When Democracy is Inconvenient

Here's a story about an employee at a major company (thousands of employees, publicly traded), who was told they had to take a trip out of town on election day.

The employee was aware of the possibility he might have to take a trip but hadn't considered that he was going to miss his chance to vote on an issue very important to him and his family. He should have early voted, but just didn't put two and two together.

He informed his company of what he thought was his right by state law (and was correct) and the company didn't see it his way. They also did not try to get him back in time to vote because it was inconvenient for them to do so. It was doable, but they didn't want to expend the minor resources to do so.

Furthermore, the employee was called to the floor for a minor matter related to this incident because the person he informed on the phone that he was going to report the matter to the voter registrar didn't like the way he worded it. "I'm going to report you." or words to that effect.

Several people informed the employee that since he was new, he should not make waves over this matter.

So here's the sum: Company breaks state law, possibly federal (and was informed they were doing so), did nothing to remedy the issue (which they could have, and had the time and resources to do so), and then the employee gets 'in trouble' for purportedly the wording he used to the people involved.

Furthermore, he was told not to stand up for his rights by nearly everyone he told in the interest of his job.

Human Resources should have been brought in as well, but they were not even informed. It was kept within the system that was 'controllable' by the people involved.

This makes me sick on a number of counts. Comment by clicking the link below.