Pharmacist Fired For Comedy

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

JamesL1585

TheAntiSavior?
15+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2006
Messages
569
Reaction score
163
A community pharmacist was fired from his job. He's been doing (standup) comedy for about 10 years, and also, was a youtube sensation for his comedy.

He's a former colleague of mine -- super sad. I know his job was his livelihood.

I know lots of pharmacist are entrepreneurs on the side (especially through these uncertain times), and yes, this one is a bit different. Do be safe in your journeys as entrepreneurs. You can contact your employer and make it transparent about your side endeavors to prevent this.

He posted about getting fired --

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Angry
  • Sad
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
Saw this yesterday, a real shame as his videos are really funny in the reflection of the truth of our profession. Hope he is able to use this as a springboard to get out of retail.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Members don't see this ad :)
I have watched him before. He is one funny guy. Who is his damn DM?
 
Does not make any sense.No write ups.No warnings?Keep in mind we only have 1 side of story.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Does not make any sense.No write ups.No warnings?Keep in mind we only have 1 side of story.

What is the write up going to be, “we don’t like how you represent the company”.

Sometimes I give companies the benefit of the doubt but I know how these DMs operate and move up the Corp ladder.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Does he use profanity or talk sensitive subjects like race?

Companies can fire you if you do things that can potentially harm their reputation.

“Oh look at that pharmacist. Isn’t he the guy on YouTube? I would show you video where he made a fat joke”

etc.. It will be in the contract that no one bothers to read..
 
Last edited:
I think that is BS that you have to be transparent to your employer about your side hustle. I think government should be prevent companies from firing people just because something was done outside of the work place. Companies should not be able to encroach on the business of a employee outside the work place. It is against freedom of speech and privacy
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What is the write up going to be, “we don’t like how you represent the company”.

Sometimes I give companies the benefit of the doubt but I know how these DMs operate and move up the Corp ladder.
Like Yeah especially if he was doing comedy for a long time and they knew about it.
I agree DMs are on a level of politicians.Scum.
However if they want to fire you and avoid litigation which they loathe, and if what this guy says is true, which I doubt, they can find any excuse to fire him. If you get a soda and forget to pay for it immediately.They will fire you for theft.A misfill? You are gone.Come for a shift 5 minutes late?Then you are out of a job.Use a cuss word?See you later.
Why would they risk a lawsuit for such a flimsy excuse to can someone.
I have been fired.Never sign anything.They will use it to deny unemployment.
 
Does not make any sense.No write ups.No warnings?Keep in mind we only have 1 side of story.

What would the other side of the story have to be to justify this firing? He seems like a really responsible and proactive guy, so I doubt he would do anything illegal or harm anyone intentionally.
 
What would the other side of the story have to be to justify this firing? He seems like a really responsible and proactive guy, so I doubt he would do anything illegal or harm anyone intentionally.
Unless it is something really bad most firings are proceeded by write ups.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I think that is BS that you have to be transparent to your employer about your side hustle. I think government should be prevent companies from firing people just because something was done outside of the work place. Companies should not be able to encroach on the business of a employee outside the work place. It is against freedom of speech and privacy

While I agree with your point, the 1st amendment says that “Congress shall make no laws....“, private companies can limit speech however they see fit.

The only way to really affect change to company policy is to have consumers boycott it, which depending on the company, is not always possible (Eg Only place to get groceries in a town is WalMart)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
While I agree with your point, the 1st amendment says that “Congress shall make no laws....“, private companies can limit speech however they see fit.

The only way to really affect change to company policy is to have consumers boycott it, which depending on the company, is not always possible (Eg Only place to get groceries in a town is WalMart)

Not exactly true though is it? For example your company can’t fire you for saying you want to start a union. So there is definitely some speech that is protected from private companies even if it isn’t the first amendment. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I'd get a wrongful termination attorney. He got absolutely nothing to lose. 33.3%-40% lawyer fee if he wins, and he can win a million or two. If he loses, he doesn't pay anything. No joke.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Un-frekin’ believable.... I am so sick of this garbage..

Walgreens disgusts me - that is all I have to say about it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users


Lavar Walker is also a good comedian pharmacist
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
No warning or anything? Total garbage
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I think that is BS that you have to be transparent to your employer about your side hustle. I think government should be prevent companies from firing people just because something was done outside of the work place. Companies should not be able to encroach on the business of a employee outside the work place. It is against freedom of speech and privacy
So your kid’s school principal is the Grand Wizard of the KKK and that’s fine?
 
So your kid’s school principal is the Grand Wizard of the KKK and that’s fine?

This pharmacist is hardly comparable to the grand wizard of the KKK.

