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Balladeer
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0 posted 2011-09-28 10:40 AM



Obama proposes letting the jobless sue for discrimination
By Zachary Roth | The Lookout –

Advocates for the unemployed have cheered a push by the Obama administration to ban discrimination against the jobless. But business groups and their allies are calling the effort unnecessary and counterproductive.

The job creation bill that President Obama sent to Congress earlier this month includes a provision that would allow unsuccessful job applicants to sue if they think a company of 15 more employees denied them a job because they were unemployed.

The provision would ban employment ads that explicitly declare the unemployed ineligible, with phrases like "Jobless need not apply." As The Lookout has reported, such ads appear to have proliferated in recent years, prompting an inquiry by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate have introduced similar measures. Obama said recently that discrimination against the unemployed makes "absolutely no sense," especially because many people find themselves out of work through no fault of their own.

Advocates for employers oppose the proposed ban. "We do not see a need for it," Michael Eastman of the Chamber of Commerce told the New York Times.

Lawrence Lorber, a labor law specialist who represents employers, told the paper the president's proposal "opens another avenue of employment litigation and nuisance lawsuits."

Louie Gohmert, a Republican representative from Texas, went further. He told the Times that the proposal would send the following message: "If you're unemployed and you go to apply for a job, and you're not hired for that job, see a lawyer. You may be able to file a claim because you got discriminated against because you were unemployed."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/obama-proposes-letting-jobless-sue-discrimination-191042168.html

I see a whole lotta lawyers (those rich people on Obama's hit list) getting a lot richer. This definitely falls into the "Beam me up, Scotty" category!


© Copyright 2011 Michael Mack - All Rights Reserved
Ron
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1 posted 2011-09-28 12:50 PM


quote:
The provision would ban employment ads that explicitly declare the unemployed ineligible, with phrases like "Jobless need not apply."

It's been a while since I've looked at the Help Wanted section, Mike, but if those things are actually happening in today's world I think we must be well beyond the "Beam me up, Scotty" stage. Sounds to me like we've passed right Through The Looking-Glass.

"But I don't want to go among mad people," said Alice. "Oh, you can't help that," said the cat. "We're all mad here."

Balladeer
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2 posted 2011-09-28 01:26 PM


I haven't, either, Ron, but i'll bet the farm that if there are ads like that out there it will be microscopic minority of ads posted, unworthy of this action
Ron
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3 posted 2011-09-28 04:56 PM


I don't know, Mike, the number of murders in Colon is pretty microscopic, too, but I don't think that's sufficient reason to advocate ignoring them.

Don't get me wrong, if I knew enough to make an informed decision I suspect I would agree with you entirely, albeit for very different reasons (my reasons, for example, would not include an instant distrust of everything Obama). I dislike all unnecessary government intervention and think that covers about 95 percent of everything they do. This certainly sounds like it falls in that 95 percent.

I'm much more interested in discovering WHY an employer might want to avoid hiring unemployed job applicants. Makes no sense to me.



Balladeer
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4 posted 2011-09-28 05:23 PM


Ron, you may believe this or not but I'll swear on my TaylorMade 9 degree driver that I would consider this ridiculous, no matter who was in the White House.

Why would an employer do it? According to the articles I saw, certain companies want people for specialized work and they feel that applicants who have been out of work for a while are either rusty or haven't kept up with the technology.

Regardless of that, I repeat the amount of that would have to be microscopic. Do you see the can of worms this would open, Ron? Anyone who wanted to, would claim they weren't hired because they were unemployed? Why shouldn't they? The lawyers would take the case. Why shouldn't they? It doesn't matter if the employers put up an ad like that or not. The lawyer would file the claim and, even if untrue, the employers would have to appear in court and prove that was not the case. They would have to justify why they didn't hire ever person they didn't hire. Multiply that by tens of thousands. Companies would be crazy to even post want ads. They would have to go around in the shadows and find people to fill positions without being public about it. The court dockets, which are already overbooked would collapse under the weight as lawyers got fatter and companies got broker.

I cannot in my wildest dreams supporting this insane idea, even democrats sticking up for Obama.

Ron
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5 posted 2011-09-28 10:35 PM


quote:
Anyone who wanted to, would claim they weren't hired because they were unemployed?

Yea, they could, I suppose.

