Thread: Should this guy have been fired?

Jedd Bogenschutz, State Employee Who Sent Racist Email, Will Keep His Job (VIDEO)

A Salt Lake County employee who sent a racist email to the owners of a gourmet salsa business has apologized to the shaken owners, but he will not be losing his job over the incident, ABC 4 News reports.

Last year, Linnaea and Sergio Mendoza started their small business, Salsitas Mendoza. Despite the sputtering economy, the couple enjoyed impressive success, growing their line of seven different salsas and selling them to local stores, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Sergio, a permanent resident in the U.S., grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico where he learned how to mix the spicy sauces. Linnaea, whose background is Italian, said the different traditions helps make their recipes special.

Their business was so successful, the couple decided it was time to stop renting a kitchen at night and build their own. To raise money for the $12,000 commercial hood needed for the kitchen, Linnaea started a Kickstarter page where people can donate money to the effort and her sister posted an ad online promoting the campaign.

While many people supported the couple's efforts, they were shocked to receive this email from county employee Jedd Bogenschutz:

I respond to people in need in this section that really need it. After reading your ad I had to respond and say are you ... f...ing serious?? your ad had to be the most disgusting ad I have ever read, really taking donations so you can finish a kitchen so you south of the borders can get ahead, you can bet I would never buy any of your garbage, I do have some connections, board of health, business license, ect. I will make sure your (sic) on the up and up.

Linnaea told ABC 4 that she was especially upset by Bogenschutz's use of a government email address to attack her and her husband. "Beyond the racial component, what offends me is he's boasting his position with a state job to threaten my small business," she said.

ABC 4 took Mendoza's case to Bogenschutz's supervisor at the county assessor?s office, Chris Stavros. Stavros told the channel that his employee was exemplary and had worked for the office for 25 years.

On Friday, Jedd Bogenschutz went on camera to offer a public apology, saying he was embarrassed by his actions. "To be honest, not in a million years would I have thought I would have done something so insensitive," he said.

When asked by the ABC reporter why Bogenschutz was being allowed to keep his job, a Salt Lake County Assessor said the incident was an "opportunity for education." He asked for "a little understanding that yes, we do make mistakes," adding that "the punishment I?m giving [Bogenschutz] is in no way, shape or form a slap on the wrist."

If you use your company email and reference your position with your company to harrass someone, should you get the ax, or is that free speech? Does it matter about the company (for example, government vs private?)

I think he should have lost his job. He used his company email. He threatened them using his connections and basically spoke on behalf of his employer while doing so. It doesn't matter about the company whether govt. or private.

If he had said that on his own behalf, using personal email and not bringing his employer into it then yes... he is welcome to say his disgusting rant.

I would think it would be up to his direct supervisor if he should have been let go or not. He should have used his private e-mail for something like that if he was going to, but it does not necessarily mean he should be fired. I am not in support of others telling a supervisor if they can or can not fire someone.

I would say it is absolutely amazing that he kept his job, I wonder how it happened? He must have been an amazing employee before this and had a good union rep to keep his job.

I think he should have been fired right away

I don't think anyone on this board is going to like contact this guy's supervisor and tell him that he has to fire him. It's more of a "what is your opinion" type debate.

I work for the Canadian Federal government, everything he said in the email would be a firing offense for us. There would be no question even if it came from our personal email but we threatened an audit, board of health, etc we would be gone.

In my opinion he should have been fired. If he worked in the private sector and used his work email address I would still say he needed to be fired. When using a work email address you are representing your company/government and what you do reflects on them. If it had been his personal email address, then it might have been a teaching moment.

Originally Posted by Alissa_Sal

I don't think anyone on this board is going to like contact this guy's supervisor and tell him that he has to fire him. It's more of a "what is your opinion" type debate.

Sorry, I was think more along the lines of people who think you can't just fire someone because you want to. I think it should be the decision of his boss, not that there should be rules about who a business can or can not fire.

I think that the fact that he used his work email address and directly referenced his position with the state to threaten them means that he should have been fired, because he was representing his company.

If he had used his personal email address and had not referenced his position with the state, I would think what he said was disgusting, but not really any of his employers' business. I support the right of people to be internet trolls, but only on their own time.

It is almost impossible to just fire any government employee. There are a million hoops you have to go through. Thats one reason that many government offices are so inept. It probably depends on the exact wording that county has in it's regulations about email use.

I too am amazed that he was not fired. Besides the repulsive racist comment he is abusing his authority and threatening these people with it using a company email! I would not want someone like this representing my business.