Everyone Said My Employer Wouldn't Enforce Their Strange, Strict Policy. I Shouldn't Have Believed Them.

"The organization had a strict and strange "no fraternization" policy. Some colleagues ignored it, and no one that I knew of faced consequences. We never did anything inappropriate or socialized outside of work. After the formal part of training was over, some job search assistance was ongoing with another individual. For a holiday gift, I gave all the trainers cookies. I also gave Barb a speaker I had won, since she enjoys music lots."

"Well, I was not aware that the no-fraternization policy included post-training for a period of time. Barb was fired because it was mistakenly assumed that we were more than friends, based on this gift and the phone number. (Who sleeps with someone they know and haven't given their phone number already?) The HR person was out on long term medical leave. No one asked me what happened."

A trainee became close friends with Barb, the main trainer, who provided personal support and professional skills. The organization enforced a strict no-fraternization policy that some colleagues ignored. After training ended, the trainee gave all trainers cookies and gave Barb a speaker and a card with a phone number to stay in touch. Management mistakenly interpreted the gift and phone number as evidence of a romantic relationship. Barb was fired while HR was on long-term medical leave; no one interviewed the trainee and the friend could not recover belongings or unemployment. The company later offered the job back, but Barb declined and left for a new industry.

Read at Slate Magazine