Nor does the handbook specify whether the conduct policy applies to both on- and off-the-clock behavior. Gilmore’s termination notice, which he shared with me over e-mail, said he’d been fired for engaging “in behavior that violates our Standards of Conduct policy…as well as our Core Values: engaging in horseplay, disorderly conduct, malicious mischief or violation of common sense rules is unacceptable.” No such language appeared among the list of firing infractions in the copy of the company’s handbook that Gilmore also shared. “They said, ‘Based on conversations we had with the executive vice president of sales, we’re terminating your employment,’” he recalls. The very next day, he was summoned to a conference call with his regional manager. He was suspended with pay and sent home, with no particular rationale.

She’d overheard staff talking about the contest in a lighthearted way and asked Gilmore if it was true. “We want to talk to you about what happened last Saturday night,” he says she told him.