Gutless, sneaky freeper has it out for me at work.

[Sal316]

Ok, I'm going to try my hardest to observe the 'no profanity' rule for GD.

It's become clear to me that someone here at work has it out for me. Today I got called into my bosses office over my blog. Why, you say? Because some gutless freeper sent a copy anonymously to my boss and my boss' boss. It hasn't been updated in over a year now (just too busy)...but I discussed some things in there that someone didn't like.

Now the thing is, and the reason I know it had to be deliberate, is that someone had to put my name into a search engine to find it. This makes it more than 'accidental'.

Have any of you been punk'd for your personal politics (which I don't drag into work...ok, so my car has a Dean bumpersticker, but that's it) or been a victim of this?

I'm quite torqued off.
Now, it's personal.
:grr:

[hang a left]

1. Do you know who it is? Perhaps we can all find a way

to help you here.

[Sal316]

2. That's the thing...it's anonymous.

I'll just have to keep my 'spidey-sense' extra active.

If I find out who it is, I'm going to HR for harassment.

[DK666]

6. Dont Wait

Report your suspicions to HR and document it. Even if you dont know who it is get it on the record.

[hang a left]

10. I would think that the fact that your bosses called you in to question

your political leanings is harrassment in itself.

[Sal316]

16. I've already let him know that I don't appreciate that.

Asked him flat out.. "does it affect my quality of work?" He said "no" and I said "case closed and I would appreciate not bringing this up for discussion again".

[eileen_d]

19. IMO, you did the right thing there.

You cut right to the chase w/your boss: "Does this affect my quality of work?" -- and since you didn't blog from work, there is no way they could use that against you. Conclusion: blog is irrelevant.

Personally, I blogged from work a couple of times (and posted at DU from work, um, a lot) -- but my boss used innumerable company resources to promote his freeping church, so I had noooo qualms about it.

Edit: I don't work there anymore, and I thank various deities for that fact every day.

[Lars39]

20. That didn't go far enough.

He should, of his own initiative, spell it out for the employees: What you do politically is your own business. (it could probably be phrased better, but you get my drift.)

[Patriot_Spear]

3. Why were they harrassing you about your personal life?

What did you 'do' to involve the company?

[Sal316]

8. absolutely nothing!

That's what pisses me off!

[Patriot_Spear]

21. You're company is out of line, document it & have your Atty send a letter

Make it clear that you are serious about your privacy and you will take steps to ensure your rights are protected.

Send a registered letter which requires a signature and ask for a policy confirmation from your companies legal department.

To protect themselves these lawyers will make sure whatever the policy is will be followed.

[Patriot_Spear]

63. Ignore this post...

Sadly enough, I don't know what the hell I was talking about.

[Zech Marquis]

4. I also have a freeper at work

but she's rather a sorry ass person, so not even the repukes can stand her! if she tries to do one more thing to me, her ass is out of a job. I'll just keep my mouth shut in front of her--unless I HAVE to tell her something--and leave her shit right where it is,since she never cleans up after herself :evilgrin: So I know how having a freep co-worker drives you up the wall and then some!

[Lars39]

5. Don't go near your blog while you're at work.

Did you do any posting at your blog while you were on company time or machine? If not, I'd say you could safely tell boss it is non of his/her business, and why. Just my 2.

[Sal316]

11. Nope, no blogging at work.

It was over a year old and done at home.

[spooky3]

7. do you work for a local, state, or fed. government unit?

If so, you have more rights to free speech than your harasser may realize.

What does your employee handbook say about off-the-job activities?

[Sal316]

13. Nope. Private sector.

I don't have a government job.

[Booberdawg]

9. What did your blog say that your boss felt he had any right to comment on?

[Sal316]

14. Particularly critical of shrub.

Not in a bodily harm way... but the fact that someone sent it to him. I do respect him for bringing this to my attention...since the gutless jackass didn't bother to send it to me.

[w4rma]

12. Did your boss realize that what you do and say on your own time isn't

any of your boss's or the company's buisness?

[Sal316]

15. Yes, but someone has now made this personal.

It's directed towards me...and that's unacceptable.

[idontwantaname]

17. they may not agree with you...

but dont GIVE them a reason to get rid of you.

[AP]

18. What did your boss say to you about it?

It's none of his business.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

22. don't worry about it

Put another Dean bumper sticker on your car next to the one you already have. Then put an American flag on your car. Re-post your website with the Original document but put a little Op-Ed in the Beginning stating "Welcome to my Page: SOme of you may not have been here before, but I welcome everybody - even those who were linked to this page by somebody who disagrees with my politics at my place of work."

[rucky]

29. I agree...it's a dead issue

The freeper lost if your bosses don't mind. Now they can tell the freeper they've talked to you about it. You're still here. The Freeper lost. The end.

You may want to let your boss know that you're concerned about somebody from work having it in for you, but you won't let if affect your job performance, and leave it at that. If you press the issue just because freeper provoked you - then it becomes a serious work issue: and none worth risking your job over.

Any fair minded boss will consider the complaint against the complainer, as a sign of petty office politics.

