Originally Posted by donnamb
Protected class or not, I would most likely tell them I would be more than happy to stop bike commuting when they put it in writing that they will reimburse me for the cost difference between bike commuting and car commuting.
And if you are employed at will they can show you the door. DavidLee wants to avoid that I think.
I'm not saying that what the managers are saying is right, just that they probably have the legal grounds to do it. The fact that HR is siding with DavidLee is good, that is the correct route to go in most cases, before lawyers or any other outside mediator is brought into the equation. Unless the original posters mode of transit has frequently caused problems or is consistently having accidents it should not be a problem.
The managers could be concerned about loss work time, they could be concerned about the original posters health and well being, or they could be concerned about increased healthcare premiums if the original poster was to have additional accidents. It's also possible that the manager thinks they are being funny or coy by poking fun. I'm not saying any of these are valid reasons.
Unless the managers dictate that the original poster drive a car to work or that a car is required for their position, he could always park the bike elsewhere nearby (not on the plant grounds) and claim that he walks to work everyday from 'name of place where bike is parked'.
But lawyers / the judicial system should only be used once you have exhausted all other means of resolution.
Most likely by addressing the problem to Human Resources the managers will be told that it is not a problem and the original poster will be allowed to continue to commute by bike. The managers might still give you a hard time about commuting by bike, just come up with a good, not overly offensive retort back to them. Before someone says it, if this were to happen you could try to say that a 'hostile work environment' had been created, but unless you could prove that you had been denied promotion, or compensation, or had been adversely affected,it would probably not go very far.
I would not threaten legal action or suggest a lawyer unless they try to fire you for commuting by bike. Going that route changes the dynamics and limits your options for negotiation.
Personally I hope that DavidLee comes to a resolution with HR, and doesn't hear anything more from the managers who are giving him a hard time except perhaps the occasional "you are going to get killed on that thing you know" and he can come back with something like, "At least I'll have fun doing it." Judging by the original post this is the likely outcome.