My Employer says "Leave your ev at home or you go home!"

7366 Views 44 Replies 27 Participants Last post by Wirecutter, Jul 13, 2009

Bluehair

Discussion Starter · Jun 29, 2009

I drove my '72 super beetle to work last week for the first time and with the encouragement of my supervisor plugged it in to an outdoor outlet to recharge. I also parked in a ride share spot to better access the power outlet.

Well, I have been given a letter saying "bring it again and we send you home" saying they feel the car is unsafe, but they don't say why. It is a 72 volt system with 12 golf cart batteries. Not rocket science but they act like it's a bomb waiting to go off. My supervisor now says he never encouraged me to do anything... to my suprise.

Anyone one else ever have this problem? Oh, I work for a government agency that is supposed to be green!

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namyzarc

· #18 · Jun 30, 2009

IamIan said:
Just my 2 bits ... but....

I would simply ask my supervisor in a polite way for clarification or a list of what types of cars the company has banned or has restrictions on ... If your company does email... I would send it via email... and if you have a personnel department I would copy them on the email as well.

For example:

"Sorry for any inconvenience, I was not aware that there were such vehicle restrictions.

Please let me know where I might find the company's list of vehicle restrictions.

Does personnel have it in an updated copy of the new employee handbook?

I don't want to cause any further problems with whatever vehicle I might choose to replace my EV.

So I just want to know what types of vehicles are restricted.

Thanks for your time."

Or something like that...
The important part to express ... weather it is true or not ... is that you are sorry for causing any problems ... and you are just trying to avoid causing any other problems.

Approach from a position of meekness... no anger ... or anything negative or aggressive.... do not ask the question in a 'smart ass' type of way... the important part of that is to look genuinely sorry for not being aware of a rule ... and you want to avoid breaking such rules again in the future ... so you just want some clarification.

... but again ... that's just me and how I might do it ... best of luck.

Umm... yeh... if you have no balls whatsoever, this is the approach you should take. If you call yourself a man however, drive whatever the hell you want so long as it's leagally registered. Just don't plug in and "steal" their electricity even if it's a few cents a day. If theu fire you, sue them AND notify the media. See how quickly they change their minds.

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namyzarc

· #27 · Jul 1, 2009

IamIan said:
Agreed.

The old saying... 'you'll get more flies with honey than vinegar'.

Also agreed ... once you start the fight... the fight is on... and walls will go up... people take sides... people stop listening ... those not wanting to get involved will avoid you etc... you can always pick a fight latter after you start off polite and meek if that is what you choose to do ... but you can't always go back to polite and meek after the fight is started.

And there's another saying that says "You'll get more with a kind word and a gun, than with just a kind word..." Not that I advocate violence, just saying if it were me, I'd stand up for myself. The meeker your attitude towards a person of power, the more you make them think they can take advantage of you.

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