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Fired for buying a Harley
Warpig883
Member Posts: 6,459
This was on Michigan Live which is basically a website for all the major newspaper publications in the state of MI. What really gets to me is that the dealer have used harley's on the showroom floor but an employee can't have one.
When Tom KeKONI showed up for work at Babbitt's Sports Center on May 17, he had no idea it would be his last day.
That morning, a sales manager approached Kekoni, a 46-year-old certified mechanic, and asked him whether he had made a certain recent purchase.
The mechanic acknowledged he had, and the sales manager informed him that he didn't need to punch in for work.
Kekoni thought the guy was teasing him.
"Too late, I already did," Kekoni responded.
A little later, the sales manager again approached Kekoni, asking if he believed him.
Kekoni said he did, but he wanted to "hear it from the horse's mouth," referring to his boss, Eddie Babbitt.
Babbitt then fired Kekoni.
The reason?
Kekoni had just bought a 2005 Harley-Davidson Superglide motorcycle. Babbitt's sells products that compete with Harley, such as Yamaha and Polaris.
"How would it look if my mechanic drives in on a competitor's product?" Babbitt said.
Both Kekoni and Babbitt admit to the firing, which broke no laws.
According to Jack Finn, an administrator with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Babbitt did nothing illegal.
"Michigan employment is termed 'at will', and as a result an employer can terminate an employee without cause," Finn said.
Kekoni and Babbitt sharply disagree over whether a policy existed against owning competitors' products.
Kekoni, 47, alleges no such thing existed. "There was no policy," he said.
Babbitt, meanwhile, claims the policy always has existed. "It's been a standing policy here forever," he said.
Babbitt added that Kekoni should have been tipped off to the policy by two incidents prior to his firing.
The first was a firing about a month before Kekoni's. Babbitt terminated another employee for buying a Honda off-road motorcycle from a different vendor.
Before that, Kekoni said he approached a sales manager concerning some used Harley bikes in Babbitt's showroom. After Kekoni inquired about purchasing them, he said the sales manager told him, "You don't want to do that."
Kekoni said it wasn't clear to him why the sales manager responded the way he did.
He would later end up buying the bike through Sandy's Harley-Davidson in Fremont, and it already had been shipped when the other employee was fired.
Shortly after letting Kekoni go, Babbitt said his business came under fire from Harley sympathizers and owners.
"I've been blasted online ... it's not easy being the boss," he said.
Kekoni said he learned nothing can be done legally. He remains upset about the reasoning behind his firing.
"Everybody in my opinion has the right to own and buy what they feel they want to have," he said. "It shouldn't be dictated to you by your boss."
Kekoni said he plans to keep the bike.
"It's a helluva thing to get fired over."
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.s...icle?NEM&coll=8
I am not a number I am a free man
When Tom KeKONI showed up for work at Babbitt's Sports Center on May 17, he had no idea it would be his last day.
That morning, a sales manager approached Kekoni, a 46-year-old certified mechanic, and asked him whether he had made a certain recent purchase.
The mechanic acknowledged he had, and the sales manager informed him that he didn't need to punch in for work.
Kekoni thought the guy was teasing him.
"Too late, I already did," Kekoni responded.
A little later, the sales manager again approached Kekoni, asking if he believed him.
Kekoni said he did, but he wanted to "hear it from the horse's mouth," referring to his boss, Eddie Babbitt.
Babbitt then fired Kekoni.
The reason?
Kekoni had just bought a 2005 Harley-Davidson Superglide motorcycle. Babbitt's sells products that compete with Harley, such as Yamaha and Polaris.
"How would it look if my mechanic drives in on a competitor's product?" Babbitt said.
Both Kekoni and Babbitt admit to the firing, which broke no laws.
According to Jack Finn, an administrator with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Babbitt did nothing illegal.
"Michigan employment is termed 'at will', and as a result an employer can terminate an employee without cause," Finn said.
Kekoni and Babbitt sharply disagree over whether a policy existed against owning competitors' products.
