Four guys fired over fantasy football

[GettnHuge 1]

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/18...action=page_nav

 

But that isn’t going to happen. Pettigrew and three other Fidelity employees were fired for playing fantasy football.

 

"Firing a guy for being in a $20 fantasy league? Let’s be honest; that’s a complete overreaction," said Pettigrew, who lives in Grapevine and has an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington. "In this economic time, especially. To fire people over something like this, it’s just cold."

 

Said Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio: "We have clear policies that relate to gambling. Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited. In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients."

[FlaHawker 24]

[RLLD 3,455]

:ninja: :ninja:

[Zackattack 0]

Right and what percentage of the public play fantasy football? How many for money?

[Thre3Deep 0]

Little severe, but, if it is outlined in the companys policies, a little hard to dispute.

 

 

That sucks

[jocstrap 8]

Tuck Fexas - - the city council in another suburb of Dallas (Rockwall) had to take a vote on if English was going to be the primary language.

 

The only thing good coming out of Grapevine is Bass Proshops.

 

Maybe these poor chaps can move to a better state now.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

Fidelity is a sh!thole.

[yostevo 0]

Take it to the Little Help wanted bored.

[RLLD 3,455]

Fidelity is a sh!thole.

 

 

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

Jokingly...

 

I wonder if there was a green line showing him the way out the door.

 

He deserves to be fired for participating in a $20 league

 

Seriously...

 

Seriously?

[nflocd 0]

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/18...action=page_nav

Said Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio: "We have clear policies that relate to gambling. Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited. In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients."

 

Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio must not have made the playoffs.

[PsychoBelichickFan 0]

fantasy football is not gambling....it is a skill game

[The Football Guru 212]

Personal story...a few years ago, I worked with a company contracted with the state that helped people on welfare find work. Despite setting several company performance records in terms of finding people work, this company felt the need to investigate my "methods" (even though I'm not sure finding people work can ever be a bad thing). One of the things researched was the use of my office's computer, which revealed that I visited Sportsline (where I played fantasy football at the time) on a regular basis. However, during this thorough investigation, they failed to note the fact that I did this only after office hours and they also had no policy in place to prohibit this.

 

Anyway, I was visited one day by the state director who informed me that not only was I being investigated, but one of the reasons I was being investigated was because of this. When I asked him if this was illegal by company standards, he say "no", but suggested "it wasn't good for people under investigation to do this". Small problem with that statement: as I already let on, no one bothered to tell me that I was under investigation, so it was going to be hard for me to curtail an activity that wasn't prohibited to begin with

 

Anyhow, I was found not to be using performance enhancers to find my people work, so life went on a little bit longer with that company Fortunately, though, I have been lucky enough in the years since to find employers who actually embrace fantasy football or restrict internet access to only company-related sites.

[ashwiggins 0]

When I worked in DC, the firm's VP is the one who got everyone involved with FF. If your company's employees are too distracted because of FF, then they will be just as distracted by something else. These companies need to lighten up and make the workplace more enjoyable, which will in turn get the most out of your workforce.

 

Question, if FF is illegal, how can sportsline offer pay leagues?

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

Question, if FF is illegal, how can sportsline offer pay leagues?

 

 

The same way there are a million poker sites that are up and running where people don't play for any money. There are a lot (idiots) who play fantasy football for free/fun, and do so legally.

 

It would be great if it wasn't construed as a form of gambling (which it clearly is in my opinion)... then there would be websites that could electronically handle the money collecting part league.

[PsychoBelichickFan 0]

this is all about a company feeling like they own the worker. They want you thinking about your job 24/7 and not having a life. This company is pathetic.

[GettnHuge 1]

this is all about a company feeling like they own the worker. They want you thinking about your job 24/7 and not having a life. This company is pathetic.

 

all you ever talk about is work

[Drizzay 646]

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 specifically states that Fantasy Sports aren't a form of gambling. So by Fidelity specifically saying the 4 people were fired for illegally gambling, they are wrong. It was supposedly stated on their termination record.

 

These boys have a very decent chance at winning a wrongful termination court case.

 

It would be one thing if they were terminated for using company property (internet/computers) illegally. But they were SPECIFICALLY fired for gambling. Texas is an at-will state, so they didn't need to give a specific reason. I'm sure their intent was to give a reason that would help Fidelity avoid paying unemployment benefits. Some lawyer at Fidelity focked up.

 

Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association stated today on KFAN (Mpls) that he knows several "high profile" members that are pulling all of their investments from Fidelity because of this. Fidelity totally underestimated the popularity of Fantasy Sports.

 

What a bunch of maroons.

[steel827 2]

Fidelity could have easily blocked the sites. I'm sure they block porn. I work for a major corporation and most, but not all, sites are blocked. Fortunately or unfortunately, they have not blocked CBSSPORTSLINE. Yahoo & ESPN fantasy sites are blocked. They also block all sports sites during the NCAA tournament. They may have been looking for a reason to dismiss them and found a little loophole. Sucks.

[berven 0]

In Iran, these four miscreants would have been executed.

[Portis26 0]

Probably just needed to find a way to get rid of them. So they went this route; so I don't believe it was just for playing ff

[patweisers44 697]

The HR people should have driven them home and then punched them in the face in front of their families.