Yeah, not good enough. I'm certain she's been expressly forbidden to talk to me about it, but you have to make your own moral choices.

she shouldn't have lied to you, but can you blame her for not wanting to break the rules?

If she wanted to follow the rules but do so in a moral way should would have said "I'm not allowed to discuss these personnel issues." She would have done her job without lying.

Well, there's following the letter of the rules and following the spirit--she could follow the letter of the rules and not, technically, tell him anything, but not lie to his face.

For example, when the layoffs were coming at my old job, the one guy had just been hired, and he was talking with someone from HR about buying a house (he'd just moved to town, and was still in corporate rental housing) and the HR guy was subtly telling him to put it off. Gee, wonder why?

Hec, I'm so sorry. I hope things wrap up quickly and as stress-free as possible.

She would have done her job without lying.

I think so. Also, she's being unkind. No matter what they think about my employability, I don't deserve somebody to tell me "I'm looking you right in the eye and I don't know anything about it."

I hope her fucking skin breaks out in hives and she has a weepy fit on her commute home.

I just want to say to her, "I know you think you're a good person, but really you're just a pleasant person. You have to be strong to be good, and you're simply too weak."

I'd say she put it over telling the truth and doing what's kind. What's right? Is it right simply because it is either the truth or kind? Or for a reason outside of either of those interpretations of telling Hec what was really up?

This is blurring into the current Natter discussion in my brain (not the bacon discussion, the other one).

What hugely gets my back up is her looking Hec straight in the eye and saying, "I'm looking you in the eye and telling you I've never heard anything about it." That blows right past ass-covering and lying by omission straight into pants-on-fire bearing false witness. It just makes my skin crawl, and it makes me want to backhand her or bite her.

eta: X-post with Hec, both of us supremely pissed off by the exact same element of the lie. Huh.

I hope things wrap up quickly and as stress-free as possible.

I'm feeling slightly less stressed now that the depth of their stupidity, ineptitude and chickenshittery is becoming clear.

It feels like a Monty Python skit. Man (let's say Cleese) enters room, grave and dignified, ready to accept his termination. Boss (Palin or Idle) panics and bolts from the room, diving amongst the cubicles. People flee in panic, refusing to terminate the man who is ready to accept his fate as they jump out windows and run around with trashcans on their heads.

It feels like a Monty Python skit. Man (let's say Cleese) enters room, grave and dignified, ready to accept his termination. Boss (Palin or Idle) panics and bolts from the room, diving amongst the cubicles. People flee in panic, refusing to terminate the man who is ready to accept his fate as they jump out windows and run around with trashcans on their heads.

I like this image. I'm going with Idle, though Cleese worked well with Palin. And Terry Jones can be lugubrious. And Johnny Cash can shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. (I bought a greatest hits album of the aforementioned Cash the other day. I love his rendition of Personal Jesus. For that matter, I also love Depeche Mode's rendition of Personal Jesus. And Richard Cheese's. "Alright boys, reach out and touch faith!")

Since No-Longer-NiceBoss pulled this stunt, I think you should reconsider the plan of calling in sick tomorrow. Sudden bout of food poisoning, oh dear.

I'd say she put it over telling the truth and doing what's kind. What's right? Is it right simply because it is either the truth or kind?

What can I say? I'm a much more judgemental person than the rest of the list I suppose. Not doing what is kind and truthful is usually wrong. I guess you can come up with exceptions, but they aren't common, and I see no evidence that they apply here. I don't see how being untruthful and unkind when weighed against rule following and ass covering is not wrong. Especially when someone pointed out a way to follow the rules while still communicating the truth, thus following the rules, and being kind and truthful. I can't help see that as wrong. But probably don't score well on the the "judge not less ye be judged" scale.

Anyway what I should really be saying is sorry Hec. You deserve better, and yeah, take the sick day unless it is against your and JZs selfish interests. Cause I don't see a whole lot of other people who need weighing.