The company I work for doesn't take lightly any form of threats of violence made against any identifiable groups of people. There is a code of conduct that all employees must sign and agree to abide by EVEN when they are not at work. The idea being that employees are not allowed to in / directly or un / intentionally defame the company, in any way when they are in public. They don't care what its employees do privately. Their only concern is the company's public image.
So, once a date/time/place was set in our city for a planned public protest in favor of “X” population (i.e. the ones being massacred now in retaliation for what happened last month) regarding the current Middle Eastern war, HR (probably at the instruction of upper management) retained private investigators to attend the protest and see if any of the company's employees decided to join the protest. They weren't so much interested with employees being there, but more with whether they were saying/taking any action that violated the company's code of conduct, while in public. So, if someone just went to the protest and walked – that was fine, or so they said.
Sure enough, 13 employees were detected (how, I have no idea) at the protest who apparently said or did things that violated the company's code of conduct. The protest happened on a Saturday when these people were not working. In addition, 11 other employees were detected having an on-line presence and making statements regarding the “Y” population (i.e. the ones massacred last month) that also ran afoul of the company's code of conduct. Again, how they found them, I don't know. Supposedly all evidence against them was “well” documented.
The private investigation company hired also doubles as a private security firm. So, exactly two weeks ago, fresh Monday morning, there was a noticeable increase in their numbers at our company's office. This was following the protest date. Anyway, typically, there's maybe 4 security guards (it's a huge building), but two weeks ago, I counted at least 20 of them. As the “marked” 24 employees were coming to work, they were ushered by the director of HR, that particular employee's manager and two security guards to a specific office on the first floor.
I only have second hand info. Supposedly, their employment was terminated on the spot. They were not allowed back into the building and were given a trespass notice (i.e. they're not allowed to ever set foot on company's property). The two security guards would then walk the fired person back to their car and asked to leave the premises, immediately failing which they could be arrested. What's wild is that at least 4 of the people fired had been with the company for more than 15 years. They weren't even allowed to take their personal belongings from their cubicles or offices. The company has made arrangements to just ship them their belongings, to their homes.
One of the people that was fired is a friend of mine. She had been with the company for 8 years. She just bought a condo and not surprisingly she is freaking out, as she is the sole earner. Apparently they told her they will not provide a reference and if any potential employer calls to inquire about her, they will disclose why she was let go. She doesn't have the $$$ to sue them. Supposedly, she went to the protest and held up a sign that could be construed as promoting genocide towards an identifiable group of people. That's why they fired her. She told me she wasn't holding the sign, but her friend asked her to hold it, while she was tying her shoes, or something. I'm not sure I buy her story.
It would seem, this particular Middle Eastern war has hit a nerve with the higher ups at my company. And even though they fired two dozen people, upper management doesn't seem fazed and just spread their work to the rest of us (it is a very big company – about 2,500 employees per last head count). They also beefed up the legal department, and have hired 3 new attorneys that specialize in employment law. My guess is they're preparing for legal fights … with the same people that have been their faithful employees for many many years.
Lastly, but not least, I heard through the grapevines that at least 4 offers of employment were rescinded for the same reason, and a number of colleges have been blacklisted because of the stance students and the administration, have taken towards the war in the Middle East. Someone I know at HR was telling me that the ramifications towards people who supported the “wrong side” of this war, will be felt for years to come.
I'm on the fence about this. On the one hand, it's really harsh and incredibly heartless to do this to people right before the holidays, but on the other hand, I don't want to work alongside someone who publicly supports violence against others.