How loyal are you to your employer?

[Gunslinger08]

Last option. I'm not so hard up for my job that I'd screw a friend and pervert justice.

 

[se7en]

If a boss asks you to lie in court that is a nice little lawsuit if he fires your friend. True it may take some time so he has to find another job like yesterday.

I would collect the evidence the network did indeed work, get what you can from the boss making threats and then jump ship.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Nope, not going to put my John Hancock on a legal document that is a blatant lie. While not exactly the same, I was faced with a similar situation by a former CEO - let's just call him "Ed" (which coincidentally happens to be his real name). This software development firm I worked at had this wonderful timekeeping system in which you had to log all of your time. In said system, projects were either billable to a customer (such as development of detailed design specifications) or unbillable (for "overhead" type things like general systems maintenance/upgrades). Well Ed decided in his infinite wisdom that billable is better than unbillable, as his incentive plan most likely included perks for stuff like that. Since he couldn't just do away with unproductive things like meetings, he sent out a memo that all staff meetings should be logged against billable projects, causing our customers to pay for work that didn't apply to their specific projects. I took great pleasure in handing him my resignation at the company Christmas party, and even more so when I ran into him years later when he was a "lowly" sales guy trying to pitch me network cable and other associated goodies.

 

[teddyv]

Call the FBI - this sort of thing is generally frowned upon.

 

[HammerCurl]

Sounds like you have nothing to gain and everything to lose in the situation. Finding a closely equivalent job is no big deal, and who's to say you will be fired unless your boss is the owner or something. If he's trying to commit purgory and you have proof, wouldn't he be the one to be fired?

 

[HannibalX]

Call the FBI - this sort of thing is generally frowned upon.

Unless you have proof that he asked you to lie then the FBI won't give you the time of day. Hell they may not even if you DO have proof. Hell even with LOCAL law enforcement you will have a 99% chance of being told to sue them because this is a civil matter and not a criminal matter.

 

[MotionMan]

The OP sucks at polls.

"Would you lie for your employer?"

Is the "you" in the poll Jeff in story or is the poll directed at me as me, separate from the story?

In any event, I would refuse to sign anything, tell the truth at the trial, then quit and find a new job. Quit after the trial so you cannot be discredited at the trial as a disgruntled former employee.

DO NOT secretly record anyone - it is illegal in most states.

MotionMan

 

[Miramonti]

I'd definitely go the 'voice recorder' route, completely avoid lying to the court on an affidavit, and sue for lots of money if I get wrongfully terminated. The boss is obviously a douchebag who wants to bring others down with him, and I'd have nothing of it. And for me, I'm not sure loyalty to the friend would need to be my motivating factor...standing up for integrity in the face of a dishonest douchebag would provide plenty of motivation.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm curious... Does "the boss" have a boss of his own? If so, that's the person Jeff should be dealing with!

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: jjsole
I'd definitely go the 'voice recorder' route, completely avoid lying to the court on an affidavit, and sue for lots of money if I get wrongfully terminated. The boss is obviously a douchebag who wants to bring others down with him, and I'd have nothing of it. And for me, I'm not sure loyalty to the friend would need to be my motivating factor...standing up for integrity in the face of a dishonest douchebag would provide plenty of motivation.

As mentioned above secret recordings are illegal in most states and a judge would not allow you to enter the recording into evidence if you decided to sue. You would need a court order permitting the secret recording or the person's written permission to record them in order for it to be used as evidence - both of which in this case you aren't going to get.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider

Originally posted by: jjsole
I'd definitely go the 'voice recorder' route, completely avoid lying to the court on an affidavit, and sue for lots of money if I get wrongfully terminated. The boss is obviously a douchebag who wants to bring others down with him, and I'd have nothing of it. And for me, I'm not sure loyalty to the friend would need to be my motivating factor...standing up for integrity in the face of a dishonest douchebag would provide plenty of motivation.

As mentioned above secret recordings are illegal in most states and a judge would not allow you to enter the recording into evidence if you decided to sue. You would need a court order permitting the secret recording or the person's written permission to record them in order for it to be used as evidence - both of which in this case you aren't going to get.

Actually in several states, as long as one party to the conversation has consented to being recorded, it is legal.

Federal law allows recording of phone calls and other electronic communications with the consent of at least one party to the call. A majority of the states and territories have adopted wiretapping statutes based on the federal law, although most also have extended the law to cover in-person conversations. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia permit individuals to record conversations to which they are a party without informing the other parties that they are doing so. These laws are referred to as "one-party consent" statutes, and as long as you are a party to the conversation, it is legal for you to record it. (Nevada also has a one-party consent statute, but the state Supreme Court has interpreted it as an all-party rule.)

source

I know in Arkansas it is both legal to record a conversation that I am a party to without anyone else consenting and that recording is admissable as evidence in court.

 

[teddyv]

Unless you have proof that he asked you to lie then the FBI won't give you the time of day. Hell they may not even if you DO have proof. Hell even with LOCAL law enforcement you will have a 99% chance of being told to sue them because this is a civil matter and not a criminal matter.

Hmmmm. In my experience this is far, far from the truth. Perjury is taken very, very seriously, and prosecutions are usually a priority. Ask Scooter Libby about Perjury. Or Lil Kim. Or Alcee Hastings. Or Bill Clinton (oops, he just was disbarred.)

It is a serious crime and frequently prosecuted. Especially when you have a cooperative witness in the investigation.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
I'm more loyal to my ethics than I am to an employer. I would change jobs immediately if threatened like that.

:thumbsup: