I was signing paperwork at my new job today, and one of the things I had to sign was a notification letting me know that management retains the right to search my vehicle (without cause) at anytime for stolen property because it's on company grounds...

:puzz HOWEVER, I'm not allowed to smoke on company property, the only place that I can smoke is in my car.. When I asked WHY, HR said, "Basically, your car is your personal property; an extension of your house."

So is my car my house or not??? I can only smoke on the extension of my house, but management can search my "little house" at anytime?:dunno

Can someone help me make sense of this? Don't smoke on our property, smoke in your house, but your house can be searched at anytime cause it's parked here??

ETA: I'm not smoking in my car, it's brand friggin new.. I hid behind the dumpster and smoked today. :stalker

Ummm...I'm confused? Maybe you should bring this small contradiction up to someone with some authority?

Good luck!

Ummm...I'm confused? Maybe you should bring this small contradiction up to someone with some authority?

Good luck!


Not on the first day. :lol

Hmm.. I guess you could look for parking off the grounds maybe. You could walk off the grounds to smoke too if they're not too big. I have no idea what the area is like though.

That is so stupid.

Makes no sense. And IMO, I think its totally wrong to be able to search your car.

I would just say no if the issue ever came up, and then point out the discrepency. And do this :flippa

if you're not down for playing by their rules, the other option is to work somewhere else.

when you go on base they can search your car...so what's the difference if you work wants to search it? you've got nothing to hide. as a non smoker, i must admit, i do not like working with smokers, because regardless of what the workload is, the *have* to have their cigarette breaks, whereas me, a nonsmoker, just keeps working cuz there's a job to be done. at my first job, i started taking smoke breaks with the smokers just so that i actually got a break.

:puzz

you've got nothing to hide.

That's TOTALLY not the point... Just because a person has nothing to hide, doesn't mean they should have to submit to an unwarranted search at anytime to anyone..

It's not like they're ever going to actually search my car, I'm sure they've never done it in the whole history of the business.. What's the point of having 4th Amendment rights if a company can make rules to disregard it, then fire you if you disagree with it?

That's TOTALLY not the point... Just because a person has nothing to hide, doesn't mean they should have to submit to an unwarranted search at anytime to anyone..

It's not like they're ever going to actually search my car, I'm sure they've never done it in the whole history of the business.. What's the point of having 4th Amendment rights if a company can make rules to disregard it, then fire you if you disagree with it?

I would check with a lawyer about this...but I suspect they are within their rights to search it while on company property if you've signed an agreement to allow them to do so.

I personally would park off company grounds--and I agree with you--I used to have my car searched almost everytime I went on and off base in GE and it just weirded me out.

That seems a little extreme. I've had jobs where they checked our purses before we went home to make sure we weren't stealing, but I think it would totally weird me out to have someone searching my car. :yes

I'd take the contract to navy legal and ask them about it...they'll check it out and let you know.

That seems a little extreme. I've had jobs where they checked our purses before we went home to make sure we weren't stealing, but I think it would totally weird me out to have someone searching my car. :yes

I would have a HUGE problem with that. I don't like being treated like a guilty person.

if you're not down for playing by their rules, the other option is to work somewhere else.

when you go on base they can search your car...so what's the difference if you work wants to search it? you've got nothing to hide. as a non smoker, i must admit, i do not like working with smokers, because regardless of what the workload is, the *have* to have their cigarette breaks, whereas me, a nonsmoker, just keeps working cuz there's a job to be done. at my first job, i started taking smoke breaks with the smokers just so that i actually got a break.

I took smoke breaks with the smokers at my last job (of course, it was a really laid back job and there were either a lot of breaks, or it was crazy busy and no breaks for anyone)... :D The smoke doesn't bother me as long as I'm a few feet away and the wind isn't blowing in my face, so I went and chatted with them. It worked out well, actually.

But, yeah, lefty, I do think that's a major company policy contradiction. If they ever ask to search your car, point it out. :dunno Good luck finding a place to smoke! :lol

:edit Oh, and I'm so used to cars and me and my purse and fricking everything being searched by the border, searches don't phase me anymore. But I can understand how people would be uncomfortable with that at one's work. That's kinda an uber-suspicious policy they've got going?

I would check with a lawyer about this...but I suspect they are within their rights to search it while on company property if you've signed an agreement to allow them to do so.


I also think they are within their rights to require you to sign that agreement to work there. they are protecting their intellectual &/or physical property.

That's TOTALLY not the point... Just because a person has nothing to hide, doesn't mean they should have to submit to an unwarranted search at anytime to anyone..

It's not like they're ever going to actually search my car, I'm sure they've never done it in the whole history of the business.. What's the point of having 4th Amendment rights if a company can make rules to disregard it, then fire you if you disagree with it?

The workplace is not public property, it's private property. They've notified you of their policies, so they're within their rights to do that, and like rc said, if you don't play by their rules, they will offer you the option of working somewhere else. The Fourth Amendment keeps you free from "unreasonable search and seizure....," so by notifying you up front and delineating the rules/policies, they're covered and with probably cause, it's not unreasonable.

I wonder what precipitated this policy? Did they have a rash of thefts, maybe? Or is there a high market for the things that are produced/sold there?

this is so strange!!