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Judge sides with man fired for posting 'Dilbert' comic in office

Xstatic1

Xstatic1

Diamond Member
DES MOINES, Iowa ? A judge has sided with a man who was fired for posting a "Dilbert" comic strip that made fun of managers on an office bulletin board.

David Steward was fired from the Catfish Bend Casino because management found the cartoon "very offensive," human resources director Steve Morley testified at a recent unemployment benefits hearing. The casino had challenged his claim for unemployment benefits.

"Basically, he was accusing the decision-makers of being drunken lemurs," Morley testified. "We consider that misconduct when you insult your employer."

According to state records, Steward posted the comic in late October, shortly after officials announced the casino in Burlington would be closed.

In the strip, Dilbert and another character are shown having the following exchange:

"Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?"

"Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent."

"Why are talented people so busy?"

"They're fixing the problems made by people who have time."

Steward testified that he posted the comic partly because of the impending layoffs.

"I thought maybe it would cheer some people up," he said. "I found it humorous."

Administrative Law Judge Lynette Donner sided with Steward, ruling it was "a good-faith error in judgment," not intentional misbehavior.

"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams said it might have been the first confirmed instance of a worker being fired for posting a "Dilbert" strip in a workplace.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317469,00.html

PIC of comic strip: http://www.charlotte.com/news/story/412299.html click to enlargen
Click to expand...
 
Dilbert comic strips have been a staple of office humor for as long as Scott Adams has been writing that strip.

Edit-Anyone who can't see the humor must have pointy hair.
 
I would have fired him.
It is my experience that people who have attitude cartoons posted in or around their workplace usualy mean what the cartoon says.
You want to make fun of your bosses, fine, just don't expect them to treat you nicely.
 
"Very offensive." 😀
That's how some people get to management - whining loudly about everything.

Oops, I hope they don't try to sue me now for offending them. Once they're done crying and trying to slit their wrists from the agony of that commentary, I'm sure they will.


Originally posted by: Number1
I would have fired him.
It is my experience that people who have attitude cartoons posted in or around their workplace usualy mean what the cartoon says.
You want to make fun of your bosses, fine, just don't expect them to treat you nicely.
Click to expand...
Managers probably have plenty of choice commentary for their underlings.
 
There is a huge difference between pinning something to your cubicle wall and pinning it to a bulletin board.

HUGE.
 
Oh crap, I just copied all the characters from the Dilbert homepage yesterday and put them in a word doc with all my co-workers names under each one... maybe I should take it down before management gets rid of me... :shocked: 😀
 
Originally posted by: Number1
I would have fired him.
It is my experience that people who have attitude cartoons posted in or around their workplace usualy mean what the cartoon says.
You want to make fun of your bosses, fine, just don't expect them to treat you nicely.
Click to expand...

EVERYONE has gripes about their workplace that are much better vented by being able to laugh at a short comic strip than... well... a lot of things. The bigger issue here is that the company rushed to cry foul and take offense without even considering that MAYBE the guy had a gripe with the company that they should discuss with him that MIGHT have done some good.

This is a classic case of "Get over yourself." for the company.
 
You really think putting cartoons on the bulletin board is the way to enlightenment? I wonder if you've ever been in management. That strip is caustic even by Dilbert standards. It's a slap in the face and insubordinate, not to mention a misuse of company resources (the bulletin board is not meant for that purpose). It does nothing to improve the company- it only destabilizes. Publicly posting a hateful comic strip at work to improve management practices is like trying to smother a bonfire with kerosene. The best thing you can say about it is that it's utterly foolish and misses the point. Dilbert comics are meant to be enjoyed in privacy.

For reference, I am treated very poorly by my management. That doesn't mean being rude would make me some kind of folk hero.
 
Originally posted by: angminas
You really think putting cartoons on the bulletin board is the way to enlightenment? I wonder if you've ever been in management. That strip is caustic even by Dilbert standards. It's a slap in the face and insubordinate, not to mention a misuse of company resources (the bulletin board is not meant for that purpose). It does nothing to improve the company- it only destabilizes. Publicly posting a hateful comic strip at work to improve management practices is like trying to smother a bonfire with kerosene. The best thing you can say about it is that it's utterly foolish and misses the point. Dilbert comics are meant to be enjoyed in privacy.

For reference, I am treated very poorly by my management. That doesn't mean being rude would make me some kind of folk hero.
Click to expand...

WTF are you smoking?
 
Originally posted by: Number1
I would have fired him.
It is my experience that people who have attitude cartoons posted in or around their workplace usualy mean what the cartoon says.
You want to make fun of your bosses, fine, just don't expect them to treat you nicely.
Click to expand...

You fail at management.
 
Originally posted by: angminas
You really think putting cartoons on the bulletin board is the way to enlightenment? I wonder if you've ever been in management. That strip is caustic even by Dilbert standards. It's a slap in the face and insubordinate, not to mention a misuse of company resources (the bulletin board is not meant for that purpose). It does nothing to improve the company- it only destabilizes. Publicly posting a hateful comic strip at work to improve management practices is like trying to smother a bonfire with kerosene. The best thing you can say about it is that it's utterly foolish and misses the point. Dilbert comics are meant to be enjoyed in privacy.

