A point about Matt Lauer's locked door ...

[eppur_se_muova]

Rachel Maddow read part of a statement from NBC which stated that the door in Matt Lauer's office which could be locked by a pushbutton at his desk was a standard security feature for high-profile employees. I can understand why this might be a good idea, to protect highly-paid, high-publicity-value figures from attacks by nutjobs, terrorists, kidnappers, etc. That would justify a door which can be locked to prevent entry. But to prevent exit ?? I find it much harder to see any justification for that, and in fact it sounds like a violation of municipal fire safety codes (all doors should open outward when pushed is the usual standard). Does NBC in fact provide its stars with a feature appropriate to prisons and holding pens, or do these doors actually open from the inside even when locked to outside entry ? If the former, I hope NBC would carefully and responsibly reconsider their policy on this. If the latter, I'm afraid some poor woman was raped because she took Lauer's word for it that the door couldn't be opened even from the inside. Otherwise, she would seem to have a case for a lawsuit against NBC for giving a sexual predator just the tool he needed -- one very difficult to justify for any other purpose.

[ksoze]

1. No one said it locked from the inside

The concern was the locking kept people OUT from coming in while he was working his charms.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. One of the women accusing Lauer said he locked the door from his desk.

It sounds like she thought she couldn't escape. I may have misunderstood her, but it sounds like she thought she was trapped.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. I Think It Was So Nobody Could Get In During His Misbehavior

But, even if the case, don't you think a woman might get a little freaked out by a guy who is now finding it necessary to lock the door from his desk so nobody just walks in? A little intimidating, i would think.

[brush]

10. Probably a silent lock, no expense spared for someone whose show brings in billions.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. That Could Be

I hadn't thought of that. Probably a way to have it work slowly and put enough insulation to deaden any sound.

[mythology]

7. In that situation she may have assumed

She was in a high stress situation, and I'm guessing Lauer was using that to his shitty advantage.

[jberryhill]

3. It's probably more an issue of the locks, than the policy

Did any vendor actually sell a remote-control lock that allows the door to be opened from one side when the locks were installed?

[unblock]

4. do we know it couldn't otherwise be opened from the inside?

or that lauer claimed she was trapped inside?

if he did i think we can add kidnapping to the list of charges.

but it could have been just to prevent anyone from coming in and witnessing the whole thing.

i also agree that nbc has a big problem for many reasons if there wasn't a manual override on the door.
i can't imagine having an elaborate remote push-button locking system without a simple way to exit normally.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. That's pretty much what I'm wondering about.

Did he lie ?

Did she not know ?

Or is it really true that she couldn't escape ?

[unblock]

8. i would think the sound of the door locking would be taken as an ominous sign either way.

people in such situations might be theoretically able to run, scream, fight, etc., but in practice there can be many things holding them back.

in the workplace, the obvious consideration is one's job, though there are other considerations as well. of course there's also no time to think, one must improvise a response to a very unexpected situation.

[stopbush]

9. Ive had offices in NYC skyscrapers and my office door never opened

outward when pushed. Office door closed? You pull it into the office to open.

[zipplewrath]

11. Only for "exit" doors

Yeah, I think the rule about doors is poorly understood. The rule really only applies to "exit" doors, for which there is a fairly technical definition. But generally an "office" door isn't gonna qualify. Roughly speaking, if there isn't an "exit" sign near the door, it probably doesn't qualify.

[stopbush]

12. Exactly. So the OP is wrong in claiming the door to Lauers office

would need to open outward to meet fire code.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. I Believe That The Code Involves. . .

. . .doors used as mass egress. An office wouldn't qualify.

Interestingly, the Coconut Grove anniversary was this week and not only were certain exits chained, but those that weren't opened inward. So, when the crush of people hit those doors, those at the front of the line could not pull the doors open and got crushed against the inward opening doors.

That event is one of the reasons these laws began to change to have building egress open outward and, of course, no chaining of doors when the building is occupied.

[Orrex]

18. Even so...

What reasonable justification can there be to prevent exit?

[tammywammy]

15. Interesting.

I'd never really thought about this before. What you're saying is true where I work. Individual office doors all open into the office. The larger bay areas, that hold a hundred cubicles plus offices and conference rooms, the doors open outward into the hall. All bays are locked as well, you have to use your badge to get in, but just push to get out.

At a previous workplace, same company, the doors in and out of those buildings required you tonbadge in and out, but during a fire drill (there was never an actual fire) the doors automatically unlocked to allow people out without badging.

[eppur_se_muova]

16. You're right, even apartment doors are that way.

I suppose there are probably very precise rules about how many exit doors are on each floor, how far apart they can be, etc. as well as a requirement for being clearly marked.

Having once encountered a stairwell ground-level exit door chained from the inside, I tend to hope that the rules favor easy egress by default.

[unc70]

17. Interior doors open inward so not to block hallways

It is obvious if you think about it. It doors opened into minimum width hallways then two open doors could block egress down the hallway.