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I have been working where I'm working for 5 years, with a Pharmacy. I've transferred twice, making 3 stores that I've worked at. I'm a shift supervisor. I have two kids. Just recently, I've been having quite a bit of health issues with myself and my son. I feel that I am being "watched" at work to make one wrong move, let alone (Heaven forbid) my son gets sick again. Just last week my son started to not feel well and at 2am (I had to open the store at 7am) my son woke up crying and I took his temperature and it was 103.3 so I got him ready and took him to the ER. On my way, I called my store manager to let him know what was going on. He said alright and to keep him posted. So at 5:30am I called him back and told him we were still in the ER and I wouldn't be able to open. He said "alright, thanks" and hung up. I made sure I had a doctors note from the hospital when we left. After being discharged, filling his script and getting home, it was already 8:30am. He was diagnosed with a really bad inner ear infection. I was scheduled off the next day (August 18th) and in the mean time, I had gotten an infection that was quickly spreading on my inner, upper left thigh. I went to work on the 19th and my store manager wrote me up for having to take my son to the ER. I told him he couldn't write me up for it because I had a doctor's note and it was a medical emergency. He told me it didn't matter that it was still considered an absences. He handed me the attendance policy which clearly states that medical reasons are an excusable absence and do not count toward attendance. Which didn't comply with his actions. He said if it continued, that he would have to bring me back into the office and "document it" again and I could face possible termination. But then said if it were another 6 months from now, it may not be such a big deal. He did note the other 2 times that I have called off, both of those other times I had doctors notes from the ER: once for myself and the other time was for my son as well.
[LEFT]That night, I had to go to the after hours walk-in clinic because of the infection on my leg. They took me off work on Friday and said I had to make sure I kept my leg elevated and hot packs on it and gave me a dose of medication before I left and told me to begin my prescription the next morning. They drew a line around the infection and said if it gets any worse that I needed to go straight to the ER. I feared for my job because he had just told me that he would have to write me up again and possibly lose my job for it. So I went in Friday morning before my shift to fill my script and gave him my sons doctors note and mine from the night before. In which, he keeps telling me he does not need my doctors notes even though he said he does have a file for them specifically??? After giving him my doctors note excusing me from that day, he said he preferred that I worked because he didn't want to work a double, but if I could find someone to work for me, that would be alright and then he wouldn't have to "document it" either (document is his word for write ups). So I worked, but I told him before and during my shift before he left that I may need to go to the ER if it gets any worse. He said OK. That night, I called him 3 times during my shift to tell him I needed to go to the ER. I never got ahold of him those 3 times and left him voice mails telling him I needed to go to the ER.
After my 3 attempt of calling him, about 3 minutes later he called me back and said he was sorry he missed my calls that he was at dinner in Clark Lake and if he left to come cover my shift, it would take him about an hour to get to me and at that point it'd be about 9pm, since we closed at 10pm he said it wouldn't make much sense. Then he went on to say "you only have a couple hours left any way". I was shocked and very upset. My fellow employees were also shocked at his reaction and were also upset. I told him that as soon as I got out I was going to the ER. So I did. They weren't happy that he made me work on doctors restrictions and said it didn't help my situation. They then took me off Saturday and Sunday. I called him from my cell phone in the ER and told him that they said making me work didn't help my situation and they were taking me off 2 more days. He took a deep breathe and exhaled deeply and said "alright, thanks. Bye". They said if it got any worse, to come back and they would probably admit me. By Sunday night, the infection had spread a good 5 or more inches. So I went in and they admitted me. They had me on a constant IV, taking blood tests, giving me a shot to thin my blood, morphine for pain, ultrasound of my leg, etc. He was not concerned at all. All he was worried about was when I could return to work. They let me out Monday evening on the basis that I would not work until I had a follow up appt. with the surgeon I saw in the hospital just to make sure it was healing alright and that I didn't have to be on a constant IV and that it didn't need to be cut open. Again, he made a fast comment to get better and and asked when I could come back to work.
