notwoz Posted November 22, 2013 Posted November 22, 2013 Brandon is a marketing guy, and as such knows the power of publicity ... particularly negative publicity. I would be shocked if the Bills didn't settle well before it ever got to court. Companies will often settle out of court -- even if the person(s) suing them is(are) full of s**t. The sad truth is that it's cheaper to settle than to deal with the legal costs.
Badasss Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 I just bought 2 tickets for the Miami game in Section 240 for just about nothing. It seems that everyone's scared to sit there now. I wonder why...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 Yeah, the Channel 2 clip that is linked somewhere above talks to that lawyer. He says that. He's very positive about Russ Brandon and the Bills, but doesn't take suing them off the table. I'm so glad it's not Cellino and Barnes! They're not out of the woods yet. There's always William Mattar. Still, I see little way the Bills could have prevented fan idiocy, short of banning alcohol at the stadium. You can't expect the beer guys and stands to be able to single out an overly inebriated fan at a game. It's not like a bar where there's less people and limited servers. According to one report, this guy slid down the rail three times. What were the security guys and ushers in that section doing?
NoSaint Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 I hope he's ok too, but what could have been done by the Bills, in a practical sense, to prevent this? This guy went above and beyond stupidity. Plus, I respect how you left the Kiko autographed jersey out of this. It could have healing powers. Wouldn't want to cut into the razor thin profits on a $9 beer by providing more security, or better training, more servers also trained or looking into a structural improvement. Really, given how drunk some people get and how treacherous upper decks at some stadiums are -- it surprises me we don't see issues more often.
Badasss Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 They're not out of the woods yet. There's always William Mattar. According to one report, this guy slid down the rail three times. What were the security guys and ushers in that section doing? Fell off of a bar? Call William Mattar!
TedWilliamsFrozenHead Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 (edited) It seems like this idiot picked the wrong guy to land on. Still, I see little way the Bills could have prevented fan idiocy, short of banning alcohol at the stadium. @ nearly ten bucks a copy for cheap slop, alcohol is effectively banned for a lot of fans anyway. I say go ahead. Or, charge $50 for a beer, so there can be a pool of money for the team's legal expenses when d!&c;khe@d$ like this do stupid schitt... Edited November 23, 2013 by NASCAR Hater
Offside Number 76 Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 Sorry, even then there has to be just cause. Sure they can do it, and they can successfully be sued too! No. Employers and employees are free to hire/fire/quit at will. I'm shocked that this comes as a surprise to you. You've never heard stories of people getting canned for inappropriate conduct on social media or while outside of work? DUI's alone have cost many people their jobs, even though it in no way affects their work performance. There doesn't even have to be inappropriate conduct. Realistically as long as it's not race, religion etc you can be fired for wearing an orange shirt when your boss wanted you dressed in green. No lawsuit, case closed, pack up your desk, goodbye. Correct. Most states are employment-at-will states which means the employer may terminate any employee at any time, for any reason, or for no reason. As a general rule, therefore, the employee has no right to challenge the termination. There are a few very limited exceptions. Also, federal law protects employees from discrimination because of age, race, sex, religion, national origin or handicap. http://en.m.wikipedi...will_employment Add sexual orientation to that list, in this state. Unless you are part of a union or if there is something in your employment contract that places limits on reasons for termination, you can be terminated for practically any reason . That's what "employed at will means" . There are some exceptions (e.g., discrimination that is forbidden by law ). Being drunk and stupid at a football game is not one of the exceptions. Correct. You also can quit for any reason. Not quite always true. Employers have the right to fire employees for just cause, meaning there was a good reason to fire you. But if you were fired without just cause, you have the right to advance notice, or severance pay if you don't get notice. If the employer doesn't give you notice or pay, it's called a wrongful dismissal. However NY is a fire at-will state so assuming this guy works in NY, then his employer is free to fire him for being a dumbass, It is an at-will employment state, not a fire-at-will state, like most of the country. It means that absent a contract, an employee can quit or be terminated for good cause or for no cause. Discrimination laws still apply. Seems like some labor lawyers side with the company, citing NY law. http://www.bizjourna...f.html?page=all “Under the at-will doctrine, they have the right to terminate an employee for any reason as long as it’s not something protected under the law,” he said. “So if he was engaged in conduct outside of the workplace which they believed reflected negatively on them, they have every right to do that.” Or if he stayed inside that day and was engaged in no conduct at all. He could have been fired just because someone else was in a bad mood that day (not that EMA is that type of place). Source: I do this for a living.
