The brownie suspension that took place the other day in Texas went viral.
In case you missed it, here are the basics: a worker purchased a brownie for a customer who happened to be a police officer too. As a result of the purchase, the employee was suspended.
Like you, hearing this sounds ridiculous. But, maybe not. Luckily, I think the biggest take-away isn’t the story itself, but preparing for a suspension at our own place of employment.
Brownie Suspension: Why it was Right
I can think of a few examples why the suspension may not have been crazy.
- Thee worker or employee used an employee discount to make the purchase,
- Brownie transaction commingled money in the register with the worker’s discount,
- Purchase delayed a different job duty,
- Bakery didn’t want to show favoritism to any one group, or
- Worker was using the situation for personal gain.
Brownie Suspension: Why it was Wrong
On the other hand, there are a lot of social and public policies that discredit the suspension.
From a legal perspective, an issue bigger than whether the suspension was credible is the idea of discrimination. The act of suspending a worker for a potentially trivial issue opens a lot of ground for an EEOC claim versus the bakery.
Brownie Suspension: This is An Employee Victory
The greatest value in brining this story to your attention is this: any worker who gets suspended at work should consider the following.
- Inquiring about whether they are eligible for unemployment while suspended,
- Reflecting on whether the employer is an ideal fi long term,
- Review whether the suspension was discriminatory, and or
- Us the opportunity to return to work with positive changes.
Every employee is different and every employment situation is different.
None the less, I think the idea of getting suspended for purchasing a brownie will have a more negative impact on the bakery than the employees who work at the bakery.
