Joke on MySpace costs Wal-Mart worker his job

Flint Journal ^ | 05/30/2007 | James L. Smith

[Responsibility2nd]

ALMONT TWP. - When David Noordewier posted a joke on his MySpace page, he believed it was just a crude but funny bit of humor.

But his bosses at the Shelby Township Wal-Mart store weren't laughing.

The Almont Township man was fired from his cashier job Feb. 27 after posting the joke, which suggested average IQs would increase if a bomb were dropped on every Wal-Mart.

Noordewier said he was called into the office as soon as he arrived at work. Officials had him sign an acknowledgment that he was fired for "gross misconduct - integrity issue," which the company described as "theft, violent act, dishonesty or misappropriation of company assets," none of which Noordewier believes fits his situation.

"I told them that this was crazy," said Noordewier, 36. "It's not like I have a fighter jet in my backyard to drop a bomb with. Then they escorted me out to the parking lot."

Wal-Mart spokesperson Kory Lundberg would not discuss the incident except to say, "We can confirm the individual no longer works for Wal-Mart."

Noordewier said he believes a co-worker who disliked him copied the page and brought it to his boss' attention.

With a record of near-perfect attendance and exemplary customer service - which includes a personal thank-you letter from the company president in response to compliments from a customer Noordewier had helped - he said the firing came as a surprise.

To make matters worse, he did not get unemployment benefits, likely because of the form he signed. In the company's letter to the unemployment agency, they edited out all but the term "Drop a bomb on all the Walmarts," which put the comment well out of context, Noordewier said.

Unemployment officials said because of the "threat," Noordewier did not qualify for unemployment benefits.

It's not the first time comments posted online have caused problems for people.

A survey by CareerBuilder.com last year found that one in four business managers does Internet research on potential employees, and nearly 50 percent rejected applications because of something they found.

One in 10 employers browsed social networking sites, according to the survey, and among them, 63 percent found reasons to pitch a resume.

In some cases, a positive MySpace page had a different effect.

Employers also said online searches helped many candidates by showing professionalism and giving a good feel for someone's personality that seemed a fit for the company.

But Flint attorney Tom R. Pabst, who specializes in civil rights law, said Michigan law prohibits employers from gathering or keeping records on the off-duty activities or publications of employees and provides for monetary penalties for those that do.

"The law is meant to protect employees from an invasion of privacy from an employer," Pabst said.

The law was enacted because employers are not subject to the same constitutional prohibitions against warrantless searches and seizures as the government, Pabst said.

As for Noordewier's case, Pabst said that while he understands the need to be cautious about real threats, this seemed to fall short.

"I think this is a knee-jerk overreaction," Pabst said. "This could stigmatize him forever; you can't just blow it off. We need to be able to express ourselves freely without social McCarthyism."

The experience has taught Noordewier a couple of things, including that the First Amendment doesn't guarantee that everyone will get the joke and that a comment on the Internet can come back to haunt you.

"If you have a MySpace site, you better act like you're a politician: Be politically correct and don't try to be funny," Noordewier said.

[reagan_fanatic]

Well, you noticed that I didn't deny it ;)

[festus]

Especially don’t write it on the internet.