mead107 Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 New York state law reads that you have to take 1 day off in a calendar week..NO working 7 straight days.. It has become a big deal at GE Schenectady
Saint Doug Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 @ nearly ten bucks a copy for cheap slop, alcohol is effectively banned for a lot of fans anyway. I say go ahead. Or, charge $50 for a beer, so there can be a pool of money for the team's legal expenses when d!&c;khe@d$ like this do stupid schitt... I've thought about that. Just raise the prices of beer and that would cut down on the drunken stupidity while at the same time potentially increase profits. As for structurally training the sellers on trying to identify people who've had too much, I think that's asking too much. Many of these sellers are making minimum wage and have less than a little education. At games, there are even sober people acting drunk. It would be too hard for them to gauge drunkeness and sell at the same time. Their pay may even be a function of how many beers they sell. Plus, there are hundreds of them. If one doesn't sell, another one will. Or, people will just get their buddies to buy them beer. According to one report, this guy slid down the rail three times. What were the security guys and ushers in that section doing? Well, if that's true, then that's really a problem. If fans are witnessing this, then so should security.
NoSaint Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 I've thought about that. Just raise the prices of beer and that would cut down on the drunken stupidity while at the same time potentially increase profits. As for structurally training the sellers on trying to identify people who've had too much, I think that's asking too much. Many of these sellers are making minimum wage and have less than a little education. At games, there are even sober people acting drunk. It would be too hard for them to gauge drunkeness and sell at the same time. Their pay may even be a function of how many beers they sell. Plus, there are hundreds of them. If one doesn't sell, another one will. Or, people will just get their buddies to buy them beer. They over charge and under train. If you are selling $9 beer you can pay and staff in ways that are far more responsible than your average stadium.
bbb Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 Most of them are doing it for free. Charities run the food stands, and get to keep a portion of the profits. They are volunteers. I think the people at the stand alone beer stands are not volunteer.
Hammered a Lot Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 New York state law reads that you have to take 1 day off in a calendar week..NO working 7 straight days.. It has become a big deal at GE Schenectady I guess I'm a law breaker having worked 21 days in a row a couple times
billykaykay Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 They over charge and under train. If you are selling $9 beer you can pay and staff in ways that are far more responsible than your average stadium. Does anyone know how many $9 beers are sold at a Bill's game?I think that it would be a nice gesture if the Bill's charged $13/beer & dedicated the extra monies received to a fund to buy tix to ensure sellouts. BTW, I went to an Oakland baseball game about 5 years ago & paid $13 for a beer. They're probably more now.
BillsFanM.D. Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 Companies will often settle out of court -- even if the person(s) suing them is(are) full of s**t. The sad truth is that it's cheaper to settle than to deal with the legal costs. very true. I had a colleague get sued for damages in the neighborhood of a million bucks. Total BS lawsuit that was a glorified cash grab. The malpractice insurance carrier told them they were going to settle with the plaintiff for 10K. My friend said 'no way.' He wanted to fight it. His carrier said OK....and asked him to sign a waiver that he would be responsible for the total cash settlement if a larger one was awarded at trial. In other words, "waive your insurance and go fight yourself." The insurance companies, like other private companies, will often throw a little cash at problems rather than fight for principle.
LB3 Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 (edited) It is not against the law to get hammered. No, I do not see the distinction, both were explicitly against the rules. You state that I don't see the distinction, then what exactly is it? What is the difference, and do you think it would be fair for the softball player, who clearly acted irresponsibly and against explicit rules in breaking the shortstops leg, to be fired by an employer?? Will he not be punished enough by authorities and the legal system? Not to mention that he will never be able to legally attend a future Bills game! This is an easy distinction. Sliding into a shortstop: The worst case scenario is a broken leg. Sliding down a rail in the upper deck: The worst case scenario is landing on and killing one or more people. Unless this is the best pick up softball league ever, it won't be on TV and therefore won't be bad PR for the company. He would most likely be kicked out of the league and hopefully punched in the face but not fired. And to all the people who say we all make mistakes, that is true but not a valid excuse. A normal mistake is like forgetting to pick someone up at the airport. It takes an exceptional idiot to do what this man did. Edited November 23, 2013 by KikoSeeBallKikoGetBall
BillsFanM.D. Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 It is not against the law to get hammered. Public drunkenness? I've heard of folks being charged with this.
KD in CA Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 Lee Harvey Oswald made a mistake True, but he adjusted on the 2d and 3d shots.
Saint Doug Posted November 23, 2013 Posted November 23, 2013 (edited) They over charge and under train. If you are selling $9 beer you can pay and staff in ways that are far more responsible than your average stadium. Still, at the end of the day, they're still average dudes selling beer at a ball game to make ends meet, not the TSA. You add sale incentives, which I'm not sure they have, and the house of cards falls down. Edited November 23, 2013 by kas23
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