1. What are the ethical issues in this case?
2. Who are the stakeholders, and how are they impacted by this situation?
3. Do you agree with the federal judge’s decision? If you were the judge, what would you do?
4. A recently passed ordinance in New Orleans prohibits discrimination against off-the-job cross-dressing. However, the Winn-Dixie branch that fired Oiler is located just outside that jurisdiction. Does this affect your answer to #2?
5. For what after-hours behavior do you feel it is appropriate to terminate an employee? For what after-hours behavior is it not appropriate? Where do you draw the line, and how would you describe that line if you were developing a policy to put into an employee manual?

Few people question an employer’s right to control an employee’s behavior on the job. However, when an employer takes action based on an employee’s off-duty conduct, questions of ethics arise. More than half of all states prohibit firing based on various types of afterhours conduct. Federal law prohibits firing that is discriminatory. Some cases, however, fall through those cracks. If you were the judge in the Peter Oiler lawsuit, how would you rule?