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That is the very definition of working off the clock. They've stated it now, and made it very apparent that it is serious. I wouldn't be surprised if many of your coworkers received similar notices.
Really, this is a total non-issue that you've blown far out of proportion. Just clock in before you do anything. Out is the last thing you do. Problem solved, n'er to be hassled again.
I know what you're saying and I agree. But getting a write-up/final warning is very scary. And it's the fact that my new boss clearly hates me and waited to do this until my old boss left that makes me feel like she has an agenda, you know? An agenda to get rid of me.
I know what you're saying and I agree. But getting a write-up/final warning is very scary. And it's the fact that my new boss clearly hates me and waited to do this until my old boss left that makes me feel like she has an agenda, you know? An agenda to get rid of me.
You need to let it go. Toe the line and play the game. Trust me - she'll move on to another target. If you let the weakness enter, it'll cause you to mess up otherwise.
Firstly, if you are fired, you are ineligible for unemployment benefits.
F A L S E !!!!
Go over to the Unemployment sub-forum on CD and you'll read lots of post from people who were FIRED and still received benefits. They did not slide by, they just engaged their brains before their mouths! Even if your employer terminated you for misconduct, it still needs to rise to the standards state regulations set for you to be denied.
I know, I've honestly thought about getting an attorney involved b/c it seems that these "policies" are being invented on a whim. Had I known what constituted as working while not on the clock, I would have stopped immediately
just a thought: Your old boss could've been covering for you on this. Why did she resign? Did she really resign or was was given the option to resign?
We had a supervisor that allowed employees to slide on a lot of issues...caused a lot of headaches for us and for HR. Needless to say, she is no longer with us and for good reason. Sadly, you could end up losing your job because your boss wasn't doing their job
Working off the clock isn't hard to figure out...I suggest you pull the policy for yourself and see if you've actually been violating it all this time. I have hourly employees who used to come in 15-30 mins early to get stuff together to start their day..I had to stop them because, just like you, they were working off the clock.
I do think it's crappy to take you to corrective action if this is your first time hearing about this...whether or not you knew the policy...there should be back up documentation showing that you've been coached on this and haven't changed your behavior. Ask HR to see your file and see if there's anything in it.
just a thought: Your old boss could've been covering for you on this. Why did she resign? Did she really resign or was was given the option to resign?
We had a supervisor that allowed employees to slide on a lot of issues...caused a lot of headaches for us and for HR. Needless to say, she is no longer with us and for good reason. Sadly, you could end up losing your job because your boss wasn't doing their job
Working off the clock isn't hard to figure out...I suggest you pull the policy for yourself and see if you've actually been violating it all this time. I have hourly employees who used to come in 15-30 mins early to get stuff together to start their day..I had to stop them because, just like you, they were working off the clock.
I do think it's crappy to take you to corrective action if this is your first time hearing about this...whether or not you knew the policy...there should be back up documentation showing that you've been coached on this and haven't changed your behavior. Ask HR to see your file and see if there's anything in it.
I've been wondering myself why she resigned. I'm not sure if she just had enough of this job and the pressure on her or what or if she really wanted a career change. I think the higher-ups had come down on her b/c of not paying enough attention. Some other team members had messed some pretty big things up recently (not anything HR-related) and they were really watching her I think. I did pull the policy and all it says is "Working off the clock is not permitted." To me that's nebulous which is why I had no idea what I was doing was wrong. I get it now, though, and am proceeding correctly. Like you said, the corrective action is crappy b/c it was my first time hearing about this. And since I'm in good standing, I think it's clear that it was an honest mistake. It's not like I have a history of not following rules and causing problems. Until this I NEVER heard from HR.
So I've posted before that I was worried about being terminated. Long story short, my boss liked me but her boss did not. My boss's boss started getting more involved in the day to day stuff within my dept and then a few weeks ago my boss resigned. My boss's boss kept sort of coming after me about ridiculous things and most recently, it was that I saved a document after clocking out for the workday. I hadn't actually been doing work, just cleaning up my desk and out of habit hit save before shutting everything down.
Fast forward to today: HR calls me in to meet with her and my boss's boss. They say the next step is termination after this warning b/c I logged into our work system (where we do all our work) a couple minutes before officially clocking into the timecard system. Apparently that's considered working while not on the clock. Not really sure why b/c I didn't do any work until I actually clocked in...I just merely logged in, same as opened any documents/folders I would need to access during the day first thing when I got my desk. They said themselves I've been doing this the whole time I've been at the company (a few years now). I inquired as to why it wasn't brought to my attention immediately to correct and they said "no one knew." that makes me think it's not really too serious b/c if it was such a violation wouldn't they have been monitoring more closely? My boss's boss just hates me for who knows what reason and I just know she'll find something else she thinks I haven't done/have done/should have done/etc. and will fire me. I want to just resign before it comes to that but everyone is telling me to wait it out.
Thoughts? I'm so upset b/c I've never been in any sort of situation like this ever. I've always gotten excellent performance reviews, have excellent attendance, and so forth and am just sick about the whole thing. Honestly the way they were acting I felt like a criminal, like I had some horrible offense!
Time to start looking for a new job. Maybe speak with an "employee rights" attorney (free consult, do not pay anything) He will take an unjust termination on contingency. Start keeping a work log of the harassment you are experiencing. Accumulate as much evidence as you can in case they unjustly terminate you. If they do terminate you, do not sign any release unless they offer you are very nice severance. In the meantime, hopefully you can find a new job!
I do; my reviews were excellent and I got the highest possible rating. That's why now my head is spinning that I could be terminated. It's not a situation I expected to be in. Of course now I know about the logging in policy and will certainly adhere to that, but I just think this new boss wants me gone regardless. She simply hates me.
Filochica,
Have you made a Linkedin(dot)com profile yet? If not, I would encourage you to do so immediately. It's quick and simple and you can change it at any time.
Many times a day recruiter's are posting job opportunities for many different types of positions. Plus you can use their "Jobs" feature and look for jobs. LinkedIn now has jobs from intern to minimum wage to C-Level executive positions.
I wasn't working off the clock though. I simply logged out of the system after clocking out. I was not doing any work, so my results were definitely not better than anyone else's. After I clocked out, I straightened up my desk for a couple minutes, then logged out before shutting down. I didn't do any work. Same thing w/ logging in, I would log in about 2 or 3 minutes before clocking in b/c I was opening up everything on my computer I would need for the day (folders, tabs, etc.). And again, NOWHERE was it stated not to do this. No one EVER told me not to log in until I clocked in. Had I known, I certainly wouldn't have done it.
I'm sorry. IT DOESN'T MATTER. The law states that no worker can start ANYTHING to do with working UNTIL they have clocked in. From now on, go to work, CLOCK IN, then start your work. Same for the end of the day but in reverse. Straighten up your desk, then CLOCK OUT.
The fact that you hadn't known is a nonissue. You aren't being written up for all the times you did it for the past two years (and NEVER tell them this.) you are in trouble for having been caught this time. So don't do it again.
Get on LinkedIn and find another job. OR if you know the name of a company that you would like to work for, look up their company website and see if they have any jobs listed that you could qualify for.
Quitting your job before you find another is extremely stressful and I would suggest you not blindly quit your job. Just CLOCK IN FIRST, do your job and look for something else immediately.
It's your first infraction and your boss doesn't like you. It doesn't mean you will absolutely get fired. But staying I imagine, would be very stressful.
I wish you the best of luck. You will be fine, you'll find another job soon.
This is office politics combined with you violating company policy relating to work and hour laws.
They are documenting your offenses with objective evidence-time card stamps, log in times etc. HR is already involved. This spells doom. Your evaluations, work performance, "everyone else doing it"-logging on before clocking in-aren't really relevant at this stage.
Don't waste your time with a lawyer. There is no case. Unless you are under a contract you can be fired at any time for any reason. What would you sue for? Even if you got a lawyer, they will have a better one.
I do agree it seems extreme to fire someone over this. Either we are missing a piece of the story or there is something going on that you don't know about-and may never know.
Sorry I can't be more positive about this, especially after I read your other thread. I agree with the others. Do your work and look for another job.
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