We are hiring for a number of positions around the area (San Francisco Bay Area). We need truck drivers who can get to multiple locations easily. One week they may start at one site, the next at another.
An applicant called in and I asked if he could come for an interview tomorrow. He said he had to check with his wife about getting a lift. I asked how he intended to get to work if he didn't have reliable transportation and he said "oh I'll make it one way or another".
Now I think, based on not having reliable transportation to get to a job is a reason for not hiring someone. I understand that everyone needs to work, but why set them and us up for failure? Public transporation will not be easy to most of these job sites. Alsom some of the shifts are night shifts so no public transportation will be available. Is it legal to deny somebody employment based on them not having reliable transportation?
And now time for the standard disclaimers. I am not a lawyer. I do not work in California, but I do know that California has some whacked out employment laws, so what I say may be completely irrelevant in California. (I, for one, have no desire to live there. Difficult HR world, fires, floods, mudslides, snow storms and Nancy Pelosi? Blech.)
My understanding is that you can't discriminate against someone based on their method of getting to work. You can, however, make the ability to get to work on time, regardless of the location or shift, a requirement of the job.
I wouldn't be thrilled about this person anyway, based on his response of "I'll have to check with my wife." Why? Because he should stand up and be a man and not check with her for anything! Just kidding. Just briefly channeling Dr. Laura again. No, because he shows bad judgment in telling you that. When you are job hunting, you need to know when you are available and when you are not. It's okay to say, "I'm sorry, but I'm unavailable on Tuesday, but I could come in on Wednesday or Thursday." You make arrangements with you spouse prior to sending out the resumes.
(On a similar vein, all answering machine messages should be changed to be formal. "You've reached the Jones residence. Please leave a message." No, "Timmy, say hello. Timmy! Timmy, tell the nice people to leave a message." Aargh!)
You need to ask clearly on your job application (for all jobs), "Do you have reliable transportation?" Then you have to accept a yes or no answer and not inquire further.
For jobs such as this that require multiple sites and shifts, you should state: "This job requires the incumbent to be at a variety of sites and shifts that are not served by public transportation. Lack of attendence and tardiness are grounds for termination. Do you have reliable transportation?" Then have a check box for yes or no and accept that as gospel truth.
They may have only one car and his wife will have to drive him if she wants a car during the day, but she may work from home, or be a homemaker (there's a term from the past), or have a flexible job that allows her to take time off to provide transportation for her husband and this won't be a problem. Or, one of their cars may be in the shop right then, but it will be out next Tuesday.
Sounds like a hard position to fill. Good luck on that!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Transferring out of Academia
Dear HR-Lady:
A professor of history at a small college with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, I'd like to take my skill-set and explore a broader world of employment options, but don't quite know where to begin.
With good cheer,
Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read you...Sorry. Sometimes I burst into song without warning. (Which, by the way, is much better than bursting into flames, with or without warning.)
Where to really begin. I don't know exactly what skills a history professor has. I do know that a Ph.D. from Columbia sounds impressive. My real question for you, is, what do you want to do?
This isn't just my lame attempt to make you answer your own question. (Hey, that sounds like a really great blog idea--you send in your questions and your answer!) It's actually because what you want to do determines where you start.
As long as you are just looking for a generic "change," it will be nearly impossible to branch out. If you have a defined change you want to make, you can find a path.
Once you've determined what you want to do, start networking. There are several ways to go about this, but three things are very important. 1. Tell everyone what you want to do. "I'm currently a history professor, but I'm excited to transfer my skills to the business world. I'd really like to do qualitative market reasearch. I've analyzed a ton of documents in my day and interviewed a zillion people to draw conclusions. I'm really looking forward to using these skills in a business environment."
You tell EVERYONE you know about your proposed change. Why? Because you don't know what they know. One of those people may have a brother-in-law who owns a small market research firm, who is struggling for prestige. Having a Columbia Ph.D. on his staff may just give him the credibility he needs. (Even if you really know nothing about the business, just your credentials can be helpful.)
2. Start making appointments for informational interviews with people who already do what you want to do. Learn what skills you really need to be able to accomplish the job. If you are lacking something that can't be gained on the job, figure out a way to get this. (As a college professor, you can probably take a class or two for free to gain some skills.) Listen, listen, listen and listen some more to what these people tell you.
3. Don't be afraid to start at the bottom. People with advanced degrees sometimes assume they can come in and start out as a director. You can't. Having a degree means you have survived a Ph.D. program. You need to earn your way up the ladder. With your fancy degree you start out with some automatic credibility. Make sure you keep it. Work hard and you'll be fine. But you'll have to pay your dues, just like everyone else does.
A professor of history at a small college with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, I'd like to take my skill-set and explore a broader world of employment options, but don't quite know where to begin.
