Subj: He should have been fired for thinking Dilbert was funny in the first place.Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 11:22:43 am EST (Viewed 457 times)
| Reply Subj: Bosses fire worker who put up "Dilbert" comic
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 05:08:07 am EST (Viewed 455 times) |
> ... And real life once again trumps the ability of parody to make fun of it:
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> Clark Kauffman, DesMoinesRegister.com
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> A Fort Madison man who posted a "Dilbert" comic strip on an office bulletin board has lost his job for implying his bosses were a bunch of "drunken lemurs."
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> According to state records, David Steward worked for Catfish Bend Casinos in Burlington for seven years, most recently as a security supervisor.
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> On Oct. 27, shortly after company officials announced that the casino would be closing and 170 workers could be laid off, Steward posted a "Dilbert" comic strip on an office bulletin board.
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> In the strip, Dilbert and another character are shown having the following exchange:
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> "Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?"
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> "Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent."
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> "Why are talented people so busy?"
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> "They're fixing the problems made by people who have time."
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> Shortly after the comic was posted to the bulletin board, managers at the casino reviewed surveillance tapes and determined Steward was responsible for the act.
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> At a recent state hearing dealing with Steward's unemployment benefits claim, the casino's human resources director, Steve Morley, testified that "upper management" at the casino found the cartoon to be "very offensive" and fired Steward as a result.
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> "Basically, he was accusing the decision-makers of being drunken lemurs," Morley testified. "We consider that misconduct when you insult your employer."
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> Steward testified that he posted the comic partly because of the impending layoffs.
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> "I thought maybe it would cheer some people up," he said. "I found it humorous."
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> Steward said he was fired three days after posting the comic, with his boss telling him he wasn't a team player. The casino then challenged Steward's claim for unemployment benefits, but Administrative Law Judge Lynette Donner sided with Steward.
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> Donner ruled that the posting of the comic strip represented "a good-faith error in judgment," not intentional misbehavior.
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> With characters such as the Pointy-Haired Boss and Catbert, the evil human resources director, "Dilbert" is famous for satirizing managerial incompetence. Its creator, Scott Adams, said the comic that Steward posted was more cutting than most of the strips.
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> "Most 'Dilbert' comics don't come right out and call management a bunch of drunken lemurs," Adams said. "So I can see how this one might have been a tad over the line."
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> He said Steward's dismissal might be the first confirmed instance of a worker being fired for posting a "Dilbert" strip in the workplace.
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> "I've heard, unreliably, that other people have been fired and/or disciplined for posting 'Dilbert' comics," he said. "I have no way of knowing if any of those cases were true."
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> I'm not even sure what I could add to this, in terms of satirical snark, that could exaggerate the stupidity of the bosses in question any further than their own behavior.
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