Logging In Sick
When 21-year-old Australian call-center worker Kyle Doyle logged onto Facebook and updated his status one day in October 2008, he must have been as drunk as his message said he was. Apparently recovering from a night of hard boozing, Doyle wrote: "not going to work, f--- it i'm still trashed SICKIE WOO." Despite countless stories warning people that Facebook is not in the business of keeping things a secret, Doyle inadvertently alerted his employer to his fake illness and was busted by the human resources department. An e-mail exchange between Doyle and an HR representative circulated the Web — though Doyle's mom claimed it was a hoax — and the young man was told he would need to furnish a doctor's note or lose pay for the missed day. When Doyle argued the company had no right to dock his pay without reason, the HR rep simply e-mailed him a screen grab of his own status update. The company has declined to comment about the validity of the e-mail exchange but did say the matter was under investigation. In the meantime, the alleged work dodger has become a Facebook legend; users have created several groups to support him.