If you skip work to protest and get fired, you should...

"If you skip work to protest and get fired, you should..."

  • find a new job because you were irresponsible.

    Votes: 21 87.5%
  • Get your job back if it was for a "nobel cause."

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    24
Ted said:
Luckily I used to word "legit" in relation to the protest. The legitimacy has to be reviewed by a judge. If he/she says it is okay to protest against the certain cause, the employers will have a hard time firing you.
Of course you could use a free day, but why should you. You get paid 80 or 100% and you keep your free day. Why do you boss a favour when you don't have to. I know I wouldn't do mine the favour. But if it is a small company and a nice boss, well I might consider it.

That may be how it works over there, but here that's not how it goes.

No where in the US Constitution does it say you have the "right to protest AND miss word while you do it." Employers are not required by law to support your political agendas, therefore, they are not required by law to give you permission to take the day off to protest.

You don't get a "free day" to protest. If you want to miss work to protest a political cause, you'll have to take one of YOUR personal/sick days or you'll have to take a day without pay. Again, your employer isn't required by law to support your political agenda.

If you don't have any personal/sick days left, well, it's completely up to the employer if he wants to give you the day off or not. Tough cookies if he says "no," you shouldn't have used up all of your persona/sick days.

"Legit" is always subjective when dealing with politics. I didn't find this protest to be "legit" at all, others did.
 
"Legit" is always subjective when dealing with politics. I didn't find this protest to be "legit" at all, others did.

How about protests you feel strongly about? For the rest I ascribe that to a different work ethos. I has always struck me how competitive the Americans are and how much they write away under "strictly business". People are send on the dole with as much as an eye blink... nothing personal, strictly business. I saw it a lot and never understood it.
 
Ted said:
How about protests you feel strongly about? For the rest I ascribe that to a different work ethos. I has always struck me how competitive the Americans are and how much they write away under "strictly business". People are send on the dole with as much as an eye blink... nothing personal, strictly business. I saw it a lot and never understood it.

That's just it, what is a "legit" protest to me, may not be a "legit" protest to you and vice versa. It's subjective. That's why employers aren't required to support their employees.

If they were, then people could start taking days off because the Religion of Bob has a holy day and employers would be required to "stuff it."

No one has been fired for simply taking off work and going to protest. If you've got the personal/sick days to do it and you've called in and the boss says "fine, take your personal day." More power to you. If you've already used up all of your personal days, it's not the company's fault.

Again, it all falls under personal responsibility. It's not your employers job to raise you and make sure you make good and adult decisions in your life.

I don't know if we're having so much of a different point of view on this, or if you're not registering what we've been saying to you (Ie, we aren't making our point very well).

I know over there you're not allowed to take off from work as much as you want for any reason without any recourse.

It isn't as if everyone going to the protest is getting fired, btw. Most of the few cases that have occured are because the employee was a) already having problems with attendance at work b) not the most productive worker and b) failed to call and inform the employer he would not be attending work.

'k, your turn. :mrgreen:
 
Don't know if being comedic here would be inappropriate or not (and I apologize if that is so), buuuuut...Pop-a-squat presents:TOP 10 THINGS TO DO WHEN ONE SKIPS WORK TO PROTEST AND IS FIRED FROM THEIR JOB:1. After the intial shock sets in, go to the nearest location where one can apply for welfare. You're gonna need it.2. Head for the nearest bar, taking care not to forget the wallet. 3. File a complaint to the ACLU. Watch and be entertained as your situation becomes the media's next sensational headliner.4. Get up the next morning and go to work as usual anyway.5. Offer the boss a bribe to get your job back. Convince him that you've turned over a new leaf and that your protesting days are over. (Sure they are...)6. Continue to protest. Don't stop, ever. This non-stop approach includes meals and bathroom breaks. Pray that you can hold it in until the other side gives in, which may be never. 7. Throw a temper tantrum in fashion similar to that of a 2-year-old. Include the rampant running and stomping around, throwing, toppling, breaking and/or damaging of any items in your range such as office computers and expensive pottery, shouting (or rather, screeching) childish names and insaults such as "stupid-head" or "doo-doo breath". Don't forget to make nonsenscial demands! 8. Beg for your job back like a dog would for a bone. Humaliation is a secondary concer; this is your income at stake!9. Cry. Cry like a big baby. 10. Just shrug and apply for a new job. There's plenty of job oppurtunities out there, and one of them has to include a "right to protest" for unlimited periods of time, right? After all, the world DOES revolve around your schedule, even if you have no way of proving it!-------------------------------Annnnd, I'm done. Go away now. Show this to your friends and howl in your laughter!
 
I don't know if we're having so much of a different point of view on this, or if you're not registering what we've been saying to you (Ie, we aren't making our point very well).

I know over there you're not allowed to take off from work as much as you want for any reason without any recourse.

