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There is a reason these rules are in place. If people didn't sue when the "helpful" employee messes up, companies wouldn't be worried about the liability.
Heck, people get sued when the try to give life saving CPR.
People will sue for any reason. And many places have Good Samaritan laws in place so they can't sue if someone breaks their ribs giving them CPR.
Common sense screams that helping this guy out was the right thing to do. #^#$ liability issues, a person in need is a person in need and no one should be fired or punished for helping someone.
Some of those "persons in need" have sued good samaritans for their act of kindness which is the reason companies have policies like this. The liability for the company and their insurance is well above the moral code to do the right thing.
People will sue for any reason. And many places have Good Samaritan laws in place so they can't sue if someone breaks their ribs giving them CPR.
My friend is an EMT(I'm pretty sure) and he said that in an emergency situation, the person's ribs get broken more often than not if you're doing it properly and going to save the person's life.
Exceptions can be made to policy. Policy should not take the place of good judgement and critical thinking skills.
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Originally Posted by Rambler123
It's just more of the usual pro-corporate sociopath behavior - follow the letter of the law, not the spirit, and don't lift a hand to help anyone, ever, unless you get something out of it. The same people who champion firing employees for putting out a parking lot fire are the same ones who gladly protect corrupt corporations.
And in a related story, another CEO just received his $500 million golden parachute after running the company into the ground.....
yes, i was using auto parts as an example, itdepends on state laws, but im pretty sure you cant work on cars in a parking lot. i was at a mall once and someone was working on a car parked next to others, it started on fire and the cops camei believe they towed his car and even arrested the man.
Ahem. I was in a parking lot at the grocery store, and my car wouldn't start. A kind person in the car next to mine loaded his bags in his car and motioned to me to pop the hood. He was wiggling some parts under there and signaled to me to try to start it. No soap. So he jiggled something else and when he signaled me again, the car fired right up!
Now I'm no mechanic, but if a car is kaput and someone is willing to help, the first place they look is under the hood. Right? I'm not sure that comes under the heading of "working on the car". Not like he was doing an oil change or rebuilding the transmission. Right?
Fortunately, my car didn't start on fire but if it had, I would have been happy to have someone, anyone, rush to my aid with an extinguisher, and if they fired the poor guy, I'd have been picketing that place of business with all my senior friends and a call to the local TV news. Never underestimate the power of the Blue-Hairs!!
Fortunately, my car didn't start on fire but if it had, I would have been happy to have someone, anyone, rush to my aid with an extinguisher, and if they fired the poor guy, I'd have been picketing that place of business with all my senior friends and a call to the local TV news. Never underestimate the power of the Blue-Hairs!!
And the problem is some people would sue both the guy that fiddled under the hood and the guy that tried to put the fire out.
It is just a way for management to keep the little people in-check. I bet if the CEO or some executive of this store did the same thing, they would not have been fired.
The liability reason is just BS; liability has become like the "it's for the children" cry for ridiculous policies.
There are no doubt other reasons for it. My first thought was ... how does the employee know that it's not a ploy to get them out of the store. Or to create a diversion for, say, a robbery. Or to be kidnapped.
Maybe I've just been watching too many true crime shows ... but I can see lots of reasons to instruct your employee not to do something like that. Give them the extinguisher and call 911, sure. Run out and do it yourself, no.
OTSEGO CO. -- An Otsego County man says he was fired from his job after doing what he considered was the right thing to do during an emergency situation.
David Bowers was let go from the Meijer store in Gaylord last month.
This is what I want to say to those people that sue because, say, their ribs are broken in CPR: "Would you rather have broken ribs or be dead, YOU GREEDY JERK?" They should be thankful that they aren't pushing up daisies. Thankful to the very person they sue.
You sue someone who saved your life, you deserve to lose and pay out all the court costs. Period. Hopefully it's a lot of court costs (for the suer).
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