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I suppose this would be "job abandonment" or they'll find a way to pin it to him and he will lose. Doing what he did is good and is out of his own choice of course, but don't do it when you're scheduled to work. Honestly, there are other ways to go about it. Ask for the week off, use vacation time, leave of abscence, talk to them first and let them know what your intentions are and all. Don't just get up and leave without consulting and expecting to be reprimanded for it.

Funny how someone mentioned a few posts above that "Come on. That's just dumb. No one's gonna find the ing time to call from Haiti when you're pulling people from the rubble. That's 24/7, man." yet, he found time to send out an email. Oh the irony...

I agree, anyone can find a noble cause to leave for a week. There are hundreds of national disasters that happen a year you really cant just leave for a week and expect your job to just understand why they have to fill your position for a undisclosed amount of time.

Lets be honest here, Haiti is going to be messed up for quite some time, why did this guy have to drop everything and vanish for a week? He couldnt request the next week off?

Just seems like he was a little too eager to play hero and didnt take the necessary steps before he left. Apple does have the right to fire this guy but I hope they dont.


EDIT: By the way I am interested in knowing if this guy even attempted to find a replacement for himself for the week? Or did he really just send a email and not show up for 6 days. I am sure Apple would have let him go if he had actually taken the time to go through the proper channels. Just sounds like he thought this cause was so noble they he could ignore all responsibility.

looks like the facebook link is down?

I thought Apple was the warm and fuzzy computer company and Microsoft was the cold, faceless corporation.

Originally Posted by JolietJake I thought Apple was the warm and fuzzy computer company and Microsoft was the cold, faceless corporation.

LOL..that about sums it up for me too...

please change the title to: idiot doesn't go to work for a week and then cries about losing his job.

If I'm reading something wrong, it sounds like he got the okay to leave the six days. But neglected to follow the technicality of calling in each day to confirm that the plan for six days off was still ongoing. It just sounds excessive to fire him for not calling in when he was given permission to take the time off.

If that's not the case or I'm giving him too much benefit of the doubt, then that is my fault.

any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment

The guy needed to follow protocol, and if the daily phonecall was in question, should have brought it up at the time. He didn't, thus not calling, thus leaving Apple a free "You're Fired" card.

Don't pass Go, Don't collect $200.

His 15 minutes need to stop before someone decides to do some stupid stuff.

It's a noble cause. But at the end of the day taking a day (or days) off from work is taking a day (or days) off from work. Policies about leave/vacation time etc. don't disappear when you're missing work for a noble cause. You got to go through official channels and get the time off approved and stick to what ever silly protocol is in place.

Originally Posted by Friend of Sonic If I'm reading something wrong, it sounds like he got the okay to leave the six days. But neglected to follow the technicality of calling in each day to confirm that the plan for six days off was still ongoing. It just sounds excessive to fire him for not calling in when he was given permission to take the time off. If that's not the case or I'm giving him too much benefit of the doubt, then that is my fault.

You probably are reading correctly, which means he didn't get fired for going to Haiti as the sensationalizing title suggests, but for failure to follow simple directions everyone else manages to follow. The headline shouldn't be fired for taking part in the relief effort, but fired for not following direction. It sounds like the employee opted not to take vacation, but took sick days and didn't follow proper protocol(a procedure that makes perfect sense in the context of day to day illnesses). If I had my own employee's I probably wouldn't want them around very long if they couldn't follow rules and procedures. Seems like the OP/fired employee are just trying to draw on people's emotions on Haiti when that isn't really even the issue. Judging by people's responses here, not many are buying into that.

Originally Posted by Soodmeg I agree, anyone can find a noble cause to leave for a week. There are hundreds of national disasters that happen a year you really cant just leave for a week and expect your job to just understand why they have to fill your position for a undisclosed amount of time. Lets be honest here, Haiti is going to be messed up for quite some time, why did this guy have to drop everything and vanish for a week? He couldnt request the next week off? Just seems like he was a little too eager to play hero and didnt take the necessary steps before he left. Apple does have the right to fire this guy but I hope they dont. EDIT: By the way I am interested in knowing if this guy even attempted to find a replacement for himself for the week? Or did he really just send a email and not show up for 6 days. I am sure Apple would have let him go if he had actually taken the time to go through the proper channels. Just sounds like he thought this cause was so noble they he could ignore all responsibility.

I was discussing this the other day with a friend and we came up with pretty much the same thing; disasters do happen but you can't just up and leave your job to volunteer unless it is clearly OK'd by management. The guys heart was in the right place but his priorities were messed up thinking his job would "wait" for him.

Originally Posted by camoor The problem is that Apple isn't a brand, it's a cult.

He's right. You guys have no idea what you're getting into. Overlord Steve will be most displeased.

Seriously though, this is all just company policy. Should this guy have been fired? Probably not. One of his bosses should have stuck up for him. But his boss is either a pussy a kiss-ass. Either way, it's not really Apple's fault that they have grade A douche-bag employees. (Even though they are held responsible.) A human being who isn't a dick just needs to go back and fix this.

EDIT: Soodmeg does make a good point though. But as I said, you'd think that they'd cut him a little slack.

Originally Posted by JolietJake I thought Apple was the warm and fuzzy computer company and Microsoft was the cold, faceless corporation.

Hah, Apple wants all the money just as much as MS but they have twice the ego.

nah, ms isnt anywhere near as greedy as apple...

but they're both for-profit companies. greed's fine.

hey it's good and all but what's the point if he goes and work for them again....

My company would fire him too.

Originally Posted by Friend of Sonic If I'm reading something wrong, it sounds like he got the okay to leave the six days. But neglected to follow the technicality of calling in each day to confirm that the plan for six days off was still ongoing. It just sounds excessive to fire him for not calling in when he was given permission to take the time off..

That's the way I read it too.

I pity anyone who sides with Apple without being the least bit interested in how phone service works in an earthquake-ridden third-world environment, or why obeying rule #524 of the Apple retail micromanagment guidelines trumps rescuing people who are trapped under rubble.

You read responses in a thread like this and realize that America has more serious underlying issues.

Very well said. I rather save a human being's life who has been living, experiencing emotions, breathing the same air, being something on this earth than worry about a 10 dollar an hour paying job...and then you wonder why americans have so many issues.

Originally Posted by camoor That's the way I read it too. I pity anyone who sides with Apple without being the least bit interested in how phone service works in an earthquake-ridden third-world environment, or why obeying rule #524 of the Apple retail micromanagment guidelines trumps rescuing people who are trapped under rubble. You read responses in a thread like this and realize that America has more serious underlying issues.