With good cheer,
Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read you...Sorry. Sometimes I burst into song without warning. (Which, by the way, is much better than bursting into flames, with or without warning.)
Where to really begin. I don't know exactly what skills a history professor has. I do know that a Ph.D. from Columbia sounds impressive. My real question for you, is, what do you want to do?
This isn't just my lame attempt to make you answer your own question. (Hey, that sounds like a really great blog idea--you send in your questions and your answer!) It's actually because what you want to do determines where you start.
As long as you are just looking for a generic "change," it will be nearly impossible to branch out. If you have a defined change you want to make, you can find a path.
Once you've determined what you want to do, start networking. There are several ways to go about this, but three things are very important. 1. Tell everyone what you want to do. "I'm currently a history professor, but I'm excited to transfer my skills to the business world. I'd really like to do qualitative market reasearch. I've analyzed a ton of documents in my day and interviewed a zillion people to draw conclusions. I'm really looking forward to using these skills in a business environment."
You tell EVERYONE you know about your proposed change. Why? Because you don't know what they know. One of those people may have a brother-in-law who owns a small market research firm, who is struggling for prestige. Having a Columbia Ph.D. on his staff may just give him the credibility he needs. (Even if you really know nothing about the business, just your credentials can be helpful.)
2. Start making appointments for informational interviews with people who already do what you want to do. Learn what skills you really need to be able to accomplish the job. If you are lacking something that can't be gained on the job, figure out a way to get this. (As a college professor, you can probably take a class or two for free to gain some skills.) Listen, listen, listen and listen some more to what these people tell you.
3. Don't be afraid to start at the bottom. People with advanced degrees sometimes assume they can come in and start out as a director. You can't. Having a degree means you have survived a Ph.D. program. You need to earn your way up the ladder. With your fancy degree you start out with some automatic credibility. Make sure you keep it. Work hard and you'll be fine. But you'll have to pay your dues, just like everyone else does.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Crack!
The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that selling crack is a job.
The end result? If you can sell crack, then you can work and are not eligible for disability.
I cannot even begin to express how amusing this is to me.
The end result? If you can sell crack, then you can work and are not eligible for disability.
I cannot even begin to express how amusing this is to me.
Friday, January 11, 2008
And Now a Brief Political Break
I don't do bumper stickers, but if I did, I would put this on my car. (From cafe press, of course.)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Clean Up, Clean Up
I'm behind on the whole question thing. Sorry. In fact, I'm so far behind I will never catch up and even if I did by the time I got to your question, the question would be resolved anyway, so it would all just be theoretical and so I wouldn't be helping anyone, although it would look like I was.
Although, perhaps it would be better if I were strictly theoretical. That way no one could accuse me of ruining their lives. (With the exception of the offspring who has already begun to declare that she will "never be happy again" when something doesn't go her way. I don't know where she gets all that drama queen stuff from as I am the picture of rationality. Stop laughing, mom.)
So, I'm cleaning up. I'm not going to answer any questions sent to me prior to December 18. Why December 18? Because I have 15 questions from December 18 onward, that's why, and 15 is a good number.
If you sent me a question earlier than that and still want/need an answer, you can feel free to resend. Although, if you could boil your question down to 2-3 paragraphs, that would be swell.
I do apologize, but hey, you get what you pay for.
Although, perhaps it would be better if I were strictly theoretical. That way no one could accuse me of ruining their lives. (With the exception of the offspring who has already begun to declare that she will "never be happy again" when something doesn't go her way. I don't know where she gets all that drama queen stuff from as I am the picture of rationality. Stop laughing, mom.)
So, I'm cleaning up. I'm not going to answer any questions sent to me prior to December 18. Why December 18? Because I have 15 questions from December 18 onward, that's why, and 15 is a good number.
If you sent me a question earlier than that and still want/need an answer, you can feel free to resend. Although, if you could boil your question down to 2-3 paragraphs, that would be swell.
I do apologize, but hey, you get what you pay for.
Tuition Reimbursement Programs
I'm a new training manager at a small (<120) person healthcare company. I am setting up a tuition reimbursement program and wonder if you have any resourses I can model my program after.
I have personally benefitted from previous employers programs and am using my last company's program as a model, but it was a much larger company and I'm not sure that it makes sense at my new company.
Any info you can share would be much appreciated.
First, I'm impressed that such a small company would have a dedicated training manager. That says good things about your organization to me. I'm a big fan of effective training and a huge hater of waste-your-time training. I assume you do the former.
My experience with tuition reimbursement is limited, but I'll share what I know.
Back when I worked for a retail company, we didn't offer "tuition reimbursement." We offered "scholarships." Same thing, really, but without all the strings attached. You had to have been there for a year (I think) and be a satisfactory employee. The amount of money was not huge (can't remember precisely, but it was under $2000 a year), and there as no repayment provision if you quit. In fact, as long as you worked for us during the summer, we'd renew the scholarship every year.
This was fantastically effective as a recruiting tool for high school/college students. Parents pushed their kids to take jobs with us because of the extra money for college. I don't know what kind of health care company you are, but if you are someplace with high turnover, then this might work for you.
Other companies I've worked for have had a more traditional approach--paying 50-100% of tuition, upon satisfactory course completion. Satisfactory, being a grade of C or higher. The restrictions placed around it include a yearly tuition limit and a requirement that the course be directed towards a degree or certification that is relevant to the company. No tuition reimbursement towards your real estate license (we don't do that) or art history, but engineering, HR, business, etc are all covered.
The key thing with this type of program, where you are targeting a low turnover group, is repayment provisions. Make sure you have them, so people don't take your money for their degree and then disappear on you.
Make sure you treat your newly degreed or certified employees as external candidates when it comes to promotions. Let's say Bob makes $65,000 a year as a finance guy. He's a high quality employee and has been working on his MBA from a reputable school for the past 3 years. He finally graduates. (Yeah Bob!) Bob is now qualified for a manager position that has a salary midpoint of $85,000. If he were an external candidate, you'd hire him at $85,000. However, your company guidelines state that no one be given more than a 10% increase ($71,500). MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN EXCEPTION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO BRING BOB UP TO MIDPOINT REGARDLESS OF THE JUMP.
Yes, I meant to put that in all caps. Your competitor doesn't have a problem paying a newly minted MBA from that school that much money. You wouldn't have a problem paying someone with Bob's credentials that much money if he were external. Don't hold Bob back. Bob will get resentful and he will leave, even being willing to pay back some of the cost of his tuition.
Non HR Types stop reading right now. The rest of this is secret HR stuff.
And while I do think it is a good idea to require repayment if the employee leaves within a set time (full repayment if less than one year, 2/3 repayment if less than 2 years, 1/3 repayment if less than 3, is my general guideline), keep in mind that it's next to impossible to get that money back if the person doesn't willingly cough up the check. Even if you could deduct what they owe from their last check (some states would allow this and some would not), it's doubtful that everyone's last check would be equal to or greater than the amount of tuition they owe. Do you really want to sue? No, you don't. But don't tell the employees that. Shhhh.
I have personally benefitted from previous employers programs and am using my last company's program as a model, but it was a much larger company and I'm not sure that it makes sense at my new company.
Any info you can share would be much appreciated.
First, I'm impressed that such a small company would have a dedicated training manager. That says good things about your organization to me. I'm a big fan of effective training and a huge hater of waste-your-time training. I assume you do the former.
My experience with tuition reimbursement is limited, but I'll share what I know.
Back when I worked for a retail company, we didn't offer "tuition reimbursement." We offered "scholarships." Same thing, really, but without all the strings attached. You had to have been there for a year (I think) and be a satisfactory employee. The amount of money was not huge (can't remember precisely, but it was under $2000 a year), and there as no repayment provision if you quit. In fact, as long as you worked for us during the summer, we'd renew the scholarship every year.
This was fantastically effective as a recruiting tool for high school/college students. Parents pushed their kids to take jobs with us because of the extra money for college. I don't know what kind of health care company you are, but if you are someplace with high turnover, then this might work for you.
Other companies I've worked for have had a more traditional approach--paying 50-100% of tuition, upon satisfactory course completion. Satisfactory, being a grade of C or higher. The restrictions placed around it include a yearly tuition limit and a requirement that the course be directed towards a degree or certification that is relevant to the company. No tuition reimbursement towards your real estate license (we don't do that) or art history, but engineering, HR, business, etc are all covered.
The key thing with this type of program, where you are targeting a low turnover group, is repayment provisions. Make sure you have them, so people don't take your money for their degree and then disappear on you.
Make sure you treat your newly degreed or certified employees as external candidates when it comes to promotions. Let's say Bob makes $65,000 a year as a finance guy. He's a high quality employee and has been working on his MBA from a reputable school for the past 3 years. He finally graduates. (Yeah Bob!) Bob is now qualified for a manager position that has a salary midpoint of $85,000. If he were an external candidate, you'd hire him at $85,000. However, your company guidelines state that no one be given more than a 10% increase ($71,500). MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN EXCEPTION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO BRING BOB UP TO MIDPOINT REGARDLESS OF THE JUMP.
Yes, I meant to put that in all caps. Your competitor doesn't have a problem paying a newly minted MBA from that school that much money. You wouldn't have a problem paying someone with Bob's credentials that much money if he were external. Don't hold Bob back. Bob will get resentful and he will leave, even being willing to pay back some of the cost of his tuition.
Non HR Types stop reading right now. The rest of this is secret HR stuff.
