Singing “I Shot the Sheriff” not Welcome at Work?

August 12th, 2015. By LucyC

So, what is the appropriate response to “You’re Fired!”? One guess….Come on….Yeah—you got it—“I’m Suing.”

Oh yes indeedy. And why not? After all, who’s to say you’re any crazier than your employer or colleagues—it’s likely all just a misunderstanding anyway. At least that’s Nicole Phillips’ ploy. Phillips was recently let go from a City of New York call center job for behaving, well, just a little oddly.

Fifty-two year old Phillips worked at NYC’s Financial Information Services Agency, for several years, I’m guessing, but was let go in June because her bosses began to fear she may be a danger to her co-workers. Either that or her superiors were suffering from a complete sense of humor failure. Either way, Phillips has lawyered up and the proceedings are underway.

What did she do? Well, the incident that got her fired from her $73,248-a-year job involved her singing, loudly allegedly, that old Bob Marley favorite—“I Shot the Sherriff”. Ok, I can see the humor in that.

Another incident involved her pouring salt all around her desk to “keep the demons down.” (Hey come on, she was working in Financial Services). Apparently Phillips also acted “in a threatening manner toward the deputy director . . . while loudly singing lyrics to herself about ‘shooting the deputy,’ ” according to a letter from her agency. Hmm. If I sat next to her, I’d be bringing in donuts every day.

Her side of the story is that she did nothing wrong—a native Jamaican, she is a born Bob Marley fan. “They play it in the club, on the radio, it’s famous,” Phillips told The New York Post. Well, she’s right. “And the lyrics are exact: ‘I did not shoot the deputy,’” she said. Yeah, jam filled donuts, with sugar on top.

And, she is claiming the salt is also a misunderstanding. Well, yes the intention isn’t immediately apparent. Could it be cultural differences? Or that she really has seen and heard too much?

All these, and likely more, rather odd behaviors are not new, though. Back in 2013 Phillips was ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination by her supervisors. Be interesting to know how that turned out.

So Phillips is suing—she wants her job back—good luck on that one—and back pay—which may be an easier win. According to her lawyer, Joel Field, her psychiatric hearing was untimely (not sure what that means) and the city used outsourced documents for her exam. According to a spokesman for the city Law Department, the lawsuit is under review.

I wonder what tune Phillips will be humming if she wins?

This was posted on Wednesday, August 12th, 2015 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.