Law firm fires 14 employees for wearing orange shirts

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
umm wow talk about uptight dicks.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sidesho...mployees-wearing-orange-shirts-181404912.html






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.

[Related: Fla. aims to be first state to drug test public workers]

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.

[Related: High cost of multi-tasking]

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.
 

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
27,111
318
126
Wearing that shirt might be acceptable on a construction site or trailer park, but not in a law firm.
 

Matthiasa

Diamond Member
May 4, 2009
5,755
23
81
As per the article they should have just said they were protesting since that is what their management thought anyways, but would have lead to large payouts instead.
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
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As someone who worked as a file clerk at a law firm, the dress code only applies to the partners, the lawyers and the receptionists. If you're an underling, the general idea is that you probably won't come in contact with any clients, let alone the general public, so if you want to wear a polo shirt and jeans, more power to you. It is absurd that these people were fired for wearing a single color, mainly because management apparently thought that orange was synonymous with "we are protesting" and not "any fucking thing else you fucking stupid fucks." I mean, Jesus God, I've worked at places where management came to work in yellow and green because the Ducks were in a bowl game, but the state color of Florida is apparently unacceptable for a Florida law office? The law firm is going to be completely boned with all the negative press it receives from this, and that's way more important than stopping some presumed protest. And why did they immediately jump to protest? Are the working conditions really that shitty? Does management spend all day thinking "OK, today is when these savages finally say 'ENOUGH' and we've got to be ready, dammit!" All things considered, it sounds like every single person in management needs to be punched in the face repeatedly for the next 1600 consecutive billable hours until they realize just how boneheaded this entire gesture comes across as.

Maybe I'm just bitter cause I had to work with lawyers.
 

Dr. Zaus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2008
11,764
347
126
^
^
As someone who worked as a file clerk at a law firm, the dress code only applies to the partners, the lawyers and the receptionists. If you're an underling, the general idea is that you probably won't come in contact with any clients, let alone the general public, so if you want to wear a polo shirt and jeans, more power to you.


It is absurd that these people were fired for wearing a single color, mainly because management apparently thought that orange was synonymous with "we are protesting" and not "any fucking thing else you fucking stupid fucks." I mean, Jesus God, I've worked at places where management came to work in yellow and green because the Ducks were in a bowl game, but the state color of Florida is apparently unacceptable for a Florida law office?


The law firm is going to be completely boned with all the negative press it receives from this, and that's way more important than stopping some presumed protest. And why did they immediately jump to protest? Are the working conditions really that shitty? Does management spend all day thinking "OK, today is when these savages finally say 'ENOUGH' and we've got to be ready, dammit!"

All things considered, it sounds like every single person in management needs to be punched in the face repeatedly for the next 1600 consecutive billable hours until they realize just how boneheaded this entire gesture comes across as.

Maybe I'm just bitter cause I had to work with lawyers.
 

chimaxi83

Diamond Member
May 18, 2003
5,456
61
101
As per the article they should have just said they were protesting since that is what their management thought anyways, but would have lead to large payouts instead.

Hindsight is always 20/20, right?

Besides, "lets say we're protesting" is a pretty random thought for people dressing the same for some after work boozing
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,217
5,676
146
I'd be wondering what the person was doing that they immediately assumed they were protesting. How funny would it be if the people find out they were being discriminated against and this brought it to light.
 

HAL9000

Lifer
Oct 17, 2010
22,021
3
76
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

That's fucking retarded.
 

Dr. Zaus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2008
11,764
347
126
That's fucking retarded.

What's retarded is limiting the right of an employer when it comes to firing people for any non-bigotry-based reason.

The economic problems caused by not having at-will employment lead to greater unemployment. See France which has worse unemployment during the good times AND worse unemployment during the bad times.

France hasn't seen sub 8% unemployment for over two decades while over the same time period the US has only ever seen 8% unemployment in the last 3 years.


So we trade stupid-shit like this happening for about 5% less unemployment.

I say screw the orange-shirters.
 
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HAL9000

Lifer
Oct 17, 2010
22,021
3
76
What's retarded is limiting the right of an employer when it comes to firing people.

The economic problems caused by not having at-will employment lead to greater unemployment. See France which has worse unemployment during the good times AND worse unemployment during the bad times.

You should only be able to be fired if you deserved it, if you did something that contravened your employment agreement or if your work was unsatisfactory, otherwise you should be able to sue.
 

Dr. Zaus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2008
11,764
347
126
You should only be able to be fired if you deserved it, if you did something that contravened your employment agreement or if your work was unsatisfactory, otherwise you should be able to sue.
What if it's just more profitable to fire you? You can quit any time, why can't I fire you at any time?

Or can I sue you for quitting the job we agreed you would do?

Not being able to eliminate people as-needed is part of why you see such ridiculous unemployment in France.
 

HAL9000

Lifer
Oct 17, 2010
22,021
3
76
What if it's just more profitable to fire you? You can quit any time, why can't I fire you at any time?

You can't quit at any time you have to give notice, and you can't fire someone for an unjust reason, that seems perfectly proper to me. Someone should be given the chance to improve if their job performance is lacking. If it's more profitable then you make people redundant you don't fire them.

Or can I sue you for quitting the job we agreed you would do?

You can if you don't give appropriate notice, or normally the employer can deduct pay in leu of notice.

Not being able to eliminate people as-needed is part of why you see such ridiculous unemployment in France.

I disagree. You can get rid of anyone you need to if it's a money problem, just make them redundant don't fire them.
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,899
2,136
126
Might be a good thing for the workers. That company sounds like hell to work for. Hopefully the local community lets them know what a bunch of jerks they are by moving their business elsewhere.
 

Broheim

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2011
4,587
2
81
Might be a good thing for the workers. That company sounds like hell to work for. Hopefully the local community lets them know what a bunch of jerks they are by moving their business elsewhere.

yeah, they might not have broken any laws in a court of law, but in the court of public opinion they royally fucked up.
 

Dr. Zaus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2008
11,764
347
126
You can't quit at any time you have to give notice
Not here buddy. You may give a notice, you may not, it's up to you what you do with your time.

If it's more profitable then you make people redundant you don't fire them.
It's called a lay-off; and you're assuming that there's some sort of extensive severance package for lay-offs aren't you?

You can if you don't give appropriate notice, or normally the employer can deduct pay in leu of notice.
again, not here. This allows you to jump-ship and go where the market pays you best.

In our system people that are awesome do better and people that lolly-gag about do poorly.

If any of those orange-shirts are worth a damn then they'll find other jobs; if not then they should probably do something that's a better fit than being a liar.
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
So does anybody know what glaring details this article failed to promote? I absolutely refuse to believe a law firm fired 14 employees just because it thought they may be protesting management but weren't. Makes no sense whatsoever. Rage not found until rest of details given.
 

HAL9000

Lifer
Oct 17, 2010
22,021
3
76
Not here buddy. You may give a notice, you may not, it's up to you what you do with your time.

That's stupid.

It's called a lay-off; and you're assuming that there's some sort of extensive severance package for lay-offs aren't you?

If you're made redundant then you do get a redundancy package.

again, not here. This allows you to jump-ship and go where the market pays you best.

That's stupid.

In our system people that are awesome do better and people that lolly-gag about do poorly.

Same here.

If any of those orange-shirts are worth a damn then they'll find other jobs; if not then they should probably do something that's a better fit than being a liar.

True.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Can't support capitalism and a free market and then get pissed at this...employers should be free to fire those people if they wanted
 
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