[frylock]

23. document this in your blog..

use it to call out the sorry S.O.B. (or D.O.B.). Be diplomatic about it, of course, but call the coward out for who they are. Obviously they are monitoring your blog.

[roughsatori]

24. A Clinton fan attempted to get me fired for a cartoon I hung in my office

That portrayed Bill as a Sex Fiend. She wrote a "Memo of Complaint" in regards to the fact that I was management and using my office to spread "hate." She knew I was a Democrat but that I thought Bill was too moderate and was not doing enough to improve health-care in the USA and that I had attended Demonstrations when Clinton was in town regarding his lack of efforts for funding treatment and research for the mentally-ill. I thought that is was a riot. Most of my co-workers were Dems and I was ostracized wildly for about 2 weeks. What is really funny is that I was the most leftist (and a Dem) out of the group and they picked on me instead of the 2 neo-con men in management.

Sort of like what happens at DU when posters mock: "hysterical leftists, "ultra-leftists kooks," etc. All of which are on the upswing since some of the newer Clark supporters entered the site en-masse. (But wait, to be fair, a few Clark supporters with a 1000 posts sling that stuff too.)

[eileen_d]

27. Who were the two "neo-con" men in management?

Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz?

[roughsatori]

31. they were closer to Rich Lowry and William Crystal types

rather patrician, well educated, at the top of the economic/social food-chain.

[Cat Atomic]

25. Put el jefe on notice.

I'd make it clear (as it seems you did), that I do not appreciate being called into the boss's office for my political beliefs. I'd tell him I'm lodging a complaint with Human Resources on the matter, and if it comes up again, he should report the "whistleblower" to HR as well.

[Junkdrawer]

26. As long as you didn't say "I work for XXX and I think..."

Your boss has no business talking about what you do with your private time.

[eleny]

28. I wonder if it was your boss? n/t

[Evil_Dewers]

30. Find out who sent your boss and your boss's boss a copy...

of your blog. Was it a hardcopy or was the copy of the blog sent in an e-mail? Send me a note with the e-mail address if the latter.

[Kusala]

32. didn't you say in another thread, you were on TV at the debates last night

sounds like maybe someone saw you and decided to investigate you more. Of course, I guess this is a moot point if you are open about your leanings.

regardless, very cheap of them.

[Renew Deal]

33. Sal, read this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=503597&mesg_id=503597&page=

[bearfartinthewoods]

34. would you be as upset if they attacked you for your sexual activities?

if so, you should know that some DUers feel that using a person's private sexual activities to discredit you at work is 'fair game'.

i'm not surprised at the outrage expressed here over the attempted use of someones politics against them in the workplace butam dismayed to see that some DUers feel that is also ok....

you were outed as a liberal

be grateful you aren't gay...

[Patriot_Spear]

37. WTF?!

Paintin' with a pretty broad brush there, aren't you? :wtf:

[bearfartinthewoods]

59. i used the word some.

[Occulus]

43. however

it does indeed become fair game if the person in question constantly preaches against the sexual activities of the very same type he or she secretly indulges in. Rush is a prime example of this right at the moment.

[bearfartinthewoods]

60. see what i mean?

some freeper doesn't like the thread originator's politics....doesn't like him or her preaching against bush via the blog so they attempt to discredit them at work by outting them.

disgusting right? i think so but you seem to disagree. you say it's fair game to do essentially the same thing....outing someone in an attempt to discredit them at work because you don't like their politics.

how is it a bad thing when a freep does it but okay when we do??

[Sal316]

47. You're damn right I would be!

Discrimination is discrimination is discrimination.

Period.

[Misinformed01]

35. Are you sure it's somebody from work?

People are so weird these days, especially with anonymous computer crap.

[Sal316]

48. Yes. It went to my boss and my boss' boss. (eom)

[spooky3]

36. folks, unless there is an employment attorney who wants to comment

be careful. Your boss may not have an ethical right to control what you do on your own time, but in most cases, he/she can LEGALLY fire you for it. There is no federal statute prohibiting discrimination based on political views or off-duty speech when an employee is in the private sector.

[Patriot_Spear]

41. I disagree, this is easily a 1st Amendment Issue...

Clearly if he's being questioned about political speech conducted outside of work, this is a 1st Amendment issue.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

45. exactly

the fact that her page was sought, and that she was not espousing unwelcome political jargon at work is a Free Speech issue.

[sangh0]

49. No, it's not and spooky's advice was sound

In the absence of a contract specifying otherwise, most states allow employers to fire anyone they want for any reason they want (or no reason at all) just so long as the reason isn't one of the criteria specified by civil rights laws like the Civil Rights Act, Non-Discrimination in Employment Act, etc. IOW, the only reasons why you cant be fired is because of race, sex, religion, etc. Political beliefs is not protected by the civil rights laws, and depending on the state and it's laws, it might be legal to fire someone for their political views.

However, employers are very reluctant to fire someone for reasons unrelated to their job performance because it only makes it that much easier for the ex-employee to claim that they were fired for one of the illegal reasons.

[Patriot_Spear]

52. You're missing the point...

I'm not sarguing an employer's right to fire- but if they're foolish enough to say it's because of political speech then they have indeed and in fact violated the 1st Amendment.

