Hi Guys,

Well here's what happened in my meeting with HR:

The original complaint by my former friend "Gail" was that I was trying to talk to her. All I would say is "Hi", "Good Morning" etc when I saw her in the file room.

I was only trying to be congenial... but "Gail" complained to Human Resources and they opened an investigation.

Well I had a meeting with HR on Thursday and it appears that now my friend is airing stuff that I told to her in strict confidence!

Here were the questions they asked:

1. Did you ever use the Internet inside of work or outside of work to look up the prices a person paid for on their house, etc?

Did you ever use the Internet either on the job or out to determine a person's age?

2. Did you ever talk about the medications your co-worker "Joan" was using and/or the status of her mental health?

My answer to both questions was "No", however my answers were not entirely truthful. Here are the real truths:

<font color="red">The real answer to question 1:</font>

Yes... I have used my computer AT HOME to look up information on my
co-workers and friends. Here in the United States there are publicly accessible databases set up by state and county governments.

For example, you can look up how much somebody paid when they bought their house, how big it is, it's appraisal value, what it looks like, etc. All you need is a person's last name (you can also use a first name too, to narrow your search) when you visit these sites to find this information!!

You can also use websites like peopledata.com and find out a person's age or date of birth. Again... to use these databases, all you need is a last name and a first name to do a search.

Anyway.. I really don't see the harm in looking up this information AT HOME if it is publicly available!!!

IMHO rather than debating whether it is right or wrong for people to access these databases... the ethics and philosophical debate should be centered entirely on the matter of whether this information SHOULD EVEN BE publicly accessible or not!!!

<font color="red">The real answer to question 2:</font>

"Joan" likes to tell everyone in the office about her mental health and the meds she is taking for her mental health.

Most people (sensible people that is), would not divulge such personal information to others, but "Joan" is happy to tell the whole story!!

Anyway... again... I don't see the harm in talking about "Joan's" mental status or the medications she takes, if "Joan" has already made it public knowledge!!

(Note: "Joan" even warns everyone in the office when she goes off her mental health meds. LOL)

Anyway... the questions just seemed to reek of hypocrisy IMHO. The only thing I see here is a vindictive former friend trying to put me on trial any way she can.

Anyway... what do you think all think? Do you agree with me? If you don't why not? I am just curious as to why HR is even asking me these questions... I just don't see what the big deal is.

Peppermint Patty