[thelist] Strange AOL related error.

deke web at master.gen.in.us
Mon Mar 26 14:30:33 CST 2001


On 26 Mar 2001, at 11:36, Ron White wrote:

> <snip>
> 12. AOL has a reputation for protecting pedophiles - and some
> say, promoting pedophilia.  Several years ago, one of their staff
> lawyers was arrested in his office at AOL on child porn charges.
> AOL kept him on the payroll until he was convicted and disbarred.
> </snip>
 
> Whilst I agreed with the rest of your diatribe against AOL, this part, while
> a nasty crime, still involves due process. If they had fired him as soon as
> he was charged and he then was acquitted, he would have sued for wrongful
> termination and probably won big bucks in a settlement to keep it out of
> court... In the US you are innocent until proven guilty, even of the most
> abhorrent crimes...

Due process is guaranteed by the 14th amendment. It limits the ability
of *government* to deprive you of your rights and liberties. It is not 
applicable in private employment any more than the 1st amendment's
"freedom of speech" allows vandals to deface your website.

Most employment is at-will. Wrongful termination consists of firing
someone for reasons which are *specifically* protected. You cannot
be fired for reporting for jury duty. You cannot be fired for changing
religion. You cannot be fired for becoming disabled, as long as you
are not unable to perform the duties of your job with reasonable 
accomodation on the part of your employer.

On the other hand, if someone decides to fire everybody who was
born on a Thursday, or everyone whose first and last names begin
with the last letter, those may be entirely silly reasons, but as they
are not discriminating on the basis of age, race, religion, national
origin, disability or other protected class, the employer has the right
to do it.

If you decide to "streak" the local high school football game Friday
night, you may not be arrested for it. But if it gets around that *you* 
were the one in the ski mask, you'll probably get a phone call telling 
you not to bother to show up for your job on Monday morning. And
you can file all the suits you want, but you won't win. 

If a prosecutor has enough evidence to charge you with a crime of
moral turpitude, you aren't going to win a wrongful termination suit. 

deke

 
> Sheesh even when they take out a shooter with the weapon in his hands, he's
> referred to as the "alleged gunman". Heard this quote on TV the other night
> "He engaged in a running gun battle with police during which he allegedly
> shot at them." uh, DUH, isn't shooting at each other the definition of a gun
> battle???
> 
> Ron
> 
> <tip>
> There are many ISPs that have nationwide access now, there is no need to use
> AOLcrap for that anymore. Espire and Earthlink are two.
> </tip>
> 
> 
> 
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--------
I got this powdered water. 
Now I don't know what to add. 
            -- Steven Wright




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