For reference, I am treated very poorly by my management. That doesn't mean being rude would make me some kind of folk hero.
Click to expand...

I really think that getting bent out of shape by a 3 frame black and white comic shows some serious insecurity and to be insulted by it shows that you lack the level head that it takes to properly manage a company. Anyone who can't take a fair ribbing should by no means be in a management position. You're way out of context to consider this comic strip "hateful" and to compare it to putting kerosene on a fire.
 
Originally posted by: angminas
You really think putting cartoons on the bulletin board is the way to enlightenment? I wonder if you've ever been in management. That strip is caustic even by Dilbert standards. It's a slap in the face and insubordinate, not to mention a misuse of company resources (the bulletin board is not meant for that purpose). It does nothing to improve the company- it only destabilizes. Publicly posting a hateful comic strip at work to improve management practices is like trying to smother a bonfire with kerosene. The best thing you can say about it is that it's utterly foolish and misses the point. Dilbert comics are meant to be enjoyed in privacy.

For reference, I am treated very poorly by my management. That doesn't mean being rude would make me some kind of folk hero.
Click to expand...

Few problems here:

1. You do not know this companies P&P. Do you work for this company and know what their BB is meant?

2. Enlightenment? WTF are you talking about? He posted it as a joke to cheer people up and found it funny. He's not the freaking Dalai Lama here.

3. So you feel that the company firing him and THEN challenging his unemployment benefits was the best solution for the company? You think this "improves" the company?

Why couldn't the company simply ask him to take it down and have a talk with him about no longer putting cartoons up? The REASON they fired him is layoffs were company and it was an easy out and they didn't want him getting unemployment.

The only thing utterly foolish in this is the company?s reaction and mismanagement of the situation. Now they've been rejected by a judge who agreed it was not intentional misbehavior.
 
Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Originally posted by: angminas
You really think putting cartoons on the bulletin board is the way to enlightenment? I wonder if you've ever been in management. That strip is caustic even by Dilbert standards. It's a slap in the face and insubordinate, not to mention a misuse of company resources (the bulletin board is not meant for that purpose). It does nothing to improve the company- it only destabilizes. Publicly posting a hateful comic strip at work to improve management practices is like trying to smother a bonfire with kerosene. The best thing you can say about it is that it's utterly foolish and misses the point. Dilbert comics are meant to be enjoyed in privacy.

For reference, I am treated very poorly by my management. That doesn't mean being rude would make me some kind of folk hero.
Click to expand...

Few problems here:

1. You do not know this companies P&P. Do you work for this company and know what their BB is meant?

2. Enlightenment? WTF are you talking about? He posted it as a joke to cheer people up and found it funny. He's not the freaking Dalai Lama here.

3. So you feel that the company firing him and THEN challenging his unemployment benefits was the best solution for the company? You think this "improves" the company?

Why couldn't the company simply ask him to take it down and have a talk with him about no longer putting cartoons up? The REASON they fired him is layoffs were company and it was an easy out and they didn't want him getting unemployment.

The only thing utterly foolish in this is the company?s reaction and mismanagement of the situation. Now they've been rejected by a judge who agreed it was not intentional misbehavior.
Click to expand...

"It's a slap in the face and insubordinate"

I had a supervisor in my previous job that liked to use that term a lot. Its like her battle cry. "INSUBORDINATION!" Well anyway long story short she was a kiss up and lied to her subordinates to get her way. your overall post reminds me heavily of her. its a cartoon. if management doesn't like it, they could have just removed it from the board and discussed the matter with him. over-reaction with a chunk of superiority complex. :|
 
The employee was stupid in posting this publicly. He easily made himself a target. He risked this just to be popular.
 
"Hey Dilbert, what do you call it when someone from lower management moves to upper management?"


"A promotion."
 
Originally posted by: angminas
You really think putting cartoons on the bulletin board is the way to enlightenment? I wonder if you've ever been in management. That strip is caustic even by Dilbert standards. It's a slap in the face and insubordinate, not to mention a misuse of company resources (the bulletin board is not meant for that purpose). It does nothing to improve the company- it only destabilizes. Publicly posting a hateful comic strip at work to improve management practices is like trying to smother a bonfire with kerosene. The best thing you can say about it is that it's utterly foolish and misses the point. Dilbert comics are meant to be enjoyed in privacy.

For reference, I am treated very poorly by my management. That doesn't mean being rude would make me some kind of folk hero.
Click to expand...

Buddha approves. So do I. 😀



 
Originally posted by: rh71
The employee was stupid in posting this publicly. He easily made himself a target. He risked this just to be popular.
Click to expand...

People post Dilbert comics around the office all the time...you people need to lighten up. Management was already taking away their jobs. The least they could do is show a little flexibility when it comes to those employees trying to make light of a crappy situation.
 
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