a polite blotter.( To top it all off, witnesses to the event were told to keep quiet or they'd lose their jobs too.)

My immediate supervisor off the record told me I should have just scuffled with the guy and settled whatever beef we had in the shop and I'd still have a job rather trying to do the right thing. :meh:

Louisville sluggers come in handy in these situations.

[Pony]

We're at will here in Ohio as well. I don't think it's that cut and dry though. Here basically employers are better off firing you for no reason. if they give a bad reason you may have some recourse if the reason given is unjust.

[Hal-9000]

Tell me about it. Back in 2006, I got suckered punched at work, didn't retaliate, went to my superiors and told them about incident. I told them I wanted to press charges for assault. I was told not to, cause they didn't want the negative publicity to the dealership. I said okay. Went to the police department after work, filed a complaint. Showed up for work the next day. Cops showed up to interview any witness to the event. Within a half hour of cops showing up, I was fired. I had pre-paid legal through my wife's work, consulted with an attorney and told me the same thing as above. Dealership didn't need a reason to fire me, but what it boiled down to was that no negative publicity in a polite blotter.( To top it all off, witnesses to the event were told to keep quiet or they'd lose their jobs too.)

My immediate supervisor off the record told me I should have just scuffled with the guy and settled whatever beef we had in the shop and I'd still have a job rather trying to do the right thing. :meh:

That was hardcore and very unfair dude, I'm sorry to hear it played out that way.You'd think that after your actions (extreme self control), a coworker would have the balls to step up and say the other guy suckered you.
Even if the job didn't mean that much to me, I would have probably made a point to find the guy and step into his path with a well placed fist.

[Hal-9000]

We're at will here in Ohio as well. I don't think it's that cut and dry though. Here basically employers are better off firing you for no reason. if they give a bad reason you may have some recourse if the reason given is unjust.

I was having problems with my company a few years back and did some research.We have the Labor Relations Board up here and I was pleased to find out that there are certain basic rights that the Labor Board will step in on your behalf for and investigate.Simple things like no pay for duties rendered, abuse from a supervisor, forced hours of work.Each company has it's own unique rules though, some operating right on the line of the law, others that are better or worse.

Our company provides a written job description for every position.And our higher ups are fond of putting this phrase after your laundry list of expected tasks - 'And any additional duties as the supervisor sees fit'.

I spoke to and emailed the labor board, they said it sounded like I had a legitimate issue (our company has done worse to other people in the past..I've witnessed it). She also cautioned that once a case was opened against a company, if the employee continued to work there, life usually wasn't pleasant :lol: By law the labor board has to look at your personal files and do a mini audit of the complaints.Anywho I bailed from going to that length, I just implied very strongly to my HR department that I was seeking third party advice from outside the company :lol: They knew what I meant..