Can Tech Workers Skip The Olympics As Easily As Athletes? (networkworld.com) 93
netbuzz writes: [Network World reports:] "Golfer Jordan Spieth announced this morning that he will not play in the Olympics, citing Zika, meaning the world's top four players in his sport have now opted out of going to Brazil. They're self-employed and answer to no one. But what of the rank-and-file employees who work for major technology companies sending large contingents to Brazil? Are they being asked -- or compelled -- to ignore the risks? Conversely, could women of child-bearing age be denied the opportunity to go at an employer's discretion?" Major vendors like Cisco and GE say they're not making anyone go, though at least one expert says that doing so wouldn't necessarily be a violation of employment law. When asked if anyone declined to go, a Cisco spokesperson said via email: "We're not in a position to confirm whether employees have opted out (that is between them and their manager), but we provide for that option." GE provided a similar response, saying, "No GE employees have opted out of going, but GE employees are free to opt out at any time." Patricia Pryor, an attorney at Jackson Lewis P.C. in Cincinnati who has addressed these issues in a piece for The National Law Review earlier this year, was asked by Network World as well. She says: "Employers are wise to be flexible with travel requirements to Zika-infested areas when they can and when doing so is reasonable. However, there are some jobs where the purpose of the job/or the essential functions of the job require travel to these areas. If it is not reasonable or possible to delay travel to the area, an employer generally can require employees to travel."
Article answers its own question.. (Score:1)
I'm confused, the question seems to have been answered quite neatly in the summary. if you have a question, and the answer, why do you ask the question again.
yes apparently they can opt out
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Yes, the employees are free to opt themselves to the top of the 'people in line for rightsizing' list.
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Should have gone with a 'Is the Olympics a huge waste of money?' angle: http://www.theatlantic.com/bus... [theatlantic.com] http://www.businessinsider.com... [businessinsider.com] http://money.cnn.com/gallery/n... [cnn.com] http://www.thenational.ae/spor... [thenational.ae]
Answer: No, if you're a pork-barrelling supplier, a politician or Olympic hanger on partying at the tax payers expense. Yes, if you're one of Brazil's poor threatened with poverty http://riotimesonline.com/braz... [riotimesonline.com] crime http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/o... [stuff.co.nz] and disappearances http://www.ib [ibtimes.com]
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yes apparently they can opt out
Except that if they were hired to go, and they then refuse to go, they shouldn't expect to remain hired.
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It's a dumb premise anyway. The Olympians get "paid" in medal bonuses and sponsorships. Obviously if they refuse to participate, they no longer get "paid" in those ways.
What's actually different?
PROFESSIONALS (Score:3)
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Sod the Zika virus why are PROFESSIONAL sportsmen going to the Olympics?
Because the Olympics is no longer restricted to "amateurs". The restriction was not initially designed to prevent "professional sportsmen" from competing, but to keep out anyone who had ever worked for wages. It was designed to keep the working class from mixing with their social superiors. The orginal definition of "amateur" was "who is or ever has been by trade of employment for wages a mechanic, artisan or laborer or engaged in any menial duty."
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I wouldn't step foot in Rio or anywhere in Brazil for that matter.
I spent two years in São Paulo state (plus additional time traveling to other states). Trust me, Brasil doesn't want people like you. It's an amazing country with rich culture and amazing natural wonders. Granted, there are places that a gringo should avoid (just like any other country), but it is easy to keep safe.
Indochina (Score:2)
Couldn't they just send employees from India or China, which they would likely do anyway? What's a Chinese employee going to do, say no?
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or HIRE LOCALS?!
woah
Are you software or hardware? (Score:1, Funny)
If you're hardware, no, you gotta go.
If you're software, your employer is trying to do you a favor and give you a way to go to Rio and have fun!
Now go have fun!
It is mandatory!
Dumb article (Score:1)
Of course, you don't have to go to Brazil.
Of course, you will have to accept the consequences of your choice. You don't own your job (unless you own the company), and you have no right to it (in spite of what the SJW idiots may say).
I once was "encouraged" to move to New Zealand for a 6-month contract (which probably would have actually gone on 1-2 years). I'm sure NZ is a lovely place, and I would have jumped at the chance to go for a couple of weeks. But I told my boss that if that was my only choice w
Re: Dumb article (Score:1)
It's a really stupid premise.
