is it ethical to fire people for this?

[actsnoblemartin]

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-5_lifestyle_activities_that_can_get_you_fired-427

Lifestyle Activities That Can Get You Fired
by Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs

Can having a bacon double cheeseburger and a cigarette put your job at risk? Maybe. It may sound surprising, but many off-the-job actions and lifestyles could put your job in jeopardy.

Fair Game?

Employment experts point out five key areas that a company may scrutinize:

* Smoking, drinking, and overeating. Due to the cost of health insurance, more and more employers view "unhealthy" habits as a threat to their bottom line.
* Risky behavior. Likewise, a company might see your bungee jumping hobby as a liability.
* Speech. Will your employer consider your blogging to be destructive griping?
* Romantic relationships. Dating someone at a competitor's company has landed employees in hot water. And some employers might take issue with unmarried coupling or even same-sex relationships (federal law doesn't protect employees from discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation).
* Political activity. Volunteering for Obama could be trouble if you have a pro-McCain boss, and vice versa.

[crin63]

On one hand it seems unfair but on the other hand the owner should have their say in their business.

I think it depends if all that was explained to you before you took the job. If you took the job knowing the employers expectations and you don't follow them, you have no one to blame but yourself. While I think owners should have tremendous power over their business I don't think they should be able to change the deal after you are already hired. I'll have to think on that a little more. I hate government involvement in businesses.

[glockmail]

If an employee can't make money for you than it is unethical to keep them around.

[DragonStryk72]

On one hand it seems unfair but on the other hand the owner should have their say in their business.

I think it depends if all that was explained to you before you took the job. If you took the job knowing the employers expectations and you don't follow them, you have no one to blame but yourself. While I think owners should have tremendous power over their business I don't think they should be able to change the deal after you are already hired. I'll have to think on that a little more. I hate government involvement in businesses.

But on the flip side of that, none of those kinds of things have ever been explained to me upon taking a job.

If the government has no right to our private lives, then business sure as hell has even less right. Every single person bitches about their job at times, even if they love their job, it's just part of the whole human condition thing.

Now, as to the drinking & smoking thing, if it's in direct violation of the rules (showing up drunk, or smoking in doors when there are no smoking signs plastered everywhere), then yeah, they have grounds, but what you do on your weekend is just that, yours.

More of these cases seriously need to start making it to court, because until people see someone putting their foot down, then it won't stop, and it will only get worse.

[Hobbit]

I think a privately owned business should be able to hire and fire for whatever the hell reason they want, and that includes discrimination based on age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or whatever. I don't think businesses should hire and fire based on those things, but they should be allowed.

As for ethics, if somebody else is paying for my health insurance, I think it's their business to know how much it's going to cost them, which is another reason I think our increased dependence on our employers for health care is a liability and the tax break given to corporations should be extended to individuals who wish to purchase their own health care.

[My Winter Storm]

* Smoking, drinking, and overeating. Due to the cost of health insurance, more and more employers view "unhealthy" habits as a threat to their bottom line.

This is fair enough. Smokers and the obese especially are high risk.


* Risky behavior. Likewise, a company might see your bungee jumping hobby as a liability.

How does one determone what activity is 'risky'? This could be anything.


* Speech. Will your employer consider your blogging to be destructive griping?

If an employee is using their blog to slag off their employer and work mates, then they do not need to be in that job.


* Romantic relationships. Dating someone at a competitor's company has landed employees in hot water. And some employers might take issue with unmarried coupling or even same-sex relationships (federal law doesn't protect employees from discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation).

I can see both sides of this, so I am unsure where I stand on this one.


* Political activity. Volunteering for Obama could be trouble if you have a pro-McCain boss, and vice versa.

Political offiliation has nothing to do with whether someone can do the job or not - and this is a firable offence?

[DragonStryk72]

This is fair enough. Smokers and the obese especially are high risk.

But how does that effect job performance? Hell, they might be in the crap condition simply because of the extra hours they work, and now, they get fired for that.

How does one determone what activity is 'risky'? This could be anything.

I agree there, I mean, people may not like all my hobbies, but they're my hobbies, not my employer's. I mean, what if they were to declare civil war reenacting "risky" since you work with gunpowder?

If an employee is using their blog to slag off their employer and work mates, then they do not need to be in that job.

You're telling me, in truth and honesty, that you have never bitched AT ALL about work, co-workers, or customers anywhere public? Facebook and myspace aren't even entirely public, someone would actually have to invest real time into figuring out which one is yours.

I can see both sides of this, so I am unsure where I stand on this one.



Political offiliation has nothing to do with whether someone can do the job or not - and this is a firable offence?

It isn't, none of this stuff is actually, but companies are getting away with it, although we do seem to finally be getting around to dealing with some of the other abuses that have been going on.



Overall, the issue is, where does it stop? At what point does the company cease having the right to know every single aspect of me? If I could afford medical on my own, I would, but the deck is stacked severely against us on that one, because craptastic private insurance is more costly to the individual than hella good company health insurance.

How much do you really want Red Lobster or Microsoft to know about you, and how much choice do you want them to have in your life, and the lives of your family? because that would be the next logical step, since we've already seen in politics that you will be judged by the most jackassed company you keep.

[midcan5]

But on the flip side of that, none of those kinds of things have ever been explained to me upon taking a job.

If the government has no right to our private lives, then business sure as hell has even less right. Every single person bitches about their job at times, even if they love their job, it's just part of the whole human condition thing.

I wasn't able to positive rep you but you are a closet liberal. :laugh:

[midcan5]

Lifestyle Activities That Can Get You Fired
by Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs

The reason unions are a blessing (and can be a curse).

[DragonStryk72]

I wasn't able to positive rep you but you are a closet liberal. :laugh:

lol, I actually view that as conservation of constitutional rights, but anyhoo.

[My Winter Storm]

Dragon, I haven't actually bitched about any of my fellow work mates or my boss. Surprising, I guess, but I although I think negative things about them sometimes, I don't speak about them to others.

So yeah...oh, about the smoker and obese thing - I said they were a higher risk, meaning there is a higher chance something could go wrong while they are on the job. I guess it depends on what job they have. An obese person may become tired more quickly because they are unable to move as quickly. This may mean they are less likely to move out of harms way and not avoid an accident. Being overweigh also places huge pressure on your heart, so if the job they are in is demanding, there is concern their heart could give out due to stress, and I think this is what employers think when they are hiring employees.

I am not 100% sure what the higher risk for smokers would be, it could depend on how much the person smokes, and how healthy they are etc.