Time-share mogul tells employees to vote for Romney -- to save their jobs
Orlando time-share mogul David Siegel has told his 7,000 employees that if Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is not elected, he may have to lay people off -- and might even retire and take their "opportunities" with him to a beach in the Caribbean.
In a e-mail to all his employees, Siegel said that he did not want to tell them how to vote -- but wanted them to know that another four years of President Barack Obama could make it tough for him to keep people employed.
"You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive," he concludes. "My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.
"Signed, your boss."
*snip*
The e-mail was forwarded anonymously to the Sentinel by someone who said, "I feel like my boss is threatening me."
As the head of a privately held company, Siegel has the right to employ or lay off anyone for any reason, provided he does not break other laws, said Heather Vogel, president of HR Florida, the state affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Still, Vogel said, "They're really walking a fine line there."
The state has a law called, "Threats of Employers to Control Votes of Employees," but it applies only to state, local and municipal – not federal -- elections. The Federal Election Commission referred the Sentinel to the U.S. Department of Labor. That agency was not able to respond to a late-afternoon inquiry Tuesday.
When asked about intimidation, Siegel said that was not his intent.
"If an employee walked into my office right now and said, 'I voted for Obama,' I'd say 'Fine. I'm glad you exercised your right to vote,'" he said.
Siegel has said that in 2000, he strongly encouraged his employees to vote for George W. Bush and ran a "big sales campaign" for him. But when asked in the movie what he did to help Bush, he said, "I'd rather not say, because it may not necessarily have been legal."
Orlando time-share mogul David Siegel has told his 7,000 employees that if Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is not elected, he may have to lay people off -- and might even retire and take their "opportunities" with him to a beach in the Caribbean.
In a e-mail to all his employees, Siegel said that he did not want to tell them how to vote -- but wanted them to know that another four years of President Barack Obama could make it tough for him to keep people employed.
"You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive," he concludes. "My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.
"Signed, your boss."
*snip*
The e-mail was forwarded anonymously to the Sentinel by someone who said, "I feel like my boss is threatening me."
As the head of a privately held company, Siegel has the right to employ or lay off anyone for any reason, provided he does not break other laws, said Heather Vogel, president of HR Florida, the state affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Still, Vogel said, "They're really walking a fine line there."
The state has a law called, "Threats of Employers to Control Votes of Employees," but it applies only to state, local and municipal – not federal -- elections. The Federal Election Commission referred the Sentinel to the U.S. Department of Labor. That agency was not able to respond to a late-afternoon inquiry Tuesday.
When asked about intimidation, Siegel said that was not his intent.
"If an employee walked into my office right now and said, 'I voted for Obama,' I'd say 'Fine. I'm glad you exercised your right to vote,'" he said.
Siegel has said that in 2000, he strongly encouraged his employees to vote for George W. Bush and ran a "big sales campaign" for him. But when asked in the movie what he did to help Bush, he said, "I'd rather not say, because it may not necessarily have been legal."
