TexasCHLforum.com

Redneck_Buddha wrote:About 18 months ago, I turned down a job who said that I needed to give them my Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking passwords. I clarified the requirement with the HR woman and involuntarily laughed in her face when she told me I understood the requirement correctly. The very tightly niched position is still open.

I'll take that job, they can have my (current) passwords, but they also change regularly, and I wonder if they want to put up with my paranoid tendencies changing passwords every few hours.

The Annoyed Man wrote: . . .
I'm no lawyer, but here is what the TWC says about wrongful termination (http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/efte/wr ... harge.html):

Wrongful Discharge

The basic rule in Texas is the "employment at will" doctrine: absent an express agreement to the contrary, either party in an employment relationship may end the relationship or change the terms and conditions of employment at any time for any reason, or even for no particular reason at all, with or without notice.

There are several exceptions, both statutory and court-made:

1. statutory exceptions
   1. state and federal employment discrimination statutes: a discharge may not be based upon a person's race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, or citizenship, and many states add veteran status and sexual orientation to the list
   2. protected activity (something the law entitles an employee to do without fear of retaliation)
   3. bringing suspected wrongdoing to the attention of competent government authorities (state and federal whistleblowing statutes)
   4. filing various types of claims (OSHA, federal wage and hour, workers' compensation, employment discrimination, etc.)
   5. military duty
   6. jury duty
   7. voting
   8. engaging in union activity
2. common law exceptions (i.e., exceptions found in court decisions)
   1. public policy: it is illegal to discharge an employee for refusing to commit a criminal act
   2. contractual - if a discharge would violate an express employment agreement, it would be a wrongful discharge; includes collective bargaining agreements
3. In Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Portillo, 879 S.W.2d 47 (Tex. 1994), the Texas Supreme Court ruled against a company that had failed to enforce its anti-nepotism policy for 17 years and then suddenly fired an employee who was known all that time to have violated the policy.
4. Remedies for wrongful discharge can include reinstatement, back and future pay, promotion, punitive damages, and an injunction against future illegal conduct. In addition to compensating the employee, the employer can also be made to pay attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and court costs.

It would seem to me that (2)(b) provides the CHL with a modicum of protection:

1. They are taking part in a protected activity which the law allows an employee to do without fear of retaliation; and
2. CHL law deliberatly protects the confidentiality of the CHL holder.

It would seem to me that a competent employment attorney could make a case for wrongful termination if a CHL holder was fired for refusing to answer questions pertaining to his/her possible CHL status, if the questions were not asked by law enforcement.

TexasGal wrote:The hard part would be proving it was the CHL that did it. A larger company would most likely be savvy enough to not leave a paper trail to anything specifically on that list. My sister was in charge of the human resource department of a large company for years and is now a VP. I have heard from her of how careful they are to mind all the details to protect the company from disgruntled employees.

Exactly. I was "released" from my job as an engineer implementing the wireless network supporting the red light cameras in Dallas, with a nice letter detailing my history with the company and the reason I was promoted to engineer, followed by a weak excuse that although I was doing a great job that the company just didn't need me anymore and recommending me with high praise to any future employers.

Now, the real reason I was let go.

First; I had earned the enmity of an engineer senior to me by proving that the radio system could do something he said it couldn't, which I thought was a resolved issue, but I am sure made up part of the decision to fire me. Much longer story, but that suffices.

Second; While out conducting a field site survey for part of the network, I was helping load a lift onto a trailer (mine, btw, and towed behind my car) and fell and broke my finger. I went to the ER for treatment and reported it as Workman's Comp. The day I was released from employment just happened to be, by coincidence, the day that Workman's Comp released me back to full duty. In retrospect the words my boss (also the president of the company) said as I left for the hospital were a clue that I failed to pick up on; "You have insurance, right?" that something was not quite right.

I found out later, from a source that could not be relied upon should it come down to a test in court, that the company was not insured properly to have engineers in the field and they got in trouble with Workman's Comp over that, something the president of the company was surely aware of even when he assigned me to do that work.

In short, I got terminated for breaking my finger and reporting it to Workman's Comp, but good luck proving it.