Nicely put PJ! Of course it is "not done" to just not show up. You might get away with it once, but it raises the question: why would you just stay away? Of course you'll have to reap what you sow,.... But staying away from work is possible once the judge has approved the protest. Just to stay away, without informing your boss for a protest that has no "public value" is never good for your carrier path.
 
Ted said:


Nicely put PJ! Of course it is "not done" to just not show up. You might get away with it once, but it raises the question: why would you just stay away? Of course you'll have to reap what you sow,.... But staying away from work is possible once the judge has approved the protest. Just to stay away, without informing your boss for a protest that has no "public value" is never good for your carrier path.

But again "Public Value" should not be left to a judge to decide. What if someone works at an information firm. Their job includes getting information out to the public at large. They miss a day of work and that information did not get out to the public. Hmm. . . what public value is there in that?


It has been said, why should anyone be allowed to take a day off (for ANY reason) with no permission from their employer and expect no consequences?

This is essentially what happened.

Huge potato day parade downtown. Do you skip work to attend or do you call your boss and ask for the day off or a few hours off to attend? Of course being the responsible person you are you will call and ask your boss for time off.

Does this have "Public Value"? Of course not. But if you call in and ask for time off and get the permission, your butt is covered. There is nothing that says you have to divulge why you are asking for the time off. That is a personal/private issue. It is not up to the employer to make the decision to allow you to attend XXXX activity, it is up to them to make the decision if they can spare you for that amount of time.

Like PJ24 said, many people may have already had a history of poor work ethics or unproductivity in the work place. Consider skipping a day of work (for whatever reason) the straw that broke the camel's back.


I will repeat what has already been said:

These people are not getting fired for attending activities. They are being fired for not being responsible enough to make sure their boss was aware they needed the day/time off and then to get permission to take that day/time off.

I am not sure how to make it any more clear than that.
 
It has been said, why should anyone be allowed to take a day off (for ANY reason) with no permission from their employer and expect no consequences?
This will be a bit off topic, so be it. With regards to this statement I have to say the following. Why should it be allowed (not abused) is because there are conflicting interests. I once attended a funeral of a friend even though my boss didn't give me permission. The person wasn't related in the 1st or 2nd degree, therefore I wasn't given the day off!
I had no doubt about going and still kept my job. (But that is due to the fact that I am a good employee.) Remember things are different in civvy life. Sure it probably costed my boss some bucks, but I had earned enough for him already!
 
Ted said:
This will be a bit off topic, so be it. With regards to this statement I have to say the following. Why should it be allowed (not abused) is because there are conflicting interests. I once attended a funeral of a friend even though my boss didn't give me permission. The person wasn't related in the 1st or 2nd degree, therefore I wasn't given the day off!
I had no doubt about going and still kept my job. (But that is due to the fact that I am a good employee.) Remember things are different in civvy life. Sure it probably costed my boss some bucks, but I had earned enough for him already!

That again goes back to the fact that you do not have to tell your boss why you are asking for the time off. If he/she refuses to give, or to even consider giving, the time off unless you tell them then it is considered invasion of privacy.

Of course it may help your cause if you tell them the reason. They may be sympathetic. But if they say no before ever hearing of your reason then they are well within their rights.

It is not up to your employer to make any moral decisions for you regarding days off. Just asking for the day off (regardless of reason) is enough for them to decide yes or no. If they can spare you to go to your 2nd cousin's funeral that you barely know but can not spare you to go to a friend's funeral then they are making that moral decision for you.

The people griping and complaining are mad because they do not wish to accept responsibility for their actions. No matter what the circumstances surrounding the time off was in regards to, if they failed to make arrangements with their employer to take the time off then they are at fault and not the employer.
 
Ted said:
But staying away from work is possible once the judge has approved the protest.

You've mentioned this before, just in different context. The only judges who can declare a protest "legit" are the Justices of the US Supreme Court. We as Americans do have the right to protest, but that doesn't make a single protest "legit". I would be shocked to hear that a protest was declared "legit" by the Justices, even if I was somehow in favor of that protest. Their job is to uphold the US Constitution to make sure it is not broken, but they also have to keep America going and as safe and moral as possible with laws.

The protesters who are complaining about being fired need to realize they aren't kids anymore. Their boss won't walk up to them, pat them on the back and say "There, there, come back to work tomorrow and all will be forgiven."
 
Guys, I think that I won't be able to get my point across. Maybe because it's a funny angle on the issue or because my english skill have left me. So I'll raise my white flag on this issue.... which I think is more culturally tainted than one would think. The way most of you look at work would make you excellent employee's overhere! Maybe you should consider a career-change :)
 
Ted said:
Guys, I think that I won't be able to get my point across. Maybe because it's a funny angle on the issue or because my english skill have left me. So I'll raise my white flag on this issue.... which I think is more culturally tainted than one would think. The way most of you look at work would make you excellent employee's overhere! Maybe you should consider a career-change :)

lol Some how, I don't think I'd fit in very well. :p
 
Ted said:
The way most of you look at work would make you excellent employee's overhere! Maybe you should consider a career-change

It would make us excellent employees over here too.

