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PaperclipPerfector  19d ago (text post)   35138 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 3, 2025

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Okay so a judge says you can't fire them without process. Doesn't stop you from disposing of their work equipment, repurposing their buildings, and basically proceeding along as if they've already been fired.

The judge right now is saying they can't even put them on paid administrative leave. I'm not sure exactly what that means; if they don't put them on leave but also don't assign them any work nor give them access to any government systems, how is that any different? But if it isn't different, can they hold the administration in contempt?

It depends on the judge but it seems like he is focused on the very narrow cases where a aUS employee is abroad and this will cause them immediate harm. The judge isn’t trying to extend it months but weeks to allow them an orderly repatriation to the US.

This seems like an excuse, and if it were the true reason the TRO could have been narrower.

if they don't put them on leave but also don't assign them any work nor give them access to any government systems, how is that any different?

Sounds like the Japanese method of pressuring workers to quit: stick them in a room with nothing to do, wait for them to quit out of boredom.

That kind of power hara(ssment) is illegal in Japan as of two years ago.

Which is nice in many ways but will cause problems. Japanese employee protection is very strong so power hara was often the only way to get dead weight to quit.

That may be why the penalties are relatively light: small fines and public shaming by being put on a public list.

https://www.kojimalaw.jp/en/articles/0003

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220329/p2a/00m/0op/013000c

Sounds like the Japanese method of pressuring workers to quit: stick them in a room with nothing to do, wait for them to quit out of boredom.

I am fairly sure this would not work with the modal federal government worker. But I'm pretty sure a lot of these people have been "working" from home since COVID anyway.

See NYC schools' 'rubber rooms'- it's easier to reassign teachers accused of sexual misconduct to sit in a room and do nothing all day than to adjudicate the case, so they... sit in a room and do nothing all day.

Here's a cracked interview with someone who was in one- https://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-2564-what-if-your-job-paid-you-to-do-absolutely-nothing.html

Can't you just assign people to work in Alaska or somewhere they don't want to work instead of firing them.

SDNY judge would say no to reassigning them to Alaska.

Why does only one of your sides not hesitate to show up at the houses of judges with a crowbar and zipties?

One side actually believes in all the procedural and institutional stuff; that's one of the reasons the other side is always going on about it. Though the way the Trump II administration is behaving, it seems they may have twigged to the fact that the procedure is not in fact being followed evenhandedly and the institutions are captured. Still, they have options better than that one, so far.

From what I heard, they don't let you just sit on your phone or otherwise occupy yourself. You have to stare at the screen where nothing is going on. Otherwise, I doubt it would work on the Japanese either.

What are they going to do if you ignore that and bring a book in your pocket? Fire you?

One thing I've noticed since I entered the workforce is that you can get away with simply ignoring your boss's stupidest orders surprisingly often as long as you don't confront them about it and pretend you made a mistake if you get caught. They don't notice, or they forget, or they give up on enforcement.

If you are a generally productive employee the organization wants to keep you can just ignore the stupidest things your boss asks for until called out about it, in a 'I'll get right on that, it's going to the bottom of the pile so I can remember it' way. If they already want to get rid of you that's what insubordination clauses are for.

You can probably do this if you are producing. If you aren't producing and also not playing the game then things might be difficult unless you are working in a dysfunctional organization.

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