Workers Rights' Groups Concerned About Employers Policing Workers' Off-Duty Behavior

Some workers rights' groups are increasingly concerned about companies disciplining or firing workers for what they do on their own time, USA Today reported Monday (June 13th). Among the things being cracked down on is employees drinking on their own time, using a competitor's product, or displaying a political bumper sticker. Some of these groups say the practice is increasing, and Lewis Maltby of The National Workrights Institute told USA Today, "The shock is that there's no legal protection. You can get fired just for having a bumper sticker the boss doesn't like."

Among recent incidents cited by USA Today are:

*An Alabama woman was fired from her job packing insulation for having a John Kerry bumper sticker on her car.
*A Colorado man who worked for a Budweiser distributor says he was fired for drinking Coors beer at a bar after work. His former employer claims he was fired for making disparaging comments about the company at the bar while wearing a company uniform.
*The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City will fire bartenders or waitresses if they gain more than 7 percent of their body weight.
*USA Today reports that about half of the states have laws that bar employers from firing workers who smoke off-duty, and that some states have passed broader protections for off-duty behavior.

Do you think employers have the right to discipline or fire workers for their off-duty behavior?