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.