My CEO is anti-gun, should I be worried?

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ID_shooting

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So, a bit of back ground. I am an IT contractor at a hospital here in Boise. My parrent company is based in Mission Viejo, CA. I was hired last December. My immediate boss is another Idaho native. When I was hired I was issued a company laptop. Shortly after receiving it, I loaded a mess of "gun porn" pictures for the "Windows Slide Show Screen Saver" from various locations, most from right here at THR.

Well, yesterday, our CEO and my boss's boss fly in for an executive meeting with the hospital's board. The CEO comes down for a tour of our area while I happen to be off site on a service call. Upon my return, I get an e-mail from my boss telling the CEO wants me to remove the gun pictures from my laptop. Being a company-owned computer I promply comply and reply back with a "yes ma'am."

As I am leaving for the day, my boss stops me and thanks me for being so prompt with the request (like I had a choice right?) Then goes on to tell me the CEO got all "wide eyed" asked things like:

Does he own guns?
Her answer, yes
Does he carry guns?
Again her answer is yes
Does he have a permit?
She answered yes yet again

She tells me he is worried that my gun pictures might offend somone and he doesn't want any negative mood to our company.

:cuss: Forget the fact that I have been here for 4 months and no one complained yet. In fact just the opposite, the pictures have started many good conversations and even propogated the purchase of my G19 from a fellow IT guy.

While I am bothered by her willingness to answer his questions (my responce would have been more of the "those questions are innapropraite" type.) I feel I be in jeopordy in regards to future employment and advancements.

What do you think? Am I fine or should I update my resume' yet again?
 
Always have your resume ready at a moments notice regardless of who, where or what your employment is with or where it is. Meanwhile, keep a low profile.
 
Your first mistake was to load personal pictures onto a company laptop.

Your second mistake was to put those personal pictures into a screen saver slide show for anyone to see.

You're there to work, not to convert pagans. What did you think was going to happen?

I think you should can the gun talk while at work and focus on: a) performing high-quality work and b) providing excellent customer service. Keep the client happy, and you probably don't need to worry.

(Yes, I realize the irony of posting this response during work hours.)
 
I think since its a company computer you shouldn't have a problem with them asking for personal photos to be removed. They probably shouldnt have been there in the first place.

Also, why do you say the CEO is anti-gun? I don't see anything to suggest that he is anti-gun from your post.
 
Document/print the email exchange that you had with your boss and write down the conversation you had with your boss and date it. If you think you are being discriminated against in the future you have something to back it up with.
 
Be ready if something happens, but otherwise just go about business as usual, without the gun pictures. If it were a coworker, I'd say take him shooting, but since he's alot higher up, it's not an option, and anyway he probably won't concern himself with it much. The most he may ask your boss some pointed questions, but as you said he's an Idaho native, so he probably owns a couple guns himself. I wouldn't worry about it too much, just keep a resume handy, you never know. It probably wasn't the best idea to load the pictures on there, especially since you set them as your screen saver, but I've seen plenty of people do it for other sports, so I really don't see the harm in it(if you had to argue the point).
 
I agree, no "anti" info in your post. If he anti after the first or second question your boss would have been told "time to look at other options" in other words cut down your hours, give you crap jobs to do, put you on an undesirable shift, and generally harass you until you quit. I have watched this kind of behavior time and time again.

I also agree the "company owned computer" is not the place for your slide show. Not much chance of it happening but say a high powered "contributor" that is anti and come by and caught your presentation, instant loss of income to the facility and possible loss of your job do to cutbacks.
 
I believe your making this into a bigger situation than needed. Your CEO does not sound like an a true anti, he sounds more like someone who is neutral on the subject. Remember most people in the don't have any experience with firearms, and many don't know people who own guns, especially if they grew up in a urban environment. Its only a natural reaction to question your integrity. If he was a real anti he probably would have you fired. They only asked you to remove it since they don't want people having their personal stuff on their computer.
 
"Document/print the email exchange that you had with your boss and write down the conversation you had with your boss and date it. If you think you are being discriminated against in the future you have something to back it up with."

Document what exactly? The CEO could fire somebody for this and the lawyers wouldn't even lose sleep over it. People can be fired for ANY OR NO REASON as long as it is not an illegal reason. You can quit for any or no reason and the company has the same privlidge.
 
CEO's list of worries breaks down to two questions:
1>How much money will you make me?
2>What will you do to my organization (which impacts #1 above)

Your activities influence #2. Don't disturb an organization.

That said, volunteer to take your CEO shooting. :D
 
Hmmm....

Almost everyone here has pics of their wife, kids, dogs, motorcycles, airplanes, house, etc, on their work pc. Nobody says a word.

If his CEO objected to anyone having pics of their wife, dog, kid, etc, then I's say he was being consistent.

Since there is no evidence of this, the fact that he had pics of guns and that drew fire, yes, I'd say that there is reason to believe his CEO is an anti, and discriminatory.

Just my .02.
 
I would suggest keeping all personal pictures and data off of the company computer. No need for anyone to know anything and if you want to talk guns, talk them. Dont put them on display at work if your afraid it may cost you your job.
 
Do your job, smile at the idiots, cash your paychecks, but keep your remume' up to date.
 