What I take issue with it how any one of us are up for termination if someone takes enough time to dig into your history.

I guarantee all of us here could be in his position, given someone with the motivation to put your life under a microscope, and be terminated from the livelihood which we depend on.

It’s sick and disgusting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
everyone keeps on saying pharmacy is a small world, seems like this guy have helped out a lot of people and is well connected, did any pharmacist in the area offer him another job?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
This is a prime example of no matter how much work you put in for a company, they can toss you out like garbage when it's needed. Do the bare minimum and go HOME. The system has no mercy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
This is a prime example of no matter how much work you put in for a company, they can toss you out like garbage when it's needed. Do the bare minimum and go HOME. The system has no mercy.

I have never agreed with this in the past. However I am starting to agree with this more and more every day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
This is a prime example of no matter how much work you put in for a company, they can toss you out like garbage when it's needed. Do the bare minimum and go HOME. The system has no mercy.
Well, it’s their loss. If they replace him with a new grad floaters who affect the Walgreens bottom line, then they have to fire those new grad floaters. It’s hypothetical, but it could happen.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, it’s their loss. If they replace him with a new grad and the new grad screws up big time in the Walgreens store like not looking for red flag signs that a customer is doctor shopping for hydrocodone or gives the wrong drug to the wrong customer without providing reciprocity for the customer. Walgreens DM fires the new grad and Walgreens DM wasted time firing a good pharmacist because of comedy skit which was done outside of the Walgreens pharmacy


It’s weird but.... I just don’t think that Walgreens, as a company culture, really cares.

Maybe all chains just don’t care anymore. It seems that if you sampled 100 random chain pharmacies, you would find that the majority of them are behind in fills, and are generally struggling to maintain best practices. They just don’t really care.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
It’s weird but.... I just don’t think that Walgreens, as a company culture, really cares.

Maybe all chains just don’t care anymore. It seems that if you sampled 100 random chain pharmacies, you would find that the majority of them are behind in fills, and are generally struggling to maintain best practices. They just don’t really care.
They could care less about workflow efficiency or patient safety. The whole thing is a scam
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
It’s weird but.... I just don’t think that Walgreens, as a company culture, really cares.

Maybe all chains just don’t care anymore. It seems that if you sampled 100 random chain pharmacies, you would find that the majority of them are behind in fills, and are generally struggling to maintain best practices. They just don’t really care.
So they won’t care if it affects their bottom line?
 
So they won’t care if it affects their bottom line. I thought usually business care when it affects their bottom line.


Funny thing is it really doesn't affect their bottom line too much. Pharmacy customer loyalty is very paper thin anymore. And even if someone hates the pharmacist they will usually still go there..

I know - we all know the guy who exploded and went somewhere else permanently. However the “masses” really don’t give a crap at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
So your kid’s school principal is the Grand Wizard of the KKK and that’s fine?
I think that was not good analogy. What ever the principle does outside of school is their business and not my concern. However, the principle cannot impose their racial views towards others inside school. Similarly, Walgreens cannot impose their laws outside of the pharmacy. If the pharmacist made a joke inside the store during lunch break, then Walgreens can fire him. Corporate laws should only have jurisdiction inside the pharmacy or corporate office, not outside of that environment.
 
This pharmacist is hardly comparable to the grand wizard of the KKK.

What I take issue with it how any one of us are up for termination if someone takes enough time to dig into your history.

I guarantee all of us here could be in his position, given someone with the motivation to put your life under a microscope, and be terminated from the livelihood which we depend on.

It’s sick and disgusting.
So by saying, “I think government should be prevent companies from firing people just because something was done outside of the work place. Companies should not be able to encroach on the business of a employee outside the work place. It is against freedom of speech and privacy”

what you really mean is “I think the government should force private companies to agree with me on who should be fired for their hobbies.”

Is that right?
 
So by saying, “I think government should be prevent companies from firing people just because something was done outside of the work place. Companies should not be able to encroach on the business of a employee outside the work place. It is against freedom of speech and privacy”

what you really mean is “I think the government should force private companies to agree with me on who should be fired for their hobbies.”

Is that right?


No - I just really do not like how we have created a punitive culture where we never know when someone will sling mud at us.
 
damnnnnnnn, he seemed pretty hurt when he was retelling the story of how his license was being taken off the wall in front of the other pharmacist and technicians. During the middle of the day. Not before or after store hours. That DM is just a prick.
 