Kekoni, 47, alleges no such thing existed. "There was no policy," he said.
Babbitt, meanwhile, claims the policy always has existed. "It's been a standing policy here forever," he said.
Babbitt added that Kekoni should have been tipped off to the policy by two incidents prior to his firing.
The first was a firing about a month before Kekoni's. Babbitt terminated another employee for buying a Honda off-road motorcycle from a different vendor.
Before that, Kekoni said he approached a sales manager concerning some used Harley bikes in Babbitt's showroom. After Kekoni inquired about purchasing them, he said the sales manager told him, "You don't want to do that."
Kekoni said it wasn't clear to him why the sales manager responded the way he did.
He would later end up buying the bike through Sandy's Harley-Davidson in Fremont, and it already had been shipped when the other employee was fired.
Shortly after letting Kekoni go, Babbitt said his business came under fire from Harley sympathizers and owners.
"I've been blasted online ... it's not easy being the boss," he said.
Kekoni said he learned nothing can be done legally. He remains upset about the reasoning behind his firing.
"Everybody in my opinion has the right to own and buy what they feel they want to have," he said. "It shouldn't be dictated to you by your boss."
Kekoni said he plans to keep the bike.
"It's a helluva thing to get fired over."
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.s...icle?NEM&coll=8
I am not a number I am a free man
Comments
[V][V][V]
Sounds more to me like the boss was just lookin' for a reason to let him go.
I personaly would quit my job before I let an A-Hole boss dictate what I drive.
BW
IT'S WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM AFRAID.
Pull up to any automotive/cycle/whatever dealership around here, and see what sits on the employees' parking lot. No one would even think to fire an employee for driving a different product. Maybe it's Texas vs. Michigan, but around here, we figure a man can do with his pay and his off time what he pleases.
I could see the boss asking the employee not to drive the Harley to work, or to park it around back, or park it somewhere else close, but not firing him. I think the employee has an actionable cause against the employer, and if I were him, I would likely own the shop.
If anyone has an email link, post it, or feel free to copy and paste my remarks and send them to the shop.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
THEY HAVE A USED HARLEY IN THEIR INVENTORY!!!!!
http://www.babbittssportscenter.com/
I am not a number I am a free man
99% of all lawyers make the rest look bad.
The dealer should let the mechanic ride the Harley and if anybody asks the response should be that "hey, if he wasn't a mechanic, he wouldn't be able to keep that bucket of bolts out oiling the road every day."
info@babbittssportcenter.com
I sent him my opinion, with a link to this thread and a C&P of my post.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
Here is his email address:
info@babbittssportcenter.com
I sent him my opinion, with a link to this thread and a C&P of my post.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
I tried emailing him at the same address and the email bounced back.
BW
IT'S WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM AFRAID.
In my past personal experience the rotten and unfair boss is going to be untouchable. The unfairly fired employee is going to have no recourse.
Many states have the employement law "employment at will" and most workers don't even know about it. This means just what it says; the employee has a day-to-day job only until the "will" of the employer decides to fire that employee.
Doesn't sound fair does it? Yet that is how it is in any state with an "employment at will" labor law. Now if someone were to spend the thousands and thousands of dollars to get this unfair sitution into court, the defense would say that is a fair sitution. After all, you the employee can quit any time, with no notice and for no reason. So for fairness the employer can fire you at anytime and for no reasons.
Believe me, this is how the Missouri department of labor looks at it as I had this debate with them on the phone. And no, it was not about me getting fired, it was about another labor issue that affected all my fellow employees.
But anyway, for those who will suggest the unfairly fired employee going out and getting a lawyer to take the case on "contingency", forget that. Unless you are a member of our protected minorities, or unless there is a very visible "pot of gold" that your "contingency" attorney can see in the case (for example suing an insurance company for your injuries), no attorney is going to take the case and risk working for free.
Unless state and federal labor laws are changed, this is how it is in states that have the "employment at will" laws. This is one reason why most employees need one of the good labor unions.
