Dennis Prager has been discussing (and I believe intends to write his weekly article about) how Boeing has fired its president and CEO for adultery. The adultery took place on his own time. (Wizbang links to this article.
In a similar case, another company has adopted a policy of firing employees who smoke cigarettes on their own time.
I remember, years ago, Dr. Dean Edell would declare himself amazed at how we meekly surrender our urine and hair for drug testing, even though the drug use found was frequently away from work, on the employee's own time, and is detectable well after the effects have worn off.
The theory behind drug testing is that the cost of drug use is great enough to justify these invasions of privacy, and besides, if you don't want to be tested, you can work someplace else.
I don't advocate a law requiring or forbidding workplace testing. Indeed, I don't advocate laws requiring or forbidding any idiotic employment practice, as long as the employee has the option to leave. Instead, let consumers punish companies by taking their business elsewhere.
However, we see the effect of the slippery slope in action. When employers started demanding urine and hair samples to detect drug use, no one complained. (Well, some did, but not nearly enough.) Now, the precedent for testing for tobacco use is established. And if private adultery is a firing offense, does that justify hiring private detectives to follow employees around and take pictures?
What, if anything, is ruled out?
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