Third, if the bad behaviour in question suggests
such poor judgment that the employee simply could no longer be trusted, then an employer might well be right to let him or her go.
And, oh, when the hour - glass has run out, the hourglass of time, when the noise of worldliness is silenced, and the restless or the ineffectual busyness comes to an end, when everything is still about thee as it is in eternity — whether thou wast man or woman, rich or
poor, dependent or independent, fortunate or unfortunate, whether thou didst bear the splendor of the crown in a lofty station, or didst bear only the labor and heat of the day in an inconspicuous lot; whether thy name shall be remembered as long as the world stands (and so was remembered as long as the world stood), or without a name thou didst cohere as nameless with the countless multitude; whether the glory which surrounded thee surpassed all human description, or the
judgment passed upon thee was the most severe and dishonoring human judgement can pass — eternity asks of thee and of every individual among these million millions only one question, whether thou hast lived in despair or not, whether thou wast in despair in
such a way that thou didst not know thou wast in despair, or in
such a way that thou didst hiddenly carry this sickness in thine inward parts as thy gnawing secret, carry it under thy heart as the fruit of a sinful love, or in
such a way that thou, a horror to others, didst rave in despair.
As the SJC said in its decision this week, Desy v. Board of Bar Examiners,
such conduct «strongly suggests dishonesty,
poor judgment, and a willingness to misuse the judicial process.»
Case law involving holiday parties where excessive alcohol has been consumed is full of situations involving
poor judgment such as harassment, inappropriate comments, and physical violence.