question for workplace law...?

Question

i work at a bank, no union or anything. this girl showed me her drivers liscense the other day and her hair cut was like practically shaved, being the idiot i am i said something like "oh this hair kinda looks like a dike haircut." she got offended i said i was sorry and it seemed like the whole thing was going to blow over.. i found out yesterday she sent in a formal complaint to human resources about the incident... This is my first offense, what kind of punishment am i looking at??? Can i be fired for something this stupid? Thanks, dave

oh yes and this was a co worker not a customer...

Answer 1

In most states, a company can fire you for any reason, or even no reason at all. As long as they don't fire you for being a member of a protected class (race, religion, etc.), they can give you the boot at a moments notice. This is because employment in most states is "at-will," meaning that either party can terminate the employment at any time.

The only real question is whether or not you can collect unemployment. Ultimately, that's a question that get's decided by the unemployment compensation board (or equivalent board in your state). Usually, you file, then the company has the right to challenge it...if you do go this route, you may want to hire a lawyer with experience in that area, as the bank certainly will. The issue before the board is usually whether or not the firing was justified.

Oh, you may also want to get some duct tape for your mouth, but it looks like you know that already :)

Answer 2

In today's extremely sensitive social environment that type of comment certainly has no place in a business setting such as a bank. The bank cannot tolerate that type of comment not because the bank actually cares about the customers feelings, but rather they could lose some huge accounts as a result. Imagine someone saying that to Rosie O'Donnell. She could pull all of her millions from an institution and heads would roll! You need to do some serious a s s - kissing and apologize to the management, your co-workers and especially the customer. Do this and you MAY have a shot at keeping your job.

Answer 3

Hmmm, instead of "dike" you could have said "boys". Anyway, you will probably get written up, unless you work for a crazy liberal company, then yeah they'll proably fire you just for using that word period.