And while I do think it is a good idea to require repayment if the employee leaves within a set time (full repayment if less than one year, 2/3 repayment if less than 2 years, 1/3 repayment if less than 3, is my general guideline), keep in mind that it's next to impossible to get that money back if the person doesn't willingly cough up the check. Even if you could deduct what they owe from their last check (some states would allow this and some would not), it's doubtful that everyone's last check would be equal to or greater than the amount of tuition they owe. Do you really want to sue? No, you don't. But don't tell the employees that. Shhhh.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Carnival of HR #24
Is now up over at Ask a Manager.
Hop over and learn about Diverse transient Girl Scouts writing new year's resolutions so that they can be queens. Or something similar.
(Note: The paragraph above is 100% false and is only filled with random key words from the carnival. I just wrote it to entice you to go over.)
Hop over and learn about Diverse transient Girl Scouts writing new year's resolutions so that they can be queens. Or something similar.
(Note: The paragraph above is 100% false and is only filled with random key words from the carnival. I just wrote it to entice you to go over.)
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
I Quit
Hello, I recently (a week and a half ago) started a job in a small dental office doing administrative work, although my experience is in the clinical side of dentistry.
I got the job through a contact from my previous position, who said the nicest things about me. Unfortunately I find my new boss, although a nice woman, has been a bit unclear about my responsibilities, and her office needs a lot of help, in my opinion.
An attempt at a meeting to discuss "what's working and what's not" veered off, and stayed off track. I am not the most disciplined person, and I know she is not, in the end, however, I can't work the way they work there-and although disorganized, she's the boss, and I am feeling uncomfortable expressing how I see her office. I am not use to such disorganization and mixed messages of what she's looking to accomplish, so I would like to quit. The last 2 days of work, there has not been a moment to give notice-her birthday, and then she went home sick- at this point I feel like the opportunities to slip out of there are escaping me!
I would like to call her to give notice ( I am off today), or to quit. First, is it appropriate at this point to quit over the phone ( I am not finding her very small office conducive to private conversations)? and, Do I have to give 2 weeks notice after a week and a half, or can I just tell her it's not working out?
Thank you for listening! Thank you for your help.
First off, after a week and a half of work I don't think two week's notice is necessary. They survived without you two weeks ago. And quite frankly, no one is worth much after only being at a job for 1.5 weeks. So, go ahead and quit.
However, here are the consequences:
Remember that friend who referred you to this job? You've just ruined her reputation as well as your own. It will be extremely difficult to find another job in a dentist's office. You think those people don't talk? They do. And a story of, "Yeah, we hired this new admin. She lasted a whole week and a half!" will get told repeatedly. With your name attached.
This dentist (and the other people who work there) will tell the story. Your friend who referred you will tell the story of what a nightmare it all is. Then everyone who hears the story will pass it along as a "worst new hire" story.
Unless everyone you work with is exceedingly mature and realized it wasn't a good fit from the start. (Not likely.)
Work is work. It's hard. That's why they give you money. If it were easy and fun, you would pay them.
The dentist is disorganized. You are disorganized. Why did you accept a job as an admin if disorganization is one of your trials in life? I would hire an admin to get me organized.
My true advice would be to buckle down and do the work necessary. You've been there 1.5 weeks. You can't possibly even know how the office really operates after that little time. Your new boss isn't interested in listening to your new ideas because you haven't proved yourself yet. Prove yourself. Make changes. Get things set up the "way they should be."
Quitting now (with or without notice, it's all the same) will burn bridges. Bridges should never be burned unless you are actively being chased by a live troll. A disorganized dentist does not count, even if she has a drill in her hand.
The transition period is always difficult. Stick it out for at least 6 months. Try your hardest to make things work. If that doesn't work, start looking for a new job. When you find one, give two weeks notice and leave.
I got the job through a contact from my previous position, who said the nicest things about me. Unfortunately I find my new boss, although a nice woman, has been a bit unclear about my responsibilities, and her office needs a lot of help, in my opinion.
An attempt at a meeting to discuss "what's working and what's not" veered off, and stayed off track. I am not the most disciplined person, and I know she is not, in the end, however, I can't work the way they work there-and although disorganized, she's the boss, and I am feeling uncomfortable expressing how I see her office. I am not use to such disorganization and mixed messages of what she's looking to accomplish, so I would like to quit. The last 2 days of work, there has not been a moment to give notice-her birthday, and then she went home sick- at this point I feel like the opportunities to slip out of there are escaping me!
I would like to call her to give notice ( I am off today), or to quit. First, is it appropriate at this point to quit over the phone ( I am not finding her very small office conducive to private conversations)? and, Do I have to give 2 weeks notice after a week and a half, or can I just tell her it's not working out?
Thank you for listening! Thank you for your help.
First off, after a week and a half of work I don't think two week's notice is necessary. They survived without you two weeks ago. And quite frankly, no one is worth much after only being at a job for 1.5 weeks. So, go ahead and quit.