I feel my sons health and my health means nothing to them and that he is actually trying to replace me with his friend that works there because he is interested in my job. Before all the problems began, I saw a few different e-mails to our District Manager asking her to give his friend a 5% annual raise, which our annual raises are 2%. I've seen him ask to move his friend into a full time status and she's denied both because she said our store just isn't bust enough for any of that and our quota isn't high enough. Then I saw him mention to her that he has been having his friend go to the shift supervisor training classes (which I never got because they never properly trained me), he's been doing his assessments and certifying him, and he went out of his way to tell her that he is a good, hard worker who gets a lot done. Now that I'm going through all this trouble recently, I feel that is why. The only way he can get his friend what he want is to get rid of me and give him the position. I wish now that I would have made copies of those e-mails for myself, but I never thought I may be losing my job because my store manager wants his friend in my position, or because my son and I have been very ill as of lately. I feel that I am treated differently, taken advantage of. I've worked a double for him at the last minute so him and his wife could go stay at her parents cottage on the 4th of July. He even gave me $25 out of his pocket to con me into it. He's paid another employee to give to her babysitter to watch her kids because he needed her to come in and work. He bought another employee Applebee's to work a double shift for him because he didn't have anyone else.
There are a couple girls that I know of that work in the Pharmacy that have had weeks at a time no call no shows and he's allowed them to come back and work there, one of them is getting ready to go on maternity leave. There's another girl that is always ill as well as her parents and she was going to apply for FMLA to take care of her sick father who had undergone surgery and he told her she didn't need to that he would keep her position for her and to take the time she needed. She's called of multiple times in which he has only written down the dates for her and said he was going to tell her she needed to be there or she was going to be let go, but she's still there and still calling off all the time. He doesn't have kids.
I am extremely stressed. I'm the only income in our household. We cannot afford day care; therefore, my fiancee (I call him my hubby) cannot work and he stays home with our kids. I pay for everything from the kids needs and wants, to the house needs, and our needs and wants. We're buying our mobile home and the park is very strict on their monthly lot rent payments. We cannot afford for my boss to fire me. I'm a good hard worker and I fear that he’s going to try to fire me for having to be off work for my medical problem and being that he's written me up for my son being in the ER, he may fire me. I feel like he’s trying to get his friend what he wants. If not this moment, then extremely soon. The other shift gets to call off whenever she wants to and she’s called off sick for 2+ weeks before and he’s never written her up and she’s never gotten in trouble. I’ve been told that they could get a pretty hefty fine for making me work against doctors orders and even denying me being able to go to the ER. I’ve been told it’s illegal for them to make me work on doctors note and I know that we are not supposed to work on a doctors note. He’s the only manager in the corporation that I know of that’s done this. I have friends at other pharmacies in the same company that are management and said that they cannot do that and could get in big trouble. He constantly told me he does not need my doctors notes, etc. I need a little advice. Before I file a suit do I really need to go through EEOC first? Anyone that can lend a helping hand and/or any advice I’d appreciate it!
Thanks in advance for any help![/LEFT]
Alright, lets see... ok. Basically, I've worked for my company 5 yrs. Never had any problems. Recently I've found out that my bosses friend who is a part time cashier there wants to be a supervisor so he can get a pay raise and get paid vacations, etc. I had to take my son to the ER with a temperature of 103.3 (he's 10 months old). He wrote me up for it and said that if I missed anymore work (this was the 3rd time I've had to miss work since I been there in February.. other two times were both hospital visits once for me and once for my son). I ended up getting a really bad infection and the doctor told me I had to take the next day off to try to allow the infection to get better. He made me work any way because he said if I didn't he would document it (which would have been a verbal warning). I ended up in the hospital and the day after I came back he gave me a verbal warning and said if it happened again they would have to decide whether or not to document more or fire me. Our employee handbook and attendance policy states that medical leaves and doctors notes count as an unplanned excusable absences and doesn't count toward your attendance. The other shift, who is supposed to be just above me, always calls off, requests time off, and has called off sick for over 2 weeks straight and she's never gotten in trouble for it. Other people have had no call no shows and he lets them continue to work no problem. I fear that he's going to fire me. I fear that if I get really sick or one of my kids does again then he will fire me. I don't know what to do...
You need to take a month's FMLA leave of absence and regain your health. Discuss it with your doctor. If your doctor agrees to write that up, call your corporate HR department and ask about how to make it happen. Your finance needs to get a temporary job, perhaps. Does your company or State provide disablility insurance?
If your not in a union most of the time an employer can do what ever they want. They dont have to have a reason to let someone go.
