LOS ANGELES - NOVEMBER 22 2003: Actor Bob Odenkirk farts during Comedy Central's First Ever Awards Show 'The Commies' at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California
A Social Security Administration employee was formally reprimanded earlier this month for excessive workplace flatulence, according to a Dec. 10 letter obtained by The Smoking Gun.
The 38-year-old, who worked out of a Baltimore office, was hit with a five-page letter detailing the dates and times of his noxious offenses. The letter informed the worker that his “uncontrollable flatulence” created an “intolerable” and “hostile” environment for coworkers -- many of which had lodged complaints.
The letter's log cited 17 dates, and 60 specific times, that the worker allegedly passed gas. The formal reprimand appears to have been a last resort for management, who they say addressed the embarrassing issue with the worker multiple times. (The employee allegedly submitted no evidence to indicate that he can't control the problem).
While the federal employee currently only has to deal with an embarrassing letter in his personnel file, there are others who have lost their jobs for less. In July, a receptionist in Minnesota claims she was fired from her job at the hospital's Cancer Center because she smelled of smoke at work. The receptionist was indeed a regular smoker, but she claims she never smoked while on the job or on break.
Likewise, the grounds for legal dismissal are becoming even more bizarre in some cases. On Dec, 21, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a dentist acted legally when he fired an assistant he found attractive because he and his wife viewed his attraction to the woman as a threat to their marriage.
The court actually ruled that an employer may fire an employee they see as an "irresistible attraction," even if the employee has done nothing to encourage attraction, engage in flirtation, or otherwise done anything wrong.
据美国知名新闻爆料网站The Smoking Gun获得的一封12月10日的信件，本月早些时候，美国社会安全局的一名员工因在工作场所放屁太多而遭到书面训斥。
这位在巴尔的摩办事处工作的38岁的员工收到了一封5页长的信，信中详细记录了他放屁的日期和次数。这封信告知该员工，他这种“无法控制的排气行为”造成了“难以忍受”和“恶劣”的工作环境，许多同事纷纷投诉。
这封信记录了这名员工17天中的60次放屁时间。这封正式的训斥信似乎是管理人员下的最后通牒，他们表示已经就这一令人难堪的话题和该员工谈过许多次。(据称这名员工没能提出正当理由，证明他无法控制放屁问题。)
这名联邦雇员目前面临的只不过是在个人档案中留下这封尴尬的信，但有人却因散发气味而丢掉工作。今年七月份，明尼苏达州的一名接待员称自己被医院的癌症中心解雇，只因为自己工作时身上散发出烟味。这名接待员确实是经常吸烟，但她声称自己在工作或工作间歇时从不吸烟。
有些时候合法解雇的理由更是匪夷所思。今年12月21日，爱荷华州最高法院裁定一位牙医因助手太过漂亮而将其解雇的行为是合法的，这名牙医和他的妻子均认为这名女助手对他的吸引力会对他们的婚姻产生威胁。
该法院竟裁定一位雇主可以解雇他们认为“有着不可抗拒吸引力”的员工，即使这位员工没有做任何鼓励他人喜欢自己的事情、挑逗他人或犯其他任何错误。
Vocabulary:
flatulence: 肠胃气胀
last resort: 最后手段
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