Document what exactly? The CEO could fire somebody for this and the lawyers wouldn't even lose sleep over it. People can be fired for ANY OR NO REASON as long as it is not an illegal reason. You can quit for any or no reason and the company has the same privlidge.
Click to expand...
Document that he specifically was targeted to remove personal pictures from the computer specifically because they were pictures of guns. If a blanket email had gone out to remove personal pictures ooff company computers it would have been different.

He has already been discriminateed against. A picture of a gun is no different legally than a picture of a car or motorcycle or a family member. It's just a picture of a completely legal non-pornographic or profane object.
 
4 months? 4 months ain't nothing. You could be gone in a heartbeat.

Polish the resume, and CYA. And be wary about how you use, and what you leave on, the company laptop.
 
"He has already been discriminateed against. A picture of a gun is no different legally than a picture of a car or motorcycle or a family member. It's just a picture of a completely legal non-pornographic or profane object."

You don't seem to understand that you CAN be discriminated against as long as the discrimination is not on the protected list. You know it can be contriversial, you decide to put it on your computer, you may face consequences. Period.
Your choice, but to think that you have a legal remedy if you get fired is false.
 
I have some motivating pictures up on my work computer desktop, including Oleg's "That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there. George Orwell".

I have gotten two negative responses, and I have gotten one person (my boss) who sniggered when he saw it. I asked him what was funny. He indicated the picture. I told him that sadly there was nothing funny about it. I am no more shy in defending the right to own a weapon than I would be in defending the equality of rights of the various races.

DW

If someone had a problem with either, I would hand in my walking papers.
 
Document that he specifically was targeted to remove personal pictures from the computer specifically because they were pictures of guns. If a blanket email had gone out to remove personal pictures ooff company computers it would have been different.
Click to expand...

You don't seem to understand that you CAN be discriminated against as long as the discrimination is not on the protected list. You know it can be contriversial, you decide to put it on your computer, you may face consequences. Period.
Your choice, but to think that you have a legal remedy if you get fired is false.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the poster is trying to make a case that the gun pictures was a pretextual discrimination. That is, since the CEO did not tell everybody to take pictures of guns off of their computers, but only the original poster, then the CEO must have some other reason for trying to harass the original poster.

This is how it would go in a lawsuit:

Plaintiff: I was fired because I was discrimnated against for ______ (state legal reason, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, etc).

Defendant: He was fired because he had pictures of guns.

Plaintiff: I was not fired becuase of pictures of guns, because they only targeted me. If they were really against guns, they would have let everyone in the company know that gun pictures are not allowed. They are just using the guns as a pretext to fire me. They really fired me because I am _______ (state legal reason).

Of course, whether this lawsuit would be a winner depends on a lot of information we don't have in this thread.
 
Your choice, but to think that you have a legal remedy if you get fired is false.
Click to expand...
It's called a wrongful termination lawsuit on the basis of discrimination. You might lose if you have a crummy case but it IS a remedy.
 
You may also want to check in your company's employee manuals. I suspect that somewhere in there, you will find statements saying that company owned materials are supposed to be used only for company and not private use.

I bet you are in violation of written policies you are just not aware of.

I still think its a stretch to think the CEO is anti-gun over this. It is kind of similar to people claiming Wal Mart is anti-gun when they stopped carrying guns in some stores. Its not always a political agenda. Sometimes its just about money. If Walmart isnt making enough money on guns, they will replace them with something they can stell and not take up store space with them.

The same applies to your CEO. If he thinks the photos might upset other employees then I have no problem with him asking that they be removed.
 
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No, Damien, it is not discrimination. At least not in the sense that you probably mean it. It is their computer and they can make any rules they damn well want about what's to be on it. No questions asked.

We may not like the fact that everyone doesn't share our enthusiasm for all things gun, but it's their right not to--especially when it involves their property.

And I don't believe it has to be a blanket policy banning all personal pictures. If you were a dog lover and had pictures of cute cockers, they might have let that slide. If the pictures were all of snarling, straining at the chain pit bulls, they may have decided that is a negative connotation and asked you to remove it. Don't like it? Too bad. That's life.

K
 
I'm gonna have a different take on this.

For a moment, lets take "GUN" out of this discussion. When we talk about our right to have firearms, we get a tad passionate.

I am a owner of my own investment management firm. The big ol' sign out from has MY name on it for the entire world to see. Anyone that works for me becomes a DIRECT representative of me by extension. (whether this is right or wrong is irrelevant-- it happens.)

If I had an employee that associates me with something that I am not willing or comfortable being associated with, there's gonna be a problem. That is as plainly as I can get it.

We could insert any number of issues in place of firearms in this scenerio and it changes nothing. I DO have firearms related things in my office-- because *I* have chosen to make that known about myself in a community where firearms ownership is assumed.

I will NOT place anything that suggests things like drug legalization, etc. in my office. It really doesn't matter what my position is on that-- it only matters that it is not in my firm's interest to be associated with that cause.

I frankly don't blame the CEO for not wishing himself or the company to be exposed to something that isn't thier "baby."


When I was working for other firms, I was in a lot of companies where my views would not have been in-line with the majority of my co-workers. For that reason, I kept them to myself and my close friends. I'm in the school of thought that I don't urinate where I eat.


-- John
 
When you are a contractor, you can be removed like furniture.

I remember in one facility I reviewed the prioritized list of phones to be installed, and all manner of positions were listed. At the bottom, just below "laboratory", was "contractor." It was a lower priority than a phone for common use.
 
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