Or they could claim they weren't hired because they were the wrong color, wrong ethnicity, wrong gender, wrong age, wrong sexual orientation, yada yada yada. They could. Some maybe even do.

Still, I'm not sure the potential misuse of a law (and every law has potential for misuse) should ever be a consideration for whether the law is needed. You close the loopholes as best you can, then you let the system (heaven help us all) deal with the misfits.

Personally, I think any company that wants to pigeon-hole prospective employees, rather than hire the best person for the job, should be allowed to fall to market forces when they can no longer compete with less short sighted companies. Any business one who thinks people have to be unemployed to become rusty or fall behind on technology won't be in business very long. And that's exactly as it should be.

If you really want to talk about bad laws, Mike, let's talk about the Patriot Act some more.

Balladeer
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6 posted 2011-09-28 10:46 PM


Forget the side roads, Ron. So you think this law is needed?

You think it's the same as profiling for race, creed or religion? Ok, you surprise me once again....

Local Rebel
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7 posted 2011-09-28 11:24 PM


http://blogs.app.com/capitolquickies/2011/03/31/christie-signs-bill-stopping-companies-from-excluding-unemployed-in-help-wanted-ads/

Ron
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8 posted 2011-09-28 11:34 PM


Read my post again, Mike.

No, I don't think the law is necessary, though I also admit to being less than informed. No, I don't think it's the same as profiling for race, creed or religion, but those are just as open to abuse as you suggested this one would be. I also don't think it's the same as murder, of course, but again, murder is just as microscopic in scope, relatively, as you suggested incidents cited in the article are.

In short, and as I already said, I suspect we agree. I just don't feel any of the reasons you've presented are good reasons for opposing ANY legislation. Do we really want to judge laws by how much lawyers can profit, or by how infrequent the law will be employed, or by the possibility some yoyo might abuse it? I just think we need better standards than those suggest.



Balladeer
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9 posted 2011-09-29 12:01 PM


Do we really want to judge laws by how much lawyers can profit, or by how infrequent the law will be employed, or by the possibility some yoyo might abuse it?

Oh, there would be no infrequency here at all. There would be an overwhelming use of it. I can see the lawyers advertisements now, aimed at people who wouldn't have to pay anyway. The possibility some yoyo might abuse it? Possibility, Ron? Surely you jest. And what would this law be about....not hiring someone if they are unemployed. I think any rational person would consider that to be nothing more that a SNL skit.

You know, I think I always had hopes, or at least the fancy, that some topic, some day would come into the Alley that all would agree with, regardless of our own political leanings. I actually thought this might be the one. I was wrong and that fantasy, or even hope, is gone with the wind. I see it as being impossible now.

Balladeer
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10 posted 2011-09-29 12:10 PM


Good link, LR.

Christie’s amendments to soften penalties against employers gained final approval in the Senate on March 21. The governor’s changes include imposing penalties only upon the finding that a violation was committed “”knowingly or purposefully,” rather than if an ad was “suggesting” that out-of-work people couldn’t go for a job.

That's  the right way to handle it, not by saying that people could sue if they "felt" the employer didn't hire them because they were unemployed. Obama slipped this into his jobs bill and, I would guess, hoped it would slip through, untouched.

Try again, Barack..

Bob K
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11 posted 2011-09-29 02:09 AM



     How are you supposed to get a job if not having a job is grounds for not hiring you, Mike?  And if unemployment benefits run out, the people without work are supposed to do — what?

     Your logic is that we should blame people without jobs for not working, and then punish them by letting them starve for their lack of American values.  But we should forbid them to actually act as though being unemployed were reason to be hired.  

     The people that we should hire, therefore, are people who are already working, and who don't need jobs.

     I think I have your logic down now.

     Perhaps we should also fine the unemployed, and jail them for debt.  If they fall far enough behind, we could sell their bodies for spare parts.  It would be a real, hands-on solution to the population problem, and to the possible problem with food and fresh water.  And if we kill all the lawyers first, nobody will be around to raise all those annoying legal objections to what seems like a good solid Republican plan.  

     Now, if we could only find some way to privatize the body market and arrange for people to buy some sort of futures in body parts, some sort of pre-ownship scheme, where people in good standing might arrange a stable of good genetic stock to use for labor, and for high quality spare parts.  We should probably go to Newt for a good historical consult on this question.  There ought to be a profit in it someplace....

