I married a well known provider and she is still in the business. I work for a very large corp. I got called in the office of my old supervisor and along with him was the head of personal, and another VIP of the corp.
I was asked what my wife does for a living. I told them that she works at home helping me with my side business. I left the office and called my wife and told her about it. She went on her website and removed her face from all her photos and any mention of the town we live in.
I work for a corp that is very christian.
My question is: Can they fire me because of what business my wife is in?
I have been with this corp for over 10 years, been with my wife over a year.
If I get fired is there anything I can do to sue them?
I love my job and I love my wife.
Any advice?
WIGF
Do you have a contract? If so read all the fine print.
If you don't have a contract, who knows, you might be able to sue for unjust termination depending on your home state. Here in WA you'd be fvcked as it is an "at-will-employment" state, no implied contract, no recourse other than for contract or labor law violation claims.
If they sack you, contact an attorney in your state to see if there is any action you can take.
Might be best to start looking for work in a more liberal environment...
You may have recourse based on them calling you in for that discussion. Did you admit what your wife does?
Do you really know?
I know nothing about what my wife does while I am at work and you should play that angle as well.I might talk to a lawyer in your area before the company takes any moves against you. I would put them on notice that you were stunned and embarrassed by the conversation and may need to leave with a 2 year severence package since they have formed some opinion of you already. I am affraid that if you do not take an aggressive position you will be the one getting fucked not your old lady. By the way how does anyone know what she does unless they have tasted the fruit. I'll bet that either the HR person or some other Management person has done your wife and now that person is affraid that you have something on them.Did this question session happen after some company event that your wife attended?
Think about that, you certainly have a snake in the grass and one probably has been in her A__ __.
There's nothing illegal about demanding a hefty severance package, but trying to shake down people who already seem eager to fire the guy will just make it easier for them to do it. I don't see that he has much leverage with which to get such a deal, and what little he has will pretty much disappear once he's been fired. Being "stunned and embarassed" won't get him far, at least in California.
There are many ways they can know about the wife's business without having "tasted the fruit." The easiest way would be by seeing her pictures on her web site, which she only blurred AFTER this meeting took place. Or they could have been tipped off by someone else who was eager to make trouble for the husband and/or the wife.
The idea that "either the HR person or some other Management person has done your wife and now that person is affraid that you have something on them" doesn't make any sense because our guy would still have the same "something on them" after being fired and would have a lot less incentive to keep quiet about it. Besides, complaining to the powers that be that a colleague has had sex with his wife when he evidently have no problem with others doing so would call his character into question at least as much as that of the john.
Like I said, REALLY bad advice.
SolaLove's answer is correct, but there are ways other than a written contract by which the company may have committed itself to giving you job security. These include employee handbooksand assurances (written or verbal) from management. And as SolaLove points out, the laws in this area differ from state to state.
In an at-will state like California, employees can generally be fired for any reason that isn't prohibited by law. There are laws against firing someone because of his religion, race, etc., but not because his wife is a provider. Fighting your dismissal in such a state would be pointless, but there is something else you must worry about.
Keep in mind that if you sue the company they will make your wife's line of work an issue. If they fired you for being married to a provider and if firing you for that reason is legal, then proving what your wife does for a living will establish an iron-clad defense. Your wife may find herself having to choose between perjury, self-incrimination or taking the Fifth, and none of these choices will be good for either of you. The litigation may also blow her cover and lead to her eventual arrest.
Proceed with caution.
What I forgot to mention is, after I left the office of my old supervisor and went back to my office, called wife and she recommended I go back to him and say, "After I returned to my office it hit me it was really strange that two strangers that don't even know me were asking questions about my wife. May I ask what all that was about?" He said that he couldn't talk about it and it's a situation that they have never come across before.
The next day I went into work and talked to my supervisor and told him about what happened and he said that nothing is going to be done everyone concerned have been told to not comment about it or they will be terminated. That what happen is the MIS department found or caught an employee downloading from an adult site and printed wifes adult profile from some site. Normaly that is grounds to be fired but because of the subject aka my wife, the employee has been told never to discuss what he has found and reminded that this is a warning and if he is found going to anyother adult sites he will be fired.
So I guess for the time being my wife was protected and so was my job.
Thank you for the advice.
NOT GETTING FIRED NOW!!!
The question is who did you tell that your wife is a provider ? Someone you work with ?
It seems very coincidental. I hope it all works out without being embarassing for you.
You are correct. As it turned out I went in to wrok last monday and was given the option of quiting or being fired. There reason was, for surfing the web on company time.
But to answer your question? No I have never told anyone my wife is a provider. My boss said that the network kid (I said kid because hes only 28yrs old) that downloaded the information on my wife said he had no clue who she was but liked her photo.
Needless to say this has turned out to be the best thing for me that is, with in 24hrs word got out in my field that I had quit my job and had 3 very good job offers, and 2 of the companies were matching each other to get me to go to work for them.
I started the new company yesterday and just amazed how everything turned out. I couldn't of asked for a better turn out.
On the other hand, My wife feels so much guilt and is very happy for me but she is feeling better everyday and comming around.
Thank you gentleman for your advice.
I DID GET FIRED but very glad I did.
Did the company also give the kid who found your wife's picture the option of quitting or being fired? And how did the bosses learn about an adult pic he happened to like? Not many employees would bring such a pic to the president and say they found it on an adult mall - especially if they didn't know subject had any connection to the company.
See sidone I knew there was an inside track to this mystery. Ok so it was the computer kid and not the HR guy or other exec.
See sidone I knew there was an inside track to this mystery. Ok so it was the computer kid and not the HR guy or other exec.
OMG... YOU are unbelievable, you married the women you use to see as a provider?
Now your boss knows, what are you thinking to still allow her to see jons?
Dude your in a pickle, have your wife stop hooking for god sake, because now they know and their watching and they will find a way to fire you. I would stay away from everyone for awhile.
Consult with lawyer now, before its to late to see what your right are.