However, here are the consequences:
Remember that friend who referred you to this job? You've just ruined her reputation as well as your own. It will be extremely difficult to find another job in a dentist's office. You think those people don't talk? They do. And a story of, "Yeah, we hired this new admin. She lasted a whole week and a half!" will get told repeatedly. With your name attached.
This dentist (and the other people who work there) will tell the story. Your friend who referred you will tell the story of what a nightmare it all is. Then everyone who hears the story will pass it along as a "worst new hire" story.
Unless everyone you work with is exceedingly mature and realized it wasn't a good fit from the start. (Not likely.)
Work is work. It's hard. That's why they give you money. If it were easy and fun, you would pay them.
The dentist is disorganized. You are disorganized. Why did you accept a job as an admin if disorganization is one of your trials in life? I would hire an admin to get me organized.
My true advice would be to buckle down and do the work necessary. You've been there 1.5 weeks. You can't possibly even know how the office really operates after that little time. Your new boss isn't interested in listening to your new ideas because you haven't proved yourself yet. Prove yourself. Make changes. Get things set up the "way they should be."
Quitting now (with or without notice, it's all the same) will burn bridges. Bridges should never be burned unless you are actively being chased by a live troll. A disorganized dentist does not count, even if she has a drill in her hand.
The transition period is always difficult. Stick it out for at least 6 months. Try your hardest to make things work. If that doesn't work, start looking for a new job. When you find one, give two weeks notice and leave.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Competitive Salaries
I read this post about "Competitive Salaries" for OB-GYNs.
I have to say I agree--and not just for physicians. Okay, it's a bit on the cynical side, but that suits me.
I know, I know, he who talks pay first loses, and companies don't want to talk pay in their ads because then they lose. Except that I will only apply for jobs in a certain salary range, so you are saving time and money in being honest up front. Seriously. You are.
Usually when "competitive salary" is listed in the job description, the description also asks for you to submit your salary requirements. Bah! You show me yours and I'll show you mine.
Just a little Monday morning recruiting pet peeve.
2. "Competitive salary" is an evasive phrase used by employers that have not yet decided what they want to pay. They prefer to see what the candidates expect and then negotiate down from there.
3. "Competitive salary" is used by employers who want to take advantage of you. They are hiding the fact that their salary is below average. Sure it competes, but on the loosing end. They will only tell you after long talks, and after they feel that they have you on the hook, how little they really want to pay.
I have to say I agree--and not just for physicians. Okay, it's a bit on the cynical side, but that suits me.
I know, I know, he who talks pay first loses, and companies don't want to talk pay in their ads because then they lose. Except that I will only apply for jobs in a certain salary range, so you are saving time and money in being honest up front. Seriously. You are.
Usually when "competitive salary" is listed in the job description, the description also asks for you to submit your salary requirements. Bah! You show me yours and I'll show you mine.
Just a little Monday morning recruiting pet peeve.
Bad Managers
I don't know how to handle a situation with my manager. HR is the last stop for advice in my organization so before I go down that slippery slope, can you help out with with some HR advice?
It's end of year evaluation time. I schedule a time and room to meeting with my manager two weeks ahead of the meeting day at his working location which is a two hour drive for me. I sit in the meeting room and wait for 15 minutes. Finally I go back to a desk close to his and go back to work. He shows up in another 5 and asks if we can split the evaluation up in 1/2 hour sessions but offers no reason to his tardiness. I'm pretty ticked off by then and said splitting up a evaluation session didn't sound like a good idea. We decide to delay the meeting until after my next meeting. The delayed review went OK but I'm not exactly in a 'open' frame of mind to discuss performance gaps productively.
Two days later I found out that he left a paper copy of my review in the meeting room. A co-worker found it and gave it back to him. It was left in the room for at least one full day. He has not said a word to me about leaving the paper copy in the meeting room nor any apology for being late to the session. I have asked for another time to re-discuss my evaluation with focus on the short comings which he scheduled almost immediately at my work location. But still no confession from him on leaving my evaluation in the meeting room. Now what - confront him, call HR or just forget it? Oh, by the way one of the points on my evaluation was 'difficult' conversions.
Drop it. Just drop it. It was undoubtedly not done with malice. (I know, I'll leave John's hard copy review here in public view! That will show him, although I don't have a clue what it will show him! Insert maniacal laughter here.)
He says you have "difficult" conversations, which probably means he has trouble talking to you. Either this is a flaw you need to work on, or a flaw he needs to work on, or you two just have personality conflicts. He's uncomfortable talking to you in general, so he's probably not going to say, "Hey, just wanted to apologize for leaving your review out on a table!" He probably assumes you don't even know it happened. Why bring it up?
And since you and your boss have trouble communicating verbally, it can either be really good or really bad that you are two hours away. Make sure you are good at e-mail communications with him and keep him up to date. He still won't feel chatty around you, but he'll know what is going on.
