Reprimand Rescinded for Flatulent Federal Employee
January 11, 2013 1:20 PM
LANHAM, Md. (CBSDC)- An official reprimand served to a Social Security Administration employee for repeatedly passing gas in the workplace has been rescinded by the agency, according to the Washington Post.
A partially redacted copy of the letter the employee received, dated Dec. 10, was posted online by The Smoking Gun later in the month. The website reported that the worker is a 38-year-old Maryland resident.
The letter cites several instances of the employee being spoken to by superiors about his flatulence before receiving the official letter. At the first of those meetings in May, a supervisor reportedly told him the flatulence could be the result of a medical problem and referred him to an Employee Assistance Program. At another, he was asked if he could go to the bathroom before passing gas because coworkers were complaining about the smell.
Along with a record of the dates on which supervisors spoke with the man, a list of the dates and times of his flatulence was also included in the reprimand letter. Supervisors calculated that he passed gas 60 separate times between Sept. 7 and Nov. 29. On one September day, 9 separate incidents were recorded.
“The Social Security Administration (SSA) has an obligation to provide professional customer service and in order to provide this service your coworkers must have a comfortable working environment,” the letter said. “As a SSA employee, Management expects you to observe the requirements of courtesy, to be responsible for your own personal and professional conduct, and to refrain from subjecting others to distasteful behavior.”
It called the instances of his flatulence “discourteous, disrespectful, and entirely inappropriate.”
The Washington Post reports that the reprimand was rescinded when senior management became aware of the letter, but that the local union branch could not be reached for comment.
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http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/01/ ... -employee/