Employers often complain of lazy workers, but in this bizarro world of corporate human resources management, a woman was fired for working during her lunch break:
Smiley, 48, punched out of work for lunch Jan. 28, 2010, but remained at her desk to finish a project assigned by a manager because she did not plan to eat that day, she said.
Smiley, who had passed her 10-year anniversary with the company more than a month before, said another manager told her it was time for her to go to lunch and step away from her desk, but she refused. That manager observed Smiley working on a spreadsheet on her computer, answering the phone and responding to questions by people who approached her desk, according to a filing from the appellate court of Illinois. [...]
The company's human resources director then became involved, explaining that hourly non-exempt employees were required to take a 30-minute lunch break, a policy that had been in the company handbook for 10 years, according to the filing. Not following the policy would be a violation of Illinois' labor laws, the HR director said.
Really! The US will never cease to amaze me with their narrow view of the world.
If you consider all countries as a family, the US are the ridiculous jock big brother that's not too bright but manage to bully it's way into the world and into the life of its citizens.