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- Thread starter BuckeyeNation27
- Start date
BigWoof31
"Barkin' up the wrong tree"
Employment Law question for Legal Eagles.
To summerize -we suspect an employee to be submitting fraudulent Time and Expense materials. We have crossed reference his twitter feed/twit pics (which indicated on multiple days he was out fishing) with his T&E reports and discovered he billed time and didn't record PTO for time when he was on the lake.
Granted - he's an idiot.
Can we use his twitter feed to confront him on this and discipline him? Are there workplace privacy concers doing so?
My HR instincts lean towards no - since we're acting to protect our client.
To summerize -we suspect an employee to be submitting fraudulent Time and Expense materials. We have crossed reference his twitter feed/twit pics (which indicated on multiple days he was out fishing) with his T&E reports and discovered he billed time and didn't record PTO for time when he was on the lake.
Granted - he's an idiot.
Can we use his twitter feed to confront him on this and discipline him? Are there workplace privacy concers doing so?
My HR instincts lean towards no - since we're acting to protect our client.
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A recent update from a week or so ago on my little incident:
I'll be waiting by the mailbox for my check
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Woof: Does he even have a fishing license? If not, just turn him into the DoW. Poaching is no joke.
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I do not practice employment law, and I am not licensed in Georgia. That said, assuming this twitter account is "public" (and I don't tweet, so I have no idea how it works) I don't see any reason why not. It'd be the same as if you happened to see him with your own eyes fishing on the lake and then saw he billed for it.
Just my gut instinct. But, again, I'm not an employment law guy and I don't know the first thing about Georgian law. Therefore, this does not constitute legal advice.
Just my gut instinct. But, again, I'm not an employment law guy and I don't know the first thing about Georgian law. Therefore, this does not constitute legal advice.
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BigWoof31;1924482; said:
People have been fired based on their Facebook posts, so I don't see why Twitter would be any different...
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Fungo Squiggly
Mortal enemy of all things Bucky
Yahoo Pickem Champ
Former Game Champion
'18 BPCFFB II Champ
'18 Keeper League Champ
Saw31;1924565; said:
You can slip your pink into my broadside!
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knapplc
Nebraska is a Volleyball school
Woof: I'm pretty sure Georgia is an At-Will state, so unless this employee is covered by a CBA you can fire him on the spot.
A quick cruise through Georgia employment law (HERE) says yes, you can fire the guy for this.
Where you can run into trouble is if the guy can show that you singled him out for some reason, and specifically because of his age (if he's over 40), race/color, religion, sex, national origin, disability (real or perceived), marital status, pregnancy, or in retaliation for having filed a charge of discrimination against his employer, acting as a witness in someone else's charge/investigation, or in retaliation for reporting an illegal activity to an internal or external authority (whistleblower).
Absent any of those factors, you're golden. That won't prevent him from filing wrongful termination/discrimination charges, but you'll prevail. Facing such charges is an unavoidable cost of doing business, so don't let fear of such charges prevent you from terminating an employee like this.
A quick cruise through Georgia employment law (HERE) says yes, you can fire the guy for this.
Where you can run into trouble is if the guy can show that you singled him out for some reason, and specifically because of his age (if he's over 40), race/color, religion, sex, national origin, disability (real or perceived), marital status, pregnancy, or in retaliation for having filed a charge of discrimination against his employer, acting as a witness in someone else's charge/investigation, or in retaliation for reporting an illegal activity to an internal or external authority (whistleblower).
Absent any of those factors, you're golden. That won't prevent him from filing wrongful termination/discrimination charges, but you'll prevail. Facing such charges is an unavoidable cost of doing business, so don't let fear of such charges prevent you from terminating an employee like this.
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Gatorubet
Loathing All Things Georgia
Always glad to help a Georgia Grad.
Instead of firing him, tell him he has to pay you back the money over time because he acted just like a (fill in race or ethnic or gender or age epithet - one that is bad to "show him who's boss!") would, threaten hm with criminal charges if does not sign a reimbursement agreement, and then force him to have sex with some company officer as a punishment.
Instead of firing him, tell him he has to pay you back the money over time because he acted just like a (fill in race or ethnic or gender or age epithet - one that is bad to "show him who's boss!") would, threaten hm with criminal charges if does not sign a reimbursement agreement, and then force him to have sex with some company officer as a punishment.
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MolGenBuckeye
Legend
IP Law question for you legal types...
My wife owns a small business that does business throughout Ohio and occasionally in other states. Recently, another company began advertising using the exact same company name with "of <city name in Ohio>" tacked on the end. She has done business in the city they are based in, and feels (rightfully, in my IMO) that they are confusing consumers by using her company name.
I've contacted the owner on her behalf, who has admitted it was not oversight, and that he knew of her company. He felt that it was a distinguishable business name because of the city name, and claimed to have spoken with a lawyer who agreed with this. The Ohio Secretary of State's office agrees that it is distinguishable according to their rules, but said it could potentially be a civil matter.
So, my questions:
1. Is he in the wrong? I have to think so, because I can't imagine that I could start "Microsoft of Columbus" and get away with it.
2. She's less worried about damages than just getting him to stop using her company name. If he is indeed in the wrong, what kind of legal fees would we be looking at to accomplish this?
Thanks!
My wife owns a small business that does business throughout Ohio and occasionally in other states. Recently, another company began advertising using the exact same company name with "of <city name in Ohio>" tacked on the end. She has done business in the city they are based in, and feels (rightfully, in my IMO) that they are confusing consumers by using her company name.
I've contacted the owner on her behalf, who has admitted it was not oversight, and that he knew of her company. He felt that it was a distinguishable business name because of the city name, and claimed to have spoken with a lawyer who agreed with this. The Ohio Secretary of State's office agrees that it is distinguishable according to their rules, but said it could potentially be a civil matter.
So, my questions:
1. Is he in the wrong? I have to think so, because I can't imagine that I could start "Microsoft of Columbus" and get away with it.
2. She's less worried about damages than just getting him to stop using her company name. If he is indeed in the wrong, what kind of legal fees would we be looking at to accomplish this?
Thanks!
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