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: 7 users
No - I just really do not like how we have created a punitive culture where we never know when someone will sling mud at us.
So you’re OKKK with the burning crosses at homecoming? (After school hours, of course)
 
Not exactly true though is it? For example your company can’t fire you for saying you want to start a union. So there is definitely some speech that is protected from private companies even if it isn’t the first amendment. ;)

Yes there are limitations to what they can keep you from saying, just like there are limitations to what you can say (the whole thing about not yelling fire in a movie theater... although that is a bastardisation of the original comment).

Anything that is not specifically laid out as being allowed by some law, is allowed to be muzzled.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So you’re OKKK with the burning crosses at homecoming? (After school hours, of course)

This is beyond me. How you can link the two is entirely over my head.

No - I would no be okay with this.

I will assume that you are joking.
 
So you’re OKKK with the burning crosses at homecoming? (After school hours, of course)
The principle cannot impose their views in the school or on school grounds. They can do whatever they want outside of school or school grounds. They can burn crosses in their backyard. Who am I as a teacher to say the principle should be fired just because I saw the principle burn crosses in his or her backyard. That’s their backyard. They can do whatever they want in their back yard. They just cannot force their views on others on school grounds. The school not owned by the principle. There are checks and balances. Public school is government owned.And Private school is owned by someone else. If the owner of a private school happens to be part of KKK, then you have to find another school
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have never agreed with this in the past. However I am starting to agree with this more and more every day.

Oh my young grasshopper :).
Hopefully you are not too far into your career, but luckily you learned this already.

Now GO TELL OTHERS.

NO company cares about you. Any deviation from the party line, anything you do (even on your own time) that casts you in a poor light (and hence them), is fireable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Oh my young grasshopper :).
Hopefully you are not too far into your career, but luckily you learned this already.

Now GO TELL OTHERS.

NO company cares about you. Any deviation from the party line, anything you do (even on your own time) that casts you in a poor light (and hence them), is fireable.
Yeah, it sucks. I think the government should step in and prevent companies from firing people for petty PC thinggs. I mean Trump signed some laws preventing social media cites from censoring and blocking users because the users don’t agree with the corporate liberal viewpoint. I also think the masses don’t care. I mean we have allowed employers and grad schools to check an employees or students Facebook.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Funny thing is it really doesn't affect their bottom line too much. Pharmacy customer loyalty is very paper thin anymore. And even if someone hates the pharmacist they will usually still go there..

I know - we all know the guy who exploded and went somewhere else permanently. However the “masses” really don’t give a crap at all.
Yeah you are correct. Walgreens was okay with a fraud pharmacist filling 75,000 prescriptions in Cali. It took the DEA to remove this fraud pharmacist, not Walgreens. But, for a simple comedy skit, a good pharmacist gets fired by Walgreens and gets treated like a criminal. The company is a hypocrite.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
The clip I saw of him he was making fun of a long Latino name. I don’t know the whole story behind this but that bit made me cringe a little.
 
Yeah I could see the big chains being somewhat anti-comedy. Retail is pretty much a tragedy environment.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: 5 users
When I was with CVS I remember a training module that prohibited badmouthing or venting about your job on social media which can of course be punishable by termination. Maybe this falls under that? Can anyone at CVS confirm?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
The grocery chain I work for had a whole department at corporate that did nothing but sit around all day and scour social media for anyone badmouthing them. The are also known to have negative reviews from ex-employees forcibly removed from places like indeed.com. They know all the young un's read that social media crap so they are happy to spend the money trolling all online forums for any perceived negativity. They were very upfront about this....and people were definitely fired over infractions.
 
The grocery chain I work for had a whole department at corporate that did nothing but sit around all day and scour social media for anyone badmouthing them. The are also known to have negative reviews from ex-employees forcibly removed from places like indeed.com. They know all the young un's read that social media crap so they are happy to spend the money trolling all online forums for any perceived negativity. They were very upfront about this....and people were definitely fired over infractions.

We were warned about this.


Maybe that "I will forward this forum to the CVS legal department!!!" guy who got banned was not a troll after all...
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: 2 users
So by saying, “I think government should be prevent companies from firing people just because something was done outside of the work place. Companies should not be able to encroach on the business of a employee outside the work place. It is against freedom of speech and privacy”
what you really mean is “I think the government should force private companies to agree with me on who should be fired for their hobbies.”
Is that right?

I think, companies should be able to show that an employee's outside endeavors is hurting the business or reputation. I think this is more easily done with a KKK member, than with a comedian.

If anything, why wasn't the comedian given a final written warning and told to stop his comedy? Then he could decide from there what he wanted to do. Especially since, according to him, other DM's were quite aware and approving of it?

I like to think there is more to the story that isn't being told, but honestly, he does sound like an employee who went above and beyond.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Top