Many of us have worked in the civilian sector in the US for some years. We do know what we are talking about.




As for the US Supreme court deciding if a protest is "legit" or any other court deciding a protest is "legit" it is not their right unless it is brought up to them in a legal conflict. The judges, justices, police, and others forms of law enforcement are there to uphold the laws and make final decisions. Not to justify whether a protest is legit.

Man A tells his boss he is not coming to work. Boss says come to work or I will fire you. Man A tells his boss he will be in to work the next day but he has things to do. Boss says I don't care, I need you at work. Man A hangs up the phone to avoid an argument with his boss. In this whole scenario he never tells his boss what he will be doing. Just that he is taking the day off.

Boss fires man A. Man A sues his boss for firing him. Case goes to court. The court upholds the boss' right to fire the employee for not coming to work.

This is the law. This is the only aspect that the courts would be able to step in and say anything about. Did the guy break the law or not? In this case it would be pretty cut and dried. By the way, this would also make the guy (in most states) have to work at even be able to draw unemployment.

Another spin on the situation is this (which I was told one time):

If you do not show up to work, and you do not call within 1 hour of the start of your shift, you will be considered as having quit your job.

You can be required to work overtime (anything over 40 hours a week is considered overtime. This usually pays 1.5 times your normal hourly wage.) but must be given 24 hours notice.

If you volunteer for overtime and do not show up you can be terminated the same as if you did not show up for normal working hours.

This list went on and on. The hand book it came from I am paraphrasing if you haven't guessed. But they devoted 4 pages of do's and dont's in regards to what I would call just plain good work ethics. But some people need these guidelines so they can not use the excuse of ignorance. This also protected the company by making sure that the employee has adequate access to the rules and regulations governing employee behavior within the company. If the employee breaks the rules the employer can give them chances. If it goes to court then the employer can always say "look at how many times they broke the rules". Lots of different ways to look at something. It all depends on where you wish to place the responsibility.


But I agree with you Ted, there is a big cultural difference here. I can almost guarantee that if people with that mindset and expectations came to the US in hopes of employment, they would be sorely and quickly disabused of the ideas.
 
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I guess I'll just stay in Europe then Marinerhodes, eventhough I am also competitive, hard working, problem solving, improvising and competent. So my boss would make a trade off quality wise and since teachers a hard to come by... well it gives me some leverage. But I haven't stayed out once yet and haven't called in sick (untill last week) for 3,5 years. So please guys, I am not all red.. I can work too :) I reckoned I should add this, just in cause you guys would think that I hardly work and stay out for no reason!
 
I agree with Ted, but that's just because I'm lazy. :mrgreen:

Anyways, I don't think you should have a legal right to your job if you just don't show up without even calling in.

Of course, in the ideal situation you're The Man and you have your own business so you can take off whenever you damn want.

Edit: Also, if you don't show up for your job because you're attending a protest, it doesn't mean you're irresponsible, it means you prioritize your political ideals above your job. An honorable sacrifice.
 
major liability said:
Edit: Also, if you don't show up for your job because you're attending a protest, it doesn't mean you're irresponsible, it means you prioritize your political ideals above your job. An honorable sacrifice.
Sounds like an 'ideal' to strive for ... IF, you like being fired from a job because you think politics is MORE important than earning a living. No company will put up with someone who makes a habit of not reporting for work when they are supposed to.

As far as the 'European' examples that were given ... all I can say is to look at their labor problems ... not something I'd like in the US.
 
Well, what I meant was not that you should routinely skip work for no reason, but if there is a protest or demonstration of extreme importance to you, you shouldn't have any problems losing your job - not that the employer should keep you on the payroll.
 
major liability said:
I agree with Ted, but that's just because I'm lazy.

Edit: Also, if you don't show up for your job because you're attending a protest, it doesn't mean you're irresponsible, it means you prioritize your political ideals above your job. An honorable sacrifice.

Two very good points in one post!
The first one.... well that's obvious! The second one because I think you're are right. If the protest is about something you feel strongly about... Hold on, most of you don't agree so I won't go there... Okay, next try: if the protest is about something I feel strongly about, I will attend regardless of my job. I'll call in to say that I'm not showing up. It will not come as a surprise since people know that this demonstration is at that particular date (the judge approved).... well, and you know the rest!

As far as the 'European' examples that were given ... all I can say is to look at their labor problems ... not something I'd like in the US.
Which ones are that Chief?
 
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