Balladeer
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12 posted 2011-09-29 02:30 AM


Thank you, Bob, for verifying my last comment to Ron. Your response is not worthy of anyone with any degree of intelligence.
Uncas
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13 posted 2011-09-29 02:26 PM



The way you tell it Mike it sounds like a really bad idea, however when you read the actual bill it sounds like a perfectly reasonable piece of legislation. Here's the main points in the Obama bill:

(a) Employers- It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to--
(1) publish in print, on the Internet, or in any other medium, an advertisement or announcement for an employee for any job that includes:
(A) any provision stating or indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for any employment opportunity; or
(B) any provision stating or indicating that an employer will not consider or hire an individual for any employment opportunity based on that individual's status as unemployed; or
(2) fail or refuse to consider for employment, or fail or refuse to hire, an individual as an employee because of the individual's status as unemployed;
(3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status as unemployed into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration, screening, or referral for employment as an employee...
...damages may be awarded in an amount not to exceed $5,000.


Hmm.. Sounds suspiciously similar to the NJ legislation:

1. No employer or employer's agent, representative, or designee shall publish, in print or on the Internet, an advertisement for any job vacancy that contains one or more of the following:
a. Any provision stating or suggesting that the qualifications for a job include current employment;
b. Any provision stating or suggesting that the employer or employer's agent, representative, or designee will not consider or review an application for employment submitted by any job applicant currently unemployed; or
c. Any provision stating or suggesting that the employer or employer's agent, representative, or designee will only consider or review applications for employment submitted by job applicants who are currently employed.
2. Any employer who violates this act shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for the first violation and $10,000 for each subsequent violation, collectible by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).


So how come Obama's bill is so bad and the bill Christie signed is 'the right way to handle it'?

.

Balladeer
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14 posted 2011-09-29 06:18 PM


Good question, Uncas. In your two comparison I don't see much of a difference, either. LR submitted a link which claimed there was a big difference between the two. Perhaps one should ask him why he submitted it.
Uncas
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15 posted 2011-09-29 07:09 PM



quote:
In your two comparison I don't see much of a difference, either.


That's probably because there isn't much difference between the two Mike and yet you suggested that one is 'the right way to handle it' and the other is a recipe for disaster. Do you still believe that and if so why?

quote:
LR submitted a link which claimed there was a big difference between the two. Perhaps one should ask him why he submitted it.


I have to admit that I didn't read the article LR linked to Mike, I presumed, given the text of the url, that LR was trying to make the point that Christie had signed similar legislation into law. I've read it now though and frankly I don't see anything in it that suggests that the bill Christie signed was any different than Obama's bill, in fact Obama's bill isn't even mentioned in the article.

LR,

Do you think the two bills are inherently different?

.

Bob K
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16 posted 2011-09-29 08:56 PM


  
     Dear Mike,  Your response to me would get a more thoughtful response from me if it addressed the points I made without taking a shot at my IQ or my insight.  In either case, IQ or Insight, you would need to supply evidence or, at a minimum, logic instead of suggesting that I was making poor use of my intellect.  I have never felt that speaking with you was squandering my intellect, and I don’t feel that I am doing so now.

     I would appreciate it if you would use some of yours to respond to my critique of your logic and your reasoning, and how they seem to contradict your position on unemployment and welfare benefits and how we should curtail them.  Discrimination against unemployed folks forces an artificially lengthy period of high unemployment into a job market that is already depressed without having an advantage given to folks who are already employed.  Are you suggesting that the recovery be artificially delayed and the suffering extended for electoral purposes?

Local Rebel
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17 posted 2011-09-29 09:12 PM


The link makes no claim of a difference between the two bills.  The posted date should be clue enough.

There may or may not be glaring differences, but, given the difference between Bob Dole's healthcare plan, Romneycare, and Obamacare, it seems the main difference that earns the ire of Republicans is that Obama is for it.

'mom! he's touching me!'

Essorant
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18 posted 2011-09-29 09:34 PM


If a company can come up with a respectable reason and context to justify it, it should be allowed.  But if a company doesn't have any good reasons/context/justification for doing it, it should be penalized for undue discrimination.
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19 posted 2011-09-29 10:26 PM


frankly I don't see anything in it that suggests that the bill Christie signed was any different than Obama's bill, - Uncas


The link makes no claim of a difference between the two bills. = LR

Ok, I guess we just read things differenty For example....

