Fabric Store Gag Order

What is the name of your state? california

My wife works in a fabric store. Through her performance making display models involving high quaility sewing projects she has gained a reputation for good work. Store customers have asked her if she does sewing on the side. On occasion she has aquired employment based on these inquiries. She does not advertise in any other way; ie posters or buttons. She does have business cards in her pocket that she hands out to people who do inquire.

Now, after an incident concerning a woman who bought the wrong fabric from the store for a project my wife performed, it has come to the attention of a regional store mananger that my wife has been doing these sewing jobs. The manager has told my wife that she isn't suppose to do this.

My question is two-fold. Can the fabric store's management keep my wife from answering questions from store customers about her sewing? Can they require her to not do sewing jobs outside the store for store customers, by either a verbal warning or a written warning?

James

The answers to your questions are "yes" and "yes." If your wife doesn't care for the terms of employment the employer has set, she is free to quit her position and find another.

I appreciate this reply but wish it was more detailed; for instance, what laws allow the store to enforce such a rule?

By the way, there were no terms set regarding the activity in question. The warning came after the fact. My wife's ignorance of this policy was blamed on her imediate boss.

James

You won't find a law that says that is legal. In the absence of a law prohibiting something, a right is presumed.

For example, can you point to a law that makes it legal for you to post questions about your wife's employment situation on a public bulletin board? In the absence of a law forbididing that, you are perfectly free to do so. Nor does any law require an employer to document all their policies or practices in writing to make them valid/enforceable.

The legal bottom line remains that if your wife does not care for the terms of her employment, she is free to walk away at any time.