Olympic teams don't employ athletes. They compete as volunteers who qualify for the team. Tech workers, however, are employees. A better analogy would be an NFL player not wanting to travel to London to play in an NFL game there. However, because he's employed by an NFL team that's scheduled to play in London, he can't opt out of traveling to the UK. Athletes can't opt out of doing their jobs. Tech workers shouldn't get to do so, either.
Re:Dumb article (Score:4, Interesting)
Wouldn't it fall under OSHA laws, though? Can an employer legally expose his employees to pathogens under threat of being fired if they refuse?
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You mean like hospital IT workers do every day?
There are mitigation and management strategies already, and if the risk is deemed significant enough, there is hazard pay and insurance coverage available to mitigate the discomfort such a pathogen may cause.
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I don't know what OSHA's rules are, but unless my employee was actively seeking
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Your loss.
Kiwis are wonderful people and you missed out on a great life immersing experience of working in the South Pacific.
Tech workers are crybabies (Score:1)
Athletes aren't employed to compete in the Olympics. National teams aren't employers. For example, soccer players are employed by their respective clubs and have to be released by those clubs to participate in international competition. There's also risk that suffering an injury in international competition could inhibit an athlete's ability to perform in his or her job. Participating on an Olympic national team or any national team isn't a player's job. However, if you're a tech worker and your job is to p
Zika or Money? (Score:5, Insightful)
The golfers aren't pulling out because of the health risks. The golfers are pulling out because they play 20+ tournaments a year and they're not getting paid for this one.
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I did wonder about that. Especially as several male ones pulled out[1] and, AKAIK, no male has as yet given birth to a pinhead baby.
[1] Must be Catholics.
[2] Look on the bright side, at least it makes it easier to put their sodding jerseys on.
Re:Zika or Money? (Score:4, Interesting)
As I recall, there's reports of sexual transmission of Zika so they would have the worry of infecting a female partner--especially if they're having unprotected sex because they're attempting to make a baby.
But if you've paid attention to the news, Zika is only one of Rio's problems: Rio just plain doesn't have the money for this. The state of Rio (not quite the same as the city) ran out of money, they've not been able to pay hospital workers, ditto firefighters, ditto police, there's already been a few fun games of Find the Corpse (Some Assembly Needed) on the site of the Olympics itself...and, well, the general problems that could be summed up as 'being Rio' due to just how long-term they've been a problem--and thus they should have been known to the Olympic committee back when picking the city for the 2016 Olympics... Even before Zika, there were Questions about if Rio was really up to this.
There's a lot of reasons to not go to this year's Olympics, really.
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As I understand it, there's one report - and it's uninstantiated.
However, if I was in with a chance of competing in the Olympics foh mah countrah, I'd say wearing a rubber Johnny for a few months after I got back would be a small price to pay. Heck, if her clock's a-tickin' knock her up before you
Re: Zika or Money? (Score:1)
It's somewhat remarkable that professional athletes play for Olympic national teams at all. A couple of years ago, Paul George suffered a gruesome injury playing for USA basketball as they wreaking cuts to determine the final roster for an international tournament. The broken leg he suffered kept him from playing for the Indiana Pacers for a lengthy period of time. The team invested tens of millions of dollars in one player, who could be kept out of action or even have his career ended (as some speculated G
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This. It's well known [go.com] by everyone but the OP apparently.
The amazing thing is that they feel they have to use this excuse at all, I don't get why they're all afraid to just say 'Nah, not enough status'. Bunch of losers.
You're going to Brazil (Score:1)
If you're an adult male, you're going if your company sends you. And you should probably be fired if you refuse except in a few rare situations. (if you're on immune suppressants and traveling you probably have bigger worried than zika)
The consequences of catching Zika are generally mild for an adult. Don't have sex for a week after you return to avoid transmitting it to your potentially pregnant partner. If you've been in Brazil for 3 months, and your partner is less than 3 months pregnant when you return,
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Olympics unfair to tech workers! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Olympics unfair to tech workers! (Score:4, Insightful)
However if they do go and they do get sick/injured, the company would be liable for 'knowingly' exposing their employees.
funny thing (Score:2)
In my experience this is a reward post (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, if you said yay 6 months ago, but at this late date say "ummm, about that....", I can see how companies can be upset.