Christie’s amendments to soften penalties against employers To me that says that his bill would be softening penalties. Softening penalties compared to what? The only thing that comes to mind to compare it to, the bill that created or called for penalties in the first place, would be Obama's bill, as far as I know

The link makes a comparison about imposing penalties only upon the finding that a violation was committed “”knowingly or purposefully,” rather than if an ad was “suggesting” that out-of-work people couldn’t go for a job.. When you say "rather than" you are comparing. I took that as a comparison between Christie's bill and Obama's. That's why I favored Christie's bill, not having seen Obama's. If I read it wrong, then that's my fault.

Bob K
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20 posted 2011-09-29 10:33 PM




     Depend on what "is" is, Huh?

Balladeer
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21 posted 2011-09-29 10:34 PM


Bob, I am not interested in getting a more thoughtful response from you.....or even any response at all.

Your logic is that we should blame people without jobs for not working, and then punish them by letting them starve for their lack of American values.

You state that my logic has no problem with letting people starve, another personal insult against my character. I've had it with you and your personal insults against me. Save your "thoughtful responses" for someone who will appreciate them more, please. I'm not interested in them.  

Local Rebel
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22 posted 2011-09-30 12:05 PM


Look at the date Mike.  There was no Obama proposal at the time.  The referenced post is merely talking about the iterative process of legislating.

Sorry if you feel misled.

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23 posted 2011-09-30 12:50 PM


Not misled, LR. I simply wasn't thorough enough to catch that. My mistake.

I still don't understand the wording of it, though. I mean, if one is going to soften penalties, then there must have been penalties in place to soften so who imposed those penalties and, if there were penalties in place, then why would Obama come up with a bill to impose penalties? I can understand Christie coming up with a plan to "soften" but I doubt that would be Obama's motive so....it's too confusing for me. Think I'll go to bed and not sleep on it.

Bob K
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24 posted 2011-09-30 02:57 AM



quote:

Your logic is that we should blame people without jobs for not working, and then punish them by letting them starve for their lack of American values.

You state that my logic has no problem with letting people starve, another personal insult against my character. I've had it with you and your personal insults against me. Save your "thoughtful responses" for someone who will appreciate them more, please. I'm not interested in them.  



     Actually, if you read what I said — and which you even go so far as to quote — you will notice that I’m talking about problems with your logic, and that I thought your logic seemed muddled and contradictory.  Your logic, in this case, was part of your discussion, and I thought your logic was convoluted and contradictory.  I am talking here about the points you were making and how they contradict each other.  Your logic doesn’t have any problem with letting people starve; that’s the nature of this sort of argument, that’s makes it so disheartening; the logic doesn’t have any problem with letting people starve.

     You, I think, do have a problem with having people starve.

     I think that you are upset because you don’t think of yourself as being the kind of person who would support that sort of position, being a compassionate guy in so many ways, and the notion of supporting such an ugly position as allowing people to starve may be upsetting for you.  Yet that is exactly where the logic of the position you are advocating ends up.

     I simply don’t think you’ve followed the logic of the position you’re advocating through, and what it mean in practice.  When faced with the outcome of such a chain of logic, you feel furious — it sounds like from your responses.  Yet I am offering a thoughtful response.  I don’t claim absolute authority about anything.  But punishing a guy’s attempt to get back to work is not a particularly good idea, especially not before knowing what he or she has to offer by even having a look at a resume.  There is an authentic difference between microeconomic and macroeconomic points of view.  You spoke about the microeconomic point of view, that of the individual company.  It’s an important point of view but not the only point of view.  There is also a macroeconomic point of view, which has to do with management of the economy overall, and here there is a conflict.  What’s good for the country is not only keeping people working, but getting people back to work, and getting them back to work in good jobs.  Keeping people at work is nice.  Getting people back to work gets the economy going again, and that’s what the economy as a whole needs.

     Getting people with bad skills back to work won’t happen right away because they won’t be as appealing to hire.  They can be rejected out of the hiring process fairly early.  Not all unemployed people fit in this group, as you should know, and they shouldn’t be weeded out until later, if at all.