And just as an FYI, delayed reviews seem to be the norm in every company I've ever worked for. It's nothing personal. Managers dislike doing them. Employees dislike receiving them. End result is delayed reviews all around.
It's end of year evaluation time. I schedule a time and room to meeting with my manager two weeks ahead of the meeting day at his working location which is a two hour drive for me. I sit in the meeting room and wait for 15 minutes. Finally I go back to a desk close to his and go back to work. He shows up in another 5 and asks if we can split the evaluation up in 1/2 hour sessions but offers no reason to his tardiness. I'm pretty ticked off by then and said splitting up a evaluation session didn't sound like a good idea. We decide to delay the meeting until after my next meeting. The delayed review went OK but I'm not exactly in a 'open' frame of mind to discuss performance gaps productively.
Two days later I found out that he left a paper copy of my review in the meeting room. A co-worker found it and gave it back to him. It was left in the room for at least one full day. He has not said a word to me about leaving the paper copy in the meeting room nor any apology for being late to the session. I have asked for another time to re-discuss my evaluation with focus on the short comings which he scheduled almost immediately at my work location. But still no confession from him on leaving my evaluation in the meeting room. Now what - confront him, call HR or just forget it? Oh, by the way one of the points on my evaluation was 'difficult' conversions.
Drop it. Just drop it. It was undoubtedly not done with malice. (I know, I'll leave John's hard copy review here in public view! That will show him, although I don't have a clue what it will show him! Insert maniacal laughter here.)
He says you have "difficult" conversations, which probably means he has trouble talking to you. Either this is a flaw you need to work on, or a flaw he needs to work on, or you two just have personality conflicts. He's uncomfortable talking to you in general, so he's probably not going to say, "Hey, just wanted to apologize for leaving your review out on a table!" He probably assumes you don't even know it happened. Why bring it up?
And since you and your boss have trouble communicating verbally, it can either be really good or really bad that you are two hours away. Make sure you are good at e-mail communications with him and keep him up to date. He still won't feel chatty around you, but he'll know what is going on.
And just as an FYI, delayed reviews seem to be the norm in every company I've ever worked for. It's nothing personal. Managers dislike doing them. Employees dislike receiving them. End result is delayed reviews all around.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Pregnant and Laid Off
Dear Evil HR Lady,
I have been working at this company for the past year and a half. We had a layoff in October 2007. This layoff affected our campus but I was not let go. However, they let employees know on November 29 and 30 that layoffs would happen again mid-December. I was notified that I will be affected.
My due date is January 6th and I was about to go on my disability leave. When I was informed of the layoff, I was told that it was merely to reduce headcount. I was
the only person to be laid off in my group of 10 people. They even hired a student recently and paid her relocation charge to move her.
I have always been a good employee and completed my work on time. My team mates can confirm this and I have emails and instant messages to prove this. I feel I have been wronged and want to know what my chances are of suing my employer for doing this to me just before I go on disability.
Thanks
Seeing how I wasn't involved in the layoff decision making process, I can't say how the decision was made and I can't say whether your pregnancy played a role, but I live to speculate so let's go at it.
First, the rules. It's illegal to fire you because you are pregnant, but it's not illegal to fire a pregnant woman for another reason. A reduction in headcount is a perfectly legitimate reason to fire anyone, regardless of protected class status.
So, how was that decision made? It could be "hey, she's pregnant and probably won't come back from leave anyway. Let's term her." This is illegal, but not saying it doesn't happen. It may never have even been spoken, but it could have been thought.
The decision could have been made by someone who doesn't even know you are pregnant. Honestly. Some reductions I have been involved in are done by creating criteria, feeding those criteria into a computer and the computer spits out the list of terms. Without the high tech aspect, a list of "rules" could have been made to determine who should go.
It could be based on your specific job. They feel that your tasks can be divided up between the remaining 9 employees.
As for the newly hired student, frequently companies will have policies against laying off someone hired within the past year. Why? If I hire you, move you across the company, and then lay you off 6 months later, you can argue that you hired me in bad faith, knew that the position was to be eliminated and sue you for breech of contract. You may or may not win, but it sure makes me look bad, which we don't want.
Not that laying off pregnant women makes companies look any better.
So, could you prevail in a lawsuit? I have no idea. Here is what I would do if I were you.
1. Call up the HR person that handled your termination and let her know you feel you were terminated because you were pregnant.
2. If she responds with a, "let's talk about your severance," then you can definitely negotiate higher.
3. If she responds with, "I'm sorry, but your pregnancy was not taken into consideration," call a lawyer.
4. Beware, a lawyer may end up charging you more than you could get in increased severance. Sometimes you can get an attorney that will take your case on a contingency basis. If so, make sure the contingency portion is above and beyond whatever benefits you would receive if you didn't sue.
