Can employer forbid outside of work activities?

What is the name of your state? Virginia

A friend of mine works at a retail store and is a salaried employee. Her store just hired a new manager. This new manager is telling all employees that they are not allowed to consume alcohol. My friend assumed the manager meant no alcohol on the clock. The manager explained that she meant no alcohol on or off the clock. She also said that employees are no longer allowed to fraternize outside of work.

Is what the manager doing legal? Thank you.

Did the new manager expain how she is going to monitor all this??? I can see each employee now, hiding in a dark corner of their own basements, sneaking a beer. Sheesh.

Okay - here are the legal issues.

1. Some States prohibit "discrimination" in employment decisions based on the use of lawful products while off duty. (Think alcohol and tobacco.) I don't know if VA is one of those but since you're in a tobacco-growing State, it wouldn't surprise me if you had such a law. You can contact VA's Department of Labor and inquire.

2. Yes, an employer can prohibit the fraternization of employees on and off duty. In some instances, that can be a very good idea, such as a "no dating" policy between managers and subordinates.

If your manager thinks she can prohbit ALL social contact between employees outside of work though, she's an idiot. All she'll do is ensure that those employees who would like to get together off duty sneak around to do so.

I suspect your manager has some peculiar ideas of her own that have nothing to do with the policy of the owner or corporate. I don't know if this is an independently owned retail store or part of a larger franchise but my suggestion is your friend disceetly contact either the owner or human resources at headquarters and ask if these new policies reflect company policy. If, in fact, this is just the new manager attempting to create her own policies because of her personal values and/or paranoia (as I suspect), I imagine they will intervene and set the manager straight.

Virginia is not one of the states that forbids discrimination on the basis of use of lawful products. In fact, the only place where VA varies from the Feds, is that VA offers protection on the basis of marital status.

That being the case, technically what the manager is doing IS legal. Stupid, maybe, and I have no idea how she plans to monitor this, but it's legal. I agree, though, that this is probably her own idea and that a quiet word to corporate or HR might well resolve the whole issue.

I would quit and not work for such a party pooper employer.