Call your state labor department. This "employment at will" law likely is what you are working under right now unless you are in a government or union job.
I remember when the city of Wolfe City fired the Chief of Police, Bob Huckabee. He only had to show up to the City Council meeting with his lawyer, and the city backpedaled real fast.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
Ben
Play Ball!!!
Texas is also an "at will" state. Employers are fond of using that term, and expecting the law to protect them. But, there is the law, and there is case law. Case law says something a little different.
I remember when the city of Wolfe City fired the Chief of Police, Bob Huckabee. He only had to show up to the City Council meeting with his lawyer, and the city backpedaled real fast.
That example is no where close to be an hourly employee working in the private sector.
If it were my business, I would say to hell with anyone who told me who I could fire!!! A business is a possession, and if a man wants to make it run, or drive it straight into the ground leaving people jobless, it's his business, he can. That's life. You cannot legislate fairness, because life his not fair. His business, his rules. If he doesn't want his employees driving Harleys, then he should fire the ones that do. If he doesn't want a particular mechanic driving a harley because he knows that he's a loudmouth and may berate his company's own products, then he should fire that particular employee. His baby, his rules.
Ben
Play Ball!!!
Companies cannot come into existance without the approval of some government (city, state, county, federal) via a permit or license; or at least the legal process of becoming incorperated. Since all government is supposed to work for, represent and be "owned" by the citizens/public, then another way to say this is that there can be no company until the citizens approve of that company.
And once in existance ALL companies need customers. customers that come from the ranks of the public citizens.
And most companies need employees. Most of which come from the ranks of the public citizens.
Each depends on the other for survial. Each should receive predicateable and fair treatment from each other.
They took no action. They would not fire her, nor would they prosecute. Why? Afraid of being sued.
Case law establishes precedent. That's why there are lawyers and law books. If similar cases have been filed, and won, those cases set precedent.
I think our cycle mechanic needs a good labor lawyer. It is only my uneducated opinion, but I think he has a good case.
And, my email was also returned. I guess the boss was tired of reading about what a jerk he is and turned it off.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
OK. Several years ago, I was in the K-Mart security office, watching a surveillance video. They had suspected a head cashier of some monkey business and set a camera on her station. She was allowing her friends to come through the checkout, pay for a couple of things, and let a few large items through without paying. Presumably, they got together and divided the loot later.
They took no action. They would not fire her, nor would they prosecute. Why? Afraid of being sued.
Case law establishes precedent. That's why there are lawyers and law books. If similar cases have been filed, and won, those cases set precedent.
I think our cycle mechanic needs a good labor lawyer. It is only my uneducated opinion, but I think he has a good case.
And, my email was also returned. I guess the boss was tired of reading about what a jerk he is and turned it off.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
I would like to be you and go back and get an update on what did or didn't happen to that thieving cashier. It is unlikely that he/she, in the end, got away with no puntative action being taken.
If for no other reason than how it would look to the other employees ; many of whom I can guarantee you also knew about the stealing.
Of course until Sears purchased Kmart I was sure they were going to go bankrupt. So maybe that is how they did run their business.
There will always be exceptions to every law, situation, etc. and maybe the Kmart theif was one of them. But if I was a multi-million dollar company I would not fear a $9.00 per hour cashier suing me. Especially if she was now going to be without an income.
doesn't anyone but me know about lawyers? Unless you have a "special case" racial, sexual discrimination, etc) or something like you suing an insurance company because of a physical injury (or suing a large companyh for personal injury) if you are able even find an attorney to take your case it will cost you a $5,000.00 cash retainer upfront and then about $150.00 per hour for that attorney.
Only in the movies and a very, very few rare cases is it otherwise. And if you are now unemployeed how are you gonna come up with that much money to sue Kmart or anyone else?
I hope it doesn't happen to anyone here but I fear that many people might have a very hard lesson to learn about reality depending on the type of situation they find themselves in.
Maybe she is right. "He has no brains."