5. Have your attorney contact the company.
6. Hope for the best.
Most likely, if you have any sort of potential case, they will negotiate with you immediately. This doesn't mean that you were terminated because of pregnancy, just that it would cost them more to defend against this charge than it would to pay you out.
Good luck and may your labor be short and pain free.
I have been working at this company for the past year and a half. We had a layoff in October 2007. This layoff affected our campus but I was not let go. However, they let employees know on November 29 and 30 that layoffs would happen again mid-December. I was notified that I will be affected.
My due date is January 6th and I was about to go on my disability leave. When I was informed of the layoff, I was told that it was merely to reduce headcount. I was
the only person to be laid off in my group of 10 people. They even hired a student recently and paid her relocation charge to move her.
I have always been a good employee and completed my work on time. My team mates can confirm this and I have emails and instant messages to prove this. I feel I have been wronged and want to know what my chances are of suing my employer for doing this to me just before I go on disability.
Thanks
Seeing how I wasn't involved in the layoff decision making process, I can't say how the decision was made and I can't say whether your pregnancy played a role, but I live to speculate so let's go at it.
First, the rules. It's illegal to fire you because you are pregnant, but it's not illegal to fire a pregnant woman for another reason. A reduction in headcount is a perfectly legitimate reason to fire anyone, regardless of protected class status.
So, how was that decision made? It could be "hey, she's pregnant and probably won't come back from leave anyway. Let's term her." This is illegal, but not saying it doesn't happen. It may never have even been spoken, but it could have been thought.
The decision could have been made by someone who doesn't even know you are pregnant. Honestly. Some reductions I have been involved in are done by creating criteria, feeding those criteria into a computer and the computer spits out the list of terms. Without the high tech aspect, a list of "rules" could have been made to determine who should go.
It could be based on your specific job. They feel that your tasks can be divided up between the remaining 9 employees.
As for the newly hired student, frequently companies will have policies against laying off someone hired within the past year. Why? If I hire you, move you across the company, and then lay you off 6 months later, you can argue that you hired me in bad faith, knew that the position was to be eliminated and sue you for breech of contract. You may or may not win, but it sure makes me look bad, which we don't want.
Not that laying off pregnant women makes companies look any better.
So, could you prevail in a lawsuit? I have no idea. Here is what I would do if I were you.
1. Call up the HR person that handled your termination and let her know you feel you were terminated because you were pregnant.
2. If she responds with a, "let's talk about your severance," then you can definitely negotiate higher.
3. If she responds with, "I'm sorry, but your pregnancy was not taken into consideration," call a lawyer.
4. Beware, a lawyer may end up charging you more than you could get in increased severance. Sometimes you can get an attorney that will take your case on a contingency basis. If so, make sure the contingency portion is above and beyond whatever benefits you would receive if you didn't sue.
5. Have your attorney contact the company.
6. Hope for the best.
Most likely, if you have any sort of potential case, they will negotiate with you immediately. This doesn't mean that you were terminated because of pregnancy, just that it would cost them more to defend against this charge than it would to pay you out.
Good luck and may your labor be short and pain free.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Elected Bosses
Dear Evil HR Lady.
I'm a physician, a coroner's pathologist employed directly by the elected coroner. I've worked for him since 2002, and got rises every year. I've been having several problems. The first is, I'm paid for 20h/wk, 50 wk/yr. Supposedly, I got comp. time for weekends, holidays, and time I spent over 20h/wk. The problem is, I could never take the comp. time. I once had 60 hours accrued. When I went to take the time, Dr. R would flip out.
The second problem, was that I was "taking advantage" of him if I used my sick time. I had two episodes where I was hospitalized in the past year, and Dr. R. was very concerned that I used my accrued sick time. In fact, as I was still employed, I accrued more, at the standard rate. He said this was cheating the county.
Thirdly, Dr. R disagreed with my treating physicians as to my illness and course of treatment. I had an open surgical wound, and was advised to stay out of the morgue until it healed. He disagreed with that, and on more than one occasion demanded to give me a physical examination, called my treating physicians and told them to transfer care to him, and really harassed me about my heath.
Finally, when I was confined in a wheelchair for a short period of time, [sexually grab me].
I spoke to county human resources, who said there is nothing they could do, as he is the elected official he has no supervisor. I know the county has a sexual harassment policy, as I've seen it, but the elected officials are the only ones who are in charge. I have spoken to the Chief Deputy coroner, who says there is nothing he can do as Dr. R. is the elected official. After years of this, I went to an employment lawyer, drafted a letter, (you can see it if you want) and complained to Dr. R. He told me he no longer had any need for my services the day I gave him the letter.
