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[jimp]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1122390906322500.xml&coll=8&thispage=1

When Tom Kekoni showed up for work at Babbitt's Sports Center on May 17, he had no idea it would be his last day.

That morning, a sales manager approached Kekoni, a 46-year-old certified mechanic, and asked him whether he had made a certain recent purchase.

The mechanic acknowledged he had, and the sales manager informed him that he didn't need to punch in for work.

Kekoni thought the guy was teasing him.

"Too late, I already did," Kekoni responded.

A little later, the sales manager again approached Kekoni, asking if he believed him.

Kekoni said he did, but he wanted to "hear it from the horse's mouth," referring to his boss, Eddie Babbitt.

Babbitt then fired Kekoni.

The reason?

Kekoni had just bought a 2005 Harley-Davidson Superglide motorcycle. Babbitt's sells products that compete with Harley, such as Yamaha and Polaris.

"How would it look if my mechanic drives in on a competitor's product?" Babbitt said.

Both Kekoni and Babbitt admit to the firing, which broke no laws.

According to Jack Finn, an administrator with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Babbitt did nothing illegal.

"Michigan employment is termed 'at will', and as a result an employer can terminate an employee without cause," Finn said.

Kekoni and Babbitt sharply disagree over whether a policy existed against owning competitors' products.

Kekoni, 47, alleges no such thing existed. "There was no policy," he said.

Babbitt, meanwhile, claims the policy always has existed. "It's been a standing policy here forever," he said.

Babbitt added that Kekoni should have been tipped off to the policy by two incidents prior to his firing.

The first was a firing about a month before Kekoni's. Babbitt terminated another employee for buying a Honda off-road motorcycle from a different vendor.

Before that, Kekoni said he approached a sales manager concerning some used Harley bikes in Babbitt's showroom. After Kekoni inquired about purchasing them, he said the sales manager told him, "You don't want to do that."

Kekoni said it wasn't clear to him why the sales manager responded the way he did.

He would later end up buying the bike through Sandy's Harley-Davidson in Fremont, and it already had been shipped when the other employee was fired.

Shortly after letting Kekoni go, Babbitt said his business came under fire from Harley sympathizers and owners.

"I've been blasted online ... it's not easy being the boss," he said.

Kekoni said he learned nothing can be done legally. He remains upset about the reasoning behind his firing.

"Everybody in my opinion has the right to own and buy what they feel they want to have," he said. "It shouldn't be dictated to you by your boss."

Kekoni said he plans to keep the bike.

"It's a helluva thing to get fired over."
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Chrome won't get you home, but you look good, waiting for help alongside the road!

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[Twolanerider]

That is pretty chickenchit.  If you pull up to Harley's plant in Kansas City (for one example) the guys that ride in on Harley bikes get to park in kind of place of display in a circle drive right in front of the building.  But guys that pull in on other bikes still pull in on other bikes.  And there's quite a few of them.  They just park in the parking lot 100 feet away.

I've heard of such things before in this and other industries.  If the story is accurate it's the first time I've ever known of it not being urban myth and someone actually getting canned for it.  Since the job is already lost, however, and there is little more to be lost the mind boggles at the (legal) ways I would start having fun with that cracker SOB that fired me though.

[spydglide]

Seems that the only way they could require you to drive (ride) their product is if it were job related and they furnished it (free).........that is unless it were part of the initial job contract and in the job description.  Employment at will doesn't give them total control of your life.......can they dictate the neighborhood you live in?  I think there would be legal recourse, but probably not worth it in the long run.....I mean, who would want that job back?    [smiley=furious.gif]    spyder

[jimp]

Some good stuff here:
http://www.aaaalegalcenter.com/Employment_Law.htm

Excerpts:

AT WILL EMPLOYMENT

An at will employee can be discharged without cause at anytime. Under Michigan law, absent an agreement to the contrary, employees are deemed to be employees at will. This means that employees are free to change jobs or terminate their employment at anytime. Likewise, an employer is free to discharge the employee for any reason that does not violate established law or public policy.

