New York State...at it again

New York State is at it again, or should I say still.....

I have a client who has multiple locations across New York State, with a couple hundred employees.  They have their own HR Director, but retained me to do a compliance audit.  As a result of that audit, even more controls were implemented than they previously had in place.  They really do try to do everything by the book, in addition to "doing the right thing". 

Recently they had an employee declare they were going to "go postal".  Yikes...pretty scary considering al the mass shootings that have taken place.  My client did the right thing and fired the employee immediately for misconduct.  Would anyone in their right mind think it was ok to go postal?  and threaten to?  There was a witness to the event, so it wasn't even as if somebody misunderstood them....they clearly said they were going to go postal.  And I don't think that means mailing a letter or a package.....

Of course the terminated employee thought they would file for unemployment.  Let's take a paid vacation here.  Our very intelligent business savvy unemployment folks granted him unemployment benefits.  What?  you have got to be kidding me.  Let's threaten to harm people, and have NYS pay us to sit home and watch the Today Show and Oprah.

So my client went to a hearing and lo and behold, the employee didn't show up.  Guess what?  Yup, you got it, they got unemployment anyway.  The ALJ (administrative law judge) ruled that the employee was terminated for reasons other than misconduct.  If threatening to go postal isn't misconduct, I don't know what is!! 

This person's co-workers, and customers, were somebody's family...mother, father, sister, brother...related to somebody, and the ALJ thought it was ok to threaten them? 

Perhaps the ex-employee should have shown up at the hearing, threatened to go postal in front of the ALJ, and then we could have seen how the ALJ reacted. Would he have thought it was ok if his life could have bee on the line? 

Where IS the common sense in this world?

Oh wait....the ALJ doesn't have to use common sense...he gets paid a salary anyway, and great benefits, including health insurance and retirement.  Why should he rule any differently?

Why, because it would have been the "right thing" to deny that idiot employee unemployment.  Let him learn a lesson.

Kathy

Next blog....let's talk about the Onondaga County Civil Service and how easy it is to get a job just because you pass a test.  Common sense gone again.....