May 7th, 2012 
Alan60 With the economy as it is, most of us are desperate to keep hold of our jobs. If you’re walking over egg shells in the office to avoid doing anything that could possibly annoy your boss, just be thankful that they aren’t as trigger happy as the decision makers behind these incredible firings.
You’re Too Good for Your Own Good
Micah Grimes was sacked as the basketball coach of a Christian girls’ school in Texas after they beat an opposing team by an incredible margin of 100 to 0.
His employers felt he should have had more compassion for the other side and ordered his team to go easy once the discrepancy in their skill levels became apparent. Indeed, they were so offended by his lack of charity that they sacked him, which, to be honest, wasn’t very charitable of them.
No Heroics on the Job
Juan Canales was sacked as a waiter in a Thai restaurant for having an over developed sense of civic duty. When he spotted a car jacking in progress on the street outside, he ran out to aid the victim, and ended up forcibly detaining the perpetrator until the police arrived, fearlessly risking his own safety in the process.
Despite being lauded as a hero by everyone else, he received no praise whatsoever from his boss, who didn’t hesitate to sack him for temporarily abandoning his post.
TOO MANY CAPITAL LETTERS!
Vicki Walker was dismissed from her job owing to her propensity to hit the caps lock key. Her bosses decided that her fondness for sending emails consisting entirely of the upper case constituted an unacceptable show of aggression, and used it as grounds to let her go.
Wearing the Wrong Tie
John Stone, a used car salesman working in Chicago, was sacked for turning up to work in a Green Bay Packers tie in the aftermath of a victory over the Bears. His bosses, who were perhaps overly sore losers, decided that his offensive dress sense was just grounds for dismissal, ignoring the fact that he was wearing it to honour his recently deceased grandmother, who’d been a big Packers fan.
Getting Attacked
Sara Dye was sacked from her job in a Hooters franchise after turning up to a shift covered in bruises, having been attacked the previous day by an abusive boy friend.
The Hooters handbook for employee conduct implores waitresses to maintain a ‘glamorous’ appearance and to go for an ‘all-American cheerleader look’, which her bosses interpreted as being non-conducive with physical injury.
They allowed Sara time off to heal, and then, in her absence, decided to make the time off permanent. They neglected to actually tell her though, and she only learnt of the decision from a co-worker.
John Bateman writes on all sorts of employment issues and covers a wide range of industries. You can read more of his work on www.electricianjob.org.uk/.