     It’s an advantage to the economy to keep the working people at work, but also to get the unemployed back at work.  Allowing the unemployed to be disadvantaged will slow down the recovery, why is why I suspect Christie is trying to encourage hiring them in New Jersey, and why I suppose President Obama would like them advantaged in the federal bill.

     It’s important to be able to think micro-economically, but if I’m going to cut down my aspirin intake, I’ve found I need to look at the macroeconomics as well.  Protect against heart attacks, yes, but also prevent ulcers.  As Houdini said over and over, “Always strike a happy Medium.”

Uncas
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25 posted 2011-09-30 03:04 PM


The NJ bill came first Mike, as LR said, at the time Obama's bill didn't exist. Christie initially opposed the bill then after a minor amendment signed it into law, the 'softening' talked about in the article was a reference to a couple of minor word changes to ensure that it was clear that a successful prosecution would need evidence of discrimination - a bit of political sophistry really since any successful case would require evidence.

Christie changed a couple of words so he could claim that the bill had been 'softened' compared to the bill that was originally presented. Obama ripped the improved version off and inserted it into the jobs bill even down to the $5000 cap on damages.

Why anyone would think that one is sugar and spice and the other is poison is a mystery unless LR's point and the point made by Ron in an earlier post has some validity - that it isn't the content of the bill that's the real issue, it's the name attached to the bill.

Personally, I don't see a problem with either bill but then again I'm not a massive supporter of them either - they're likely to do a little bit of good but no real harm.

.

[This message has been edited by Uncas (10-01-2011 05:25 AM).]

Huan Yi
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26 posted 2011-09-30 03:13 PM


.


“Look, I’m sorry, but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cannot be president: He is just too fat.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-30/requiem-for-a-governor-be fore-he-s-in-the-ring-michael-kinsley.html


“Whether or not he lets himself be persuaded to run for president, Chris Christie needs to find some way to lose weight. Like everyone else, elected officials perform best when they are in optimal health. Christie obviously is not.
You could argue that this is none of my business, but I disagree. Christie’s problem with weight ceased being a private matter when he stepped into the public arena — and it’s not something you can fail to notice. Obesity is a national epidemic whose costs are measured not just in dollars and cents but also in lives. Christie’s weight is as legitimate an issue as the smoking habit that President Obama says he has finally kicked.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/chris-christies-big-problem/2011/09/ 29/gIQAAL7J8K_story.html

“Look, I’m sorry, but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cannot be president: He is just too fat.”

Isn’t there a law already against this kind of thing?
.

Local Rebel
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27 posted 2011-09-30 03:38 PM


Last time I checked John, the First Amendment guarantees the rights of Kinsley, Robinson, WP, and Bloomberg.  
Huan Yi
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28 posted 2011-09-30 03:45 PM


.


But if you as an employer
said that to a job applicant?


.

Balladeer
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29 posted 2011-09-30 04:15 PM


....which Christie would be if running for president.

No, Uncas, in the actual form the two bills are written, and understanding that the Christie bill was not a revision of the Obama bill, I see no difference and consider them both equally ridiculous.

Local Rebel
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30 posted 2011-09-30 04:39 PM


http://www.ehow.com/info_8235851_preemployment-physicals.html
Huan Yi
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31 posted 2011-09-30 05:10 PM


.


“In December 2008, Binghamton, New York, became one of just six cities in the United States to enact laws protecting against weight discrimination. The others are San Francisco and Santa Cruz (California), Urbana (Illinois), Madison (Wisconsin), and Washington D.C. The only state in the country to have such a law is Michigan.”


http://www.thewip.net/contributors/2009/07/fat_activists_seek_law_banning.html


Go Michigan!


.

Balladeer
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32 posted 2011-09-30 05:28 PM


http://www.khou.com/home/Company-sued-by-feds-for-firing-680-pound-man-130741698.html
http://www.drudge.com/news/148827/eeoc-sues-fired-680-pound-man


So we have an almost 700 pound fellow fired  from his job because the company said his weight was preventing him from doing his job. He had gained almost 300 pounds after getting hired. He is now suing the company two years later after using the severance pay the company gave him to get weight loss surgery and bring his weight back down under 300 pounds.

He wants his job back....but not only that. He wants back wages and damages for all the time he was out of work.

He should be on his knees thanking the company for saving, or at least, lengthening his life. Instead of that, he is suing them.

Only in America....

