Fired for documenting accidents

[MacGyverS2000]

Not an engineering disaster, per se, but I imagine the readers of this particular forum would have more specific insight...

A discussion group I'm part of that deals in CNC machining recently had a post (with pics) of an accident. It seems a machinist decided to poke his head into the working area while the machine was spinning up, and in doing so lost a chunk of scalp... he'll survive with likely no lasting effects other than a healthier respect for moving machinery and a bald patch. While it serves as a good warning/reminder to others in the industry, I was surprised to see a number of posts warning the OP to remove the pics before they are fired. No one appeared willing to say why a company would fire an employee for documenting an accident, but I know some here would be happy to share their thoughts on the matter. I can't imagine it would even be legal to fire someone for that...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Here's an example USB stick controller... not quite general purpose, but you get the idea:

http://www.siliconmotion.com/A3.2_Overview_Detail.php?sn=22

Back to the original subject, some more detail: The photo taker was a coworker, and the photos were published with permission of the employee (both statements were made in the thread by the photog). The only "identifiable" photo was of the back of the guy's head where the injury occurred. From the comments posted, it appeared to be a number of BTDT folks warning against posting the pics, an the thread was deleted within 24 hours. I get the potential legal issues from the business side of things, but the scared reaction/warning from fellow machinists really surprised me.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[EdStainless]

The companies that think that email deletion protects them from legal discovery haven't been sued yet.
They will make you go back through off site backups and reconstruct histories.
And if anything was deleted after the beginning of an incident then you will simply be charged with willful obstruction.

Similar things are true with safety issues. If someone posted information before the accident was formally reported, or if the posted info differed from the report there could be compliance and/or liability issues.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[drawoh]

EdStainless,

On my last day after being laid off, I went through my file drawer and I found and copied a memo I hand wrote the better part of thirty years ago, describing a serious safety hazard. The hazard was corrected, but it showed off a general attitude that could come back to haunt them. As an organization, you have some control over internal emails, and that is about it.

--
JHG

 

[IRstuff]

Worst case is that you have to PDF certain emails and place them in your Pearl Harbor file ;-)

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[JohnRBaker]

And lets not forget your "Atta-Boy" file, which always comes in handy when you need to respond to an "Ah-S@#T" moment ;-)

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[CWB1]

The issue likely isn't someone documenting an accident but rather sharing it publicly. Most shops have pretty strict photo policies, get caught taking an unauthorized photo or even using an unauthorized camera to take authorized pics results in instant termination due to IP or ITAR concerns. A previous employer won a court case about ten years ago now after security confiscated and wiped the phone/camera of a visitor caught taking pictures.

FWIW, I saw a photo like you described posted on several facebook machinist groups and practicalmachinist last week(?), its becoming a popular meme.

 

[LionelHutz]

I'm not seeing the problem with that you are describing. You can often find accident investigation reports that were made public so they could be used as learning tools. What you describe sounds like info similar to such a report.

 

[dik]

That's why I always ask... been in some areas where a strobe can cause a detonation... or a poor electrical connection. Companies often have explosion proof cameras to use and they download the images, review them, and give you a copy.

Dik

 

[IRstuff]

"You can often find accident investigation reports that were made public so they could be used as learning tools. What you describe sounds like info similar to such a report."

I think that if the OP's example were from such a report, the only violation might be a slap-on-the-wrist type. But, an unofficial, unpublished, snippet is a wholly separate issue.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[LionelHutz]

If the claim about having employee permission to post the accident report info was true, then it wasn't something being shared unofficially. There shouldn't be much concern about being fired when the employee gave permission to post.

 

[IRstuff]

Just because the subject of the photo agreed doesn't mean that the company agreed. It's not necessarily different than the firing of ESPN commentators for making personal remarks outside of work.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

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[LionelHutz]

Back to the original subject, some more detail: The photo taker was a coworker, and the photos were published with permission of the employee (both statements were made in the thread by the photog). The only "identifiable" photo was of the back of the guy's head where the injury occurred. From the comments posted, it appeared to be a number of BTDT folks warning against posting the pics, an the thread was deleted within 24 hours. I get the potential legal issues from the business side of things, but the scared reaction/warning from fellow machinists really surprised me.

Yes, I see it was just the employee, not the employer giving permission.