One of the leading cases in Michigan concerning at will employment is the case of Touissant v Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan 408 Mich 579 (1980). This case brought attention to wrongful discharge lawsuits by merely restating existing law.

There may be exceptions to the rules set forth above. If you have an employment question it is important to consult with an experienced attorney to determine your rights under the law.

1. If you are an employee at will your employer has the upper hand. The employer can terminate your employment for any arbitrary reason whether real or imagined so long as the employer does not violate certain laws or public policy in doing so. If you are having problems at work you should consult with an experienced attorney to determine if your rights are being violated.

[MObe]

  When I was a kid I worked as a wrench for a big sicilian guy that owned the local Honda shop.
 I traded my Honda to a local kid for his Yamaha 125 enduro.
 My boss really chewed me out for trading my Honda for that Yamaha, then he said ,      " how's it gonna look havin' a damn'd Yamaha sitting in front of the shop?  
Hell, now I'm gonna have to buy a f%&^ing Yamaha dealership".  
 And 1 month later, he did.  [smiley=beerchug.gif]

[mr_magoo]

That sucks big time.  But also sounds like a place I'd wouldn't want to work at.

[TB]

In 1972, I bought my first bike (Suzuki 125 Duster) from Babbitt's......you can bet that I won't be buying another one from them!!!!  Anyone else in the Michigan area want to start a boycotte of this horses highnee?   You can bank on the fact that I will be passing the word along. [smiley=furious.gif]

[JCZ]

He may not be able to do anything about the termination directly but if he had a decent attorney, he could certainly sue for his civil rights being violated under the Unruh Act, if he were told that he was being fired based on the vehicle he rides.  Calif. is an "at will" state, also.  However, the Confederation of Clubs has banned together and hired attorneys to fight these forms of discrimination based on clothes (if they wear a patch or motorcycle attire) or vehicles drivene (or ridden) and have won them all.  It's almost a slam dunk law suit, cause now there's case law on the books.

[Twolanerider]

He may not be able to do anything about the termination directly but if he had a decent attorney, he could certainly sue for his civil rights being violated under the Unruh Act,

JC I think they wrote that the guy was in Michigan.  Unruh isn't Federal, it's a California state statute.

[BLM777]

JC...it would be interesting to see just what they "have won" in terms of dollars and cents.  I suspect the only winner's are the lawyers that convinced the "Clubs" to attempt proving a point over a basically no-damages issue.  As I'm sure you know, MC's have been easy pickin's for lawyers touting "legal defense funds" for more years than I care to remember.

[05yellowse]

"At Will" states do pose a problem for the little guy.The best bet is to gain as much media attention against the dealership as possible. A normal and prudent person would see this action in a negative way,federal laws protect against firings based on race,religion,sex, disablities etc.but not for what type of car or motorcycle you own. With this persons age,46, he would have a much better chance at age discrimination towards his former employer, I would contact the closest office of the ACLU and discuss this case with them,it would be a lot more cost effective with their involvement. I would hope as a goodwill gesture the local HD dealership would offer this person a job. I would hope that any motorcycle dealership would encourage ALL brands of motorcycles to park in a designated motorcycle parking area,together.Thats like going to a parking lot and seeing signs for Ford truck owners to park up front and Chevy owners to park in the rear.

[Laker]

Here in Atlanta one of the News stations has what is called the I-Team. They take stories like this one, shove a microphone and camera in the owners face and confront him on the allegations.  That is after interviewing the person fired and making them out to be a poor worker taken advantage of by corporate greed. I love those things.

[starvin]

would never happen at a UNION shop

[nidan]

Georgia is another "right to work " state as they call it here , termination requires no cause.  I certainly think it's poor judgement on the part of the business, at the very least they could just ask him to park it out back .

[BLM777]

would never happen at a UNION shop

That's the reason anyone investing several million dollars in a dealership won't allow a "union shop".  They'd just as soon manage their own investment rather than accepting any input from a "partner" without a nickel at risk.