They won't let us have a union. There have been union reps come in and they make them leave. Even if they try to talk to us outside. They say a union would be very bad news for us and they would screw everything up for us. But it is clearly stated in the handbook and the attendance policy that they cannot do that and that it doesn't count on anyone's attendance. It's unfair treatment. You can't let that be ok for everyone else and not one person. He cons people by paying them out of his own pocket to do stuff for him. He won't take employees two weeks notices, etc. He makes his own rules. I've talked to a few people here in my town that work for the state and they said for him making me work on a doctors medical leave he/the company can get a hefty fine from the DOL. I know that we aren't supposed to work with a docs excuse. Any other manager would make you turn around and walk out and not come back to work until you have a release to duty form. I have a friend who is a manager at another location and she said according to our policy he cannot and shouldn't have made me work, especially since he said he didn't want to have to work a double. He didn't even mention FMLA to me until a day or two before I was to come back. The day he made me work on my docs leave, I called him three times to tell him I needed to go to the ER and he finally called me back 2 hours before the store closed and said "you only have a couple hours left any way". But when his wife wants to go out to dinner or go shopping, he has to HURRY and leave, sometimes early, so that he can cater to her demands.
You need to take a month's FMLA leave of absence and regain your health. Discuss it with your doctor. If your doctor agrees to write that up, call your corporate HR department and ask about how to make it happen. Your finance needs to get a temporary job, perhaps. Does your company or State provide disablility insurance?
No, my company doesn't, but the state can take up to 3 months for disability decisions and unless it's extreme, they will deny you. It's taken me 5 yrs to get to the amount I make at work, no one around here will hire at near what I make and we just barely by the grace of God get my now, so we definitely cannot take a pay cut at all. But I was told to consult with a lawyer, but then I read online it said something about have to file a complaint with EEOC first? I know I need to contact the DOL, but I just don't know where to start first or how to go about it. My dad seems to think that they will fire me if I try to go to EEOC, DOL, or even get a lawyer.
Not a good idea to file a complaint with any government office until you have had a discussion with your corporate HR group to ask the process for getting medical leave. Stop acting like such a victim. Be a grown up and make your boyfriend get a job so you can respond more rationally when something happens.
They won't let us have a union. There have been union reps come in and they make them leave. Even if they try to talk to us outside. They say a union would be very bad news for us and they would screw everything up for us. But it is clearly stated in the handbook and the attendance policy that they cannot do that and that it doesn't count on anyone's attendance. It's unfair treatment. You can't let that be ok for everyone else and not one person. He cons people by paying them out of his own pocket to do stuff for him. He won't take employees two weeks notices, etc. He makes his own rules. I've talked to a few people here in my town that work for the state and they said for him making me work on a doctors medical leave he/the company can get a hefty fine from the DOL. I know that we aren't supposed to work with a docs excuse. Any other manager would make you turn around and walk out and not come back to work until you have a release to duty form. I have a friend who is a manager at another location and she said according to our policy he cannot and shouldn't have made me work, especially since he said he didn't want to have to work a double. He didn't even mention FMLA to me until a day or two before I was to come back. The day he made me work on my docs leave, I called him three times to tell him I needed to go to the ER and he finally called me back 2 hours before the store closed and said "you only have a couple hours left any way". But when his wife wants to go out to dinner or go shopping, he has to HURRY and leave, sometimes early, so that he can cater to her demands.
Still doesn't matter in most states they can fire you for no reason what so ever.
Anyone that can lend a helping hand and/or any advice I’d appreciate it!
Thanks in advance for any help![/LEFT]
Good.
Since you asked, I am going to give you advice.
Make your job the most important thing in your life. Live, breath and sleep your job. Never complain. Never talk about your personal problems at work. Do not call in sick unless you are really and truly sick. Get your child's father to take care of him if he needs to go to the doctor at 2 am. Get to work 30 minutes early every day and stay 30 minutes late. Volunteer to work Christmas, New Years, Easter, Labor Day and the Forth of July.
Never take off early to pick up your son at school, take him to a friends house, drop him off at his father's (judging from your post, you're not married).
Never, under any circumstances discuss your personal life, health, opinions, trouble, or drama to anyone at work. Always be professional and eager to do an extraordinary job. Leave all aspects of your personal life at the door.
There, you asked. I told you. Do these things and your boss will swim through shark infested waters to bring you a lemonade.
20yrsinBranson
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