Bob K
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33 posted 2011-09-30 09:12 PM





     If the man had good job performance reviews, why should he be fired any more than a smoker or a drinker.  So long as his job performance was good, it seems to me that being fired was an expression of a social expression of disgust,  The same expression that comes through very clearly in the comments appended to the Druge Report item.

     If the company was worried about liability they could have spoken with him about the worry and asked him to sign some sort of quit claim for incidents that happened during the normal performance of his regular duties as per his job description.  If the company had a health plan, they could have suggested he use it, or they could have sent him to Overeaters Anonymous, which is often helpful with folks with a weight problem.

     Any number of less drastic solutions come to mind for an employee who is reported to have had good job performance reviews and 16 years seniority, should you manage to go so far as to define this difficult personal problem as a company problem in the eyes of the law.  It turns out that almost any of them would have been more cost efficient, not to mention more thoughtful of employee loyalty and less cruel.  I do wonder what the actual outcome will be.

     From my discussions with alcoholics, I've heard quite a number express the notion that compulsive over-eaters are in a more difficult situation than they are.  I'm not sure that's true, at least in the later stages of the alcoholism, when the mortality rate is very high indeed.  But it may be true in the early and middle stages of these addictions.  The point the alcoholics raise is that they have the option of quitting entirely, and not drinking again, while the compulsive eater (and the bulemic as well) is in the situation where they have to eat to stay alive.  They must indulge in some of the addictive behavior without getting caught up in the addictive patterns.

     I am not up on the current information, but from my time as an addictions/plus other psychiatric disorders counselor, the  theory was that there was a common addiction pathway for  food, alcohol, gambling and drug disorders that came from stimulation of opiate receptors in the brain.  In the case of actual opiates, the drug itself took up the receptor site.  In the case of the other drugs, and behaviors, they stimulated in various ways, the production of endorphins, which filled the sites, producing some approaching the same sort of high.

     Different, because of side effects of the drugs or behaviors, but stimulating the same basic pathways.  I may be out of date, but that's the story as of about 20 years ago.  All of these drugs and behaviors tend to have some self-soothing function, although I think that gambling and the stimulant drugs run through a different pathway.

     These are all difficult highs to give up, and suggesting that will power alone will do it is for somebody who has not tried to give up some of these addictive behaviors after they've gotten well established.  Figures for treatment success tend to be far better for those who've been treated early, though there is some variation, depending on the profile of the illness.

     Willpower is best thought of as an emergency measure, and useful only for the short term as an intervention.

Huan Yi
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Posts 6688
Waukegan
34 posted 2011-10-01 01:17 AM


.


I can not imagine any job involving
moving materials that anticipates
a 670 pound employee.  As far as the reviews
are concerned, that easily could have
been a manager afraid of what is now
happening except because of a bad review.
The threat of litigation intimidates even
legitimate concerns these days.  But at some
point things passed the point where it
could be ignored any longer.  The employer
didn't act just because it was a rainy day.

Unless you're in the steel mills, most forklifts
and material handlers are no more than a ton
in weight if that; they're not built for a 670
pound driver.  And if he wasn't moving materials
with machinery it gets no better.

At 450, it may well be a friend
of a friend who got him in in the
first place; they hired a problem
from the start.

.

Bob K
Member Elite
since 2007-11-03
Posts 4208

35 posted 2011-10-02 03:54 PM




    

     An interesting set of speculations, John, but they all seem to me to be based on assumptions you've made about unknown working conditions and unknown hiring conditions.  Most of them make assumptions that are contrary to information we have about the man and his work record.  We don't even know if his duties involve use of a fork lift truck from the references I saw.  If you are making reference to others that I don't know about, of course, that include material that documents such information, I will acknowledge I'm off base in my conclusions from the data that I've seen.

     The suggestion that the man got his job through use of personal  influence seems to me to require something more substantial than the mere statement of a suspicion to substantiate it.   Do you have information that this is the case?  I thought that the company had declined to comment because of the impending litigation, so if they were the source of such information, I'm certain the man himself would find it interesting to know that they have been issuing statements contrary to their policy.  Certainly his lawyers might have some questions to raise about this sort of thing.  If the company has not been leaking information contrary to their statements, then perhaps you have some other information source you might care to let me in on?

[This message has been edited by Bob K (10-03-2011 01:42 AM).]

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