David Steward wasn’t planning on getting a lot of attention when he put up a Dilbert cartoon on the employee bulletin board at Catfish Bend Casino. He wasn’t sure anyone saw him do it at all, but sure enough, a surveillance camera was watching. 

Morale at Catfish Bend was pretty low when the company announced that the casino would be closing, and 170 workers would be laid off. Steward thought the Dilbert cartoon would cheer the workers up. In the strip, Dilbert had the following exchange with a garbage man: 

DILBERT: Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs? 

GARBAGE MAN: Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent. 

DILBERT: Why are talented people so busy? 

GARBAGE MAN: They’re fixing the problems made by people who have time. 

Managers checked the surveillance tape, found that Steward had posted the offensive cartoon, and fired him. Steve Morley, human resource director at the casino, said that “upper management found the cartoon to be very offensive.” Morley went on to say, “Basically, he was accusing the decision makers of being drunken lemurs. We consider that misconduct when you insult your employers.” 

Steward tried to claim that the firing was wrong, considering he had worked at the casino for 7 years without a problem, and that he deserved unemployment pay, but the casino disagreed. Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams tried to come to Steward’s aid. “Most Dilbert comics don’t come right out and call management a bunch of drunken lemurs,” Adams said. “So I can see how this one might have been a tad over the line.” Adams also said that Steward’s dismissal might be the first confirmed instance of a worker being fired for posting a Dilbert strip. Adams published a follow‐up comic: 

BOSS: Our surveillance cameras caught you posting this anti‐ management comic on the wall. 

BOSS: This comic compares managers to drunken lemurs. 

BOSS: Do you think drunken lemurs are like managers? 

DILBERT: No. Some lemurs can hold their liquor. 

Management was not amused and still refused to pay jobless benefits. Steward appealed to an administrative law judge, claiming that putting the cartoon up was an error in judgment, not intentionally breaking any rules or being disrespectful. The judge ruled in Steward’s favor and awarded him unemployment benefits. In the judge’s ruling, she stated that posting the comic was a “good‐faith error in judgment,” not intentional misbehavior.

Questions: 

1. If the casino had a policy of using progressive discipline and the hot‐stove approach, evaluate the actions of the Human Resource Director in disciplining Steward.

2. Does the surveillance camera present any ethical or legal problems? Why or why not?

3. The actions of the judge seem to ignore the doctrine of employment‐at‐will. Do the exceptions to the doctrine explain the actions of the judge?

4. Could Steward have successfully claimed that the cartoon was protected concerted speech? Why or why not? 

5. Research: Would the situation have been any different if Steward had posted the comic on social media? Search online for cases where employees posted cartoons or articles on social media and were disciplined by employers. Explain the outcome of those situations.