Me? I wouldn't go anywhere near Rio. Between the raw sewage on the beaches, to the crime on tourists, to the cops not being paid, to the very real possibility these games will be a fiasco, no thank you.
Please stop spreading the myth (Score:1)
Golf is not a sport. It's a game. Take a look at the physical shape of the top athletes in the sports at the Olympics and then take a look at the physique of the top golfers. You will notice a huge difference. What's next for the Olympics? Darts? Snooker?
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You're a moron. Table tennis, badminton, and curling are Olympic sports. Golfers are as well conditioned as any of the athletes in those other sports.
To qualify as a sport, a game must include spectators that drink excessively, blast air horns, wave noodles and foam fingers, shout obscenities at the referees, spill beer on one another, and (optionally) riot when their team loses or get mugged in the parking lot.
We can find some to work for the Brazil min wage (Score:2)
We can find some to work for the Brazil min wage way less then even what we pay our H1B's and we don't have to play HR games.
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We can find some to work for the Brazil min wage way less then even what we pay our H1B's and we don't have to play HR games.
Minimum wage in Brasil is about 800 reais per month (yes, it's defined per month instead of per hour). Last time I checked the US dollar is worth R$3.20. US$250 would be a great price for companies to pay. My tourist visa to Brazil cost that alone, not to mention airfare (about a grand), hotel, etc. Additionally, good jobs should lower the number of Brazilians in poverty.
Males have a bigger risk factor (Score:4, Informative)
Good luck to the workers on that one (Score:2)
Why ask about just tech workers? (Score:1)
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There was a recent article here on Brasil that portrayed the actual scientists which are dealing with the Zika virus on a daily basis. And they put together the odds of someone being infected with it during the games. It is low. 3 in every 100k. The odds of being shot by a stray bullet on Rio is 3,8 in every 100k. So, quit the fear mongering and come play on this ridiculous thing that is the Olympics.
You forgot the other exotic diseases like yellow fever and dengue - much more prevalent and easier to catch. I needed 10 vaccines in order to spend two years in São Paulo. Oh, and that worm medicine every 6 months. If you're just spending a couple weeks to a month there, you should be able to avoid most of the medical perils by following simple rules (most importantly, don't drink tap water). Athletes are at much greater risk than spectators (spectators shouldn't accidentally get splashed by water from
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You are stupid or what? Big cities do not have risk of yellow fever disease. And while dengue indeed has an infection factor higher than zika, it still is 5 to every 100k. We are on winter here in Brasil, in case you all don't know. If the Olympics were being played during the summer, then the rates would be way higher.
Define "big cities". I was in Campinas which has millions of inhabitants. Also, there is "mato" close to many of the cities in Brazil where I stayed. My wife is from Fortaleza, so I understand that Brazil is on the other side of the equator, hence opposite seasons. Many of the cities in SP I visited during winter (June-August) were still hot enough for mosquito problems. Admittedly, it was February when I visited Rio, so maybe it gets colder than SP.
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- You CAN drink tap water in Rio, that wont kill you.
- Stray bullets or carjacking are a more likely cause of trouble.
- No, Zika wouldnt be a concern durign winter.
And the beach... [youtube.com]
I wouldnt go to Rio. You shouldnt.
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Brazilian here, have lived in Rio, in Boston, and now in Belo Horizonte: - You CAN drink tap water in Rio, that wont kill you.
My experience in Brazil is limited to São Paulo state (Campinas region), Fortaleza, and a very brief stay in Rio. I was expressly forbidden to drink tap water from host families, them citing health problems. Maybe it won't kill you, but you could pick up worms - especially for gringos whose immune systems aren't developed for local pathogens.
- Stray bullets or carjacking are a more likely cause of trouble.
Yes, crime is a major concern, but you can avoid the favelas.
- No, Zika wouldnt be a concern durign winter.
Again, in SP, I saw mosquitoes all months of the year.
And the beach... [youtube.com]
I saw many pristine beaches in Fortaleza; my tra