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
tr, take a look at the 14th admendment of the Constitution. Equal protection is what I am talking about.
It is unlikely that unemployed mechanic can afford to, not only launch a lawsuit, but a lawsuit that will be decided on constitutional law?
Such a lawsuit would cost milions of dollars and take years to wind itself through the courts.
Cases like this are what labor lawyers live for.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
If you get fired for being in a protected class, you DON'T NEED a lawyer. At least not a privately paid one. The Justice Department will provide one for you.
Cases like this are what labor lawyers live for.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
Speaking from personal experience and first hand observations in KS & MO, the above is not true at all. Might be in Texas.
If you are a protect class (age, sex, relligion, etc) and get fired for one of those reasons you have to file a complaint through your federal OR YOUR state Civil Rights Office. Either office will instruct you to go out and FIND A PRIVATE lawyer. This will cost you money up front and ongoing. A little know fact is that if you really and truly cannot find such a lawyer, the judge in the case MIGHT help you by appoint a lawyer to go to work for you at YOUR expense. Now in some cases where the powerful want your case to be heard (based on religion, race, etc) then you might not have to do anything but continue to be the plantiff. but if you are about to get fired you cannot depend on that happening.
Trial lawyers first live to get paid. If you walk into their office with your case that is the first thing they are going to consider. Except in very, very rare cases.
"the difference between the almost right word and the right word is like the difference between a lightning bug and a lightning bolt" - Mark Twain.
Yep....I'd be writing H-D a letter and sue the p*ss out of the owner. I'd turn it into an H-D store.
This guy is being a hypocrite. If he's willing to sell Harleys even if they were taken in trade, then he shouldn't beef about employees riding them.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)
I wouldn't mind working at GM, making those big union wages, but you would see my Honda parked out front everyday. [:D]
Employers are beginning to pry too much into the personal lives of employees. I've been following this sort of thing for my blog, and I've found cases of people being fired for having guns in their cars on company parking lots, penalized for driving competitor's vehicles, suspended/fired for gaining weight (cocktail waitresses), fired for smoking at home and off the clock, etc. Even in cases where the terminations are upheld and the employer "wins", the employer ends up spending a fortune to defend themselves and take a horrible beating in the press.
If the Harley riding mechanic is so inclined, he can dish out quite a bit of punishment and will probably receive a large settlement.
http://Blog.LestDarknessFall.com
http://LestDarknessFall.com
It would look like your mechanic didn't trust the crap your trying to pawn off on some other dumb shmuck. What an A-hole.
Trinity +++
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."<BR>(Proverbs 22:6)
"Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."
Nothing sounds like a Harley...some sound Harleyish at best[;)]
You will not enter the Chrysler plant in Fenton Missouri driving a foreign car period, it does not have to be Chrysler just American made
Hope Chrysler management never realizes that there are probably a lot of foreign made parts in the "American made" cars that are allowed to enter the plant.
That's pretty darn hypocritical if you ask me. I seem to remember when Chrysler was about to close shop, and went crying to the government for a bail-out, on account of all the Japanese car companies undercutting their prices with better cars. And, at that time, ALL of Chrysler's small cars were direct imports from Mitsubishi in Japan.
Now, I have only owned two Chrysler products, both Dodge Caravans. One of them had a Mitsubishi engine. One had a Bosch windshield wiper motor from Germany. The CV joints, maybe even the transmission, came from France.
Last I heard, Chysler had merged with a German car company. I can understand not wanting a foreign car on the place. I don't want one on my place, either, but first they should make sure they aren't using ANY foreign parts or foreign labor in their own cars.
FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email gpd035@sbcglobal.net
The guy has a Federal lawsuit against the employer. Equality of other employee's has been breached. Remember folks State and local law has no bearing on this. He may lose in State court first ( which he probably will ) then appealing to Federal District Court will get their attention. Under Civil Rights he has full enjoyment of his property and equal protection under state law. He was not treated equally if he were fired for driving something different.
Doubtful. Last time I checked, "Harley Owner" wasn't a protected class.