[sangh0]

55. You're wrong

I understand what you were saying. I just happen to know that you are wrong.

This isn't a free speech issue because the unemployed have just as much free speech rights as the employed. Firing someone for political doesn't reduce their ability to speak freely. The possible problem with a firing is that it's discrimination, not censorship.

Unfortunately, the Constitution does not prohibit any forms of discrimination. Discrimination is prohibited by legislative acts, and Congress has not passed any laws prohibiting private employers from discriminating on the basis of political beliefs. Individuals states may have done so, but if the poster doesn't live in a state or locality that has passed such a law, then he can be fired for his political beliefs.

[spooky3]

54. thanks, Sangh0.

[John_H]

38. A polite letter from your lawyer is in order

explaining to your boss that in 'merica an employee's political views and outside of work activites must have no bearing on her or his career, provided those views and activites are legal and protected by the constitution.

Make sure the letter requests a written response that gets the boss on record either agreeing or disagreeing with that assertion and outlining his intentions for "dealing with" the fact that you have a blog.

If you were working on your blog at the office, stop now.

[spooky3]

40. in general private sector employees are NOT protected

A private sector employer can fire people for any reason or for no reason unless a limited number of exceptions apply. The constitution prohibits GOVERNMENTS from restricting free speech unduly, not private sector employers. In this case he does not work for the government. Unless there is a state or local law that restricts private employers (and there are a few limited other limitations on employers, such as that what they say in their handbooks is sometimes viewed by courts to be a contract) the employer can restrict his speech off the job. It would be good to check with a competent attorney in his city.

Most people in the US believe they have more employment protections than they really do. It's really important to check this out.

[Patriot_Spear]

44. There is no caveat in the Constitution that says that...

They can fire someone for the color of their shoe laces if they want, but inhibiting political discourse outside of work by threat of termination is definately out of the question.

No local or state low trumps the guarentee's offered by the Constitution.

[spooky3]

46. Sorry, the Constitution does not forbid private sector

employers from inhibiting employee speech. There is no such "guarantee." In the court cases the reasoning is essentially an employee is free to look for an employer who does not restrict his or her speech outside the workplace.

A state or local law could give the employee more protection.

This is my professional specialty. If you don't believe me, get on lexis/nexis and research the cases yourself. I'm trying to help the poster not get in to a fracas without firm ground. You're not helping the poster by giving him/her misinformation.

[sangh0]

50. spooky is right

You shouldn't give legal advice unless you know the law. The Constitution only restricts the government from infringing on someone's political speech. The Constitution places no restrictions on a private employer's right to hire and fire whomever it chooses, for whatever reasons (or lack thereof) it chooses, just so long as those reasons are not based on race, sex, age, gender, or any of the SPECIFIC reasons that Congress has decided to protect by passing civil rights laws.

[Patriot_Spear]

51. Your advice is questionable at best...

The guarentee's of the 1st Amendment are well vetted; and to try and imply that there is no legal recourse for having this right impugned, is not only irresponsible but markedly inaccurate.

If this is your professional specialty, then please hang out your shingle so I know who to avoid; I can think of nothing worse than a tame counselor who fails to vigorously exercise his responsibilities.

In my opinion, the original poster would be better served to rely on finlaw.com than to listen to you.

[spooky3]

53. Thanks for the compliment. Since you are apparently unwilling to do your

homework, maybe you will find it easier to look at just one ACLU website.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/emp08.htm

Insults do not substitute for knowledge. You do no favors to our fellow DUers if you try to advise them on topics about which you are not informed.

[Patriot_Spear]

56. Your agreement is unnecessary...

I am leary of anyone counsels timidity in protecting their civil rights.

I hope the poster decides to seek sound legal advice despite what's been posted here.

[spooky3]

57. If you'll read what I wrote, I suggested that the original poster

talk to an attorney in his/her city before taking further action.

[Patriot_Spear]

62. You're right, I'm wrong...

I read what you posted and called a friend who teaches in another dept, and he agrees with you.

I apologize for being so strident- this information is very disturbling.

[sangh0]

64. That's very gracious of you

and yes, it IS very disturbing.

[spooky3]

65. Thank you, Patriot, I appreciate it. It IS disturbing.

We're all on the same side here.

[sangh0]

58. timidity in protecting their civil rights??

Did you read the ACLU's position that spooky linked to? They agree with us, and I don't think the ACLU is "timid", and maybe it's just me, but I believe they know a thing or two about the First Amendment.

[pjbatta81]

39. Couple of questions

Did your boss just tell you that someone had given him this information or did your boss question you on what you had written?

If it was the former, it sounds like your boss was just trying to protect you. That is, let you know that somebody has it out for you.

If it was the latter, then you definately should approach your HR dept.

[Amaya]

42. Damn Freeps!

That is awful! I think like one person brought up, they might have seen u last night at the debate? ya think? You need to find the little weasel.
Do u have any ideas who it could be?
Hang in there. Love ya :loveya:

[GinaMaria]

61. Please Please Please

Document everything with your boss. Every conversation. Talk to an employment lawyer if you can. Protect yourself. Whoever did this will not stop.