I'm suing him. My question is, will this make me look like a malcontent? Will other employers be loath to hire me having sued my employer? I lost over 50% of my income and I was within a year of being vested for health insurance for life in public employees. Any way I could have done this without suing him? My psychologist and I have been working on ways to walk softly around him for the past couple of years. The rest of the county's response, that he's the elected official and no-one can gainsay the will of the people is very frustrating. The response of my friends, that I carry a weapon as a part of my duties, and I could have used it--well, I don't want to shoot the man, either.
I work for a university now. Not bad work, no one grabs me, but I'm disappointed. Any comments?
I am glad you are suing. Not because I normally advocate suing, I don't. (I normally advocate getting on with your life as quickly as possible, and that doesn't generally involve dwelling on the past.) I am glad because not only is the coroner in need of a (figurative) slap across the face, so is the HR department.
What a bunch of wimps. Yeah, the coroner is elected so they can't fire him. Blah, blah, blah. Sexual harassment and assault is illegal. They have a duty to protect the county from lawsuits just like yours. The fact that you brought this to their attention and they did nothing will help you win your lawsuit.
Now, I'm certainly not an expert in county governments, but I can tell you that they can't exempt themselves from the laws set up to protect people. (Congress can and does, but you don't work for Congress--thankfully.) Therefore, if things are as they seem, they are liable.
Now, as for the sick time headaches, that's annoying, but probably not illegal. Because you worked for the government, it may be illegal, but I wouldn't know for sure. It can definitely be an issue in your lawsuit, though.
Because of the inappropriate sexual behavior of your boss, every punishment or variation from the rules can be used to support a charge of sexual harassment.
You are not under any obligation to disclose that you sued a former employer for sexual harassment. Because this involves an elected official, it may hit the papers in a big way, in which case a google search would bring it up. However, the details would also come out and generally, journalists love a dirty politician story so you'll probably come out looking good.
Make sure you cite wrongful discharge and ask that your lifetime health benefits be reinstated. They may claim that the letter you wrote was a resignation letter. If so (and it could be plausibly interpreted that way), the key phrase from you is "constructive discharge." That is, he made it so miserable the only rational action was to leave and that you were forced out.
Would I label you a malcontent after one lawsuit? Well, no, but I would google you to see what else is available about you. If what I found indicated that you were a sue happy person who not only had bad experiences at three consecutive employers, but was also prone to slip and fall accidents at the local 7-11, I wouldn't hire you.
Given that the facts are as you state them, you have a good case and I'd be horrified at the incompetence of the county government. (Well, actually, with my generally useless background in political science, I wouldn't be horrified, I'd expect it, but it still makes me angry.) Incidentally, I did google your name, since it was on your e-mail and in the first page of hits, it was all about your CV and other qualifications.
We always have to be careful about our reputations. This is one of the reasons why a poor decision to post something on a myspace page (or a blog) can come back to bite you later on. A lawsuit affects your reputation. No doubt about it. But, the fact that you are currently employed in a respectable position means that even if the lawsuit goes badly for you, it's impact on your life and future earnings will probably be negligible. And, if it goes well, you'll probably have other employees of this creep coming forward.
This brings me to an entirely irrelevant point. Why on earth is coroner an elected office? Shouldn't there be accepted scientific standards for a coroner? Why do I care about the political leanings of a coroner? Of course, I don't know much about coroners, except that I hope I don't need the services of one any time soon.
I'm a physician, a coroner's pathologist employed directly by the elected coroner. I've worked for him since 2002, and got rises every year. I've been having several problems. The first is, I'm paid for 20h/wk, 50 wk/yr. Supposedly, I got comp. time for weekends, holidays, and time I spent over 20h/wk. The problem is, I could never take the comp. time. I once had 60 hours accrued. When I went to take the time, Dr. R would flip out.
The second problem, was that I was "taking advantage" of him if I used my sick time. I had two episodes where I was hospitalized in the past year, and Dr. R. was very concerned that I used my accrued sick time. In fact, as I was still employed, I accrued more, at the standard rate. He said this was cheating the county.
Thirdly, Dr. R disagreed with my treating physicians as to my illness and course of treatment. I had an open surgical wound, and was advised to stay out of the morgue until it healed. He disagreed with that, and on more than one occasion demanded to give me a physical examination, called my treating physicians and told them to transfer care to him, and really harassed me about my heath.
Finally, when I was confined in a wheelchair for a short period of time, [sexually grab me].
I spoke to county human resources, who said there is nothing they could do, as he is the elected official he has no supervisor. I know the county has a sexual harassment policy, as I've seen it, but the elected officials are the only ones who are in charge. I have spoken to the Chief Deputy coroner, who says there is nothing he can do as Dr. R. is the elected official. After years of this, I went to an employment lawyer, drafted a letter, (you can see it if you want) and complained to Dr. R. He told me he no longer had any need for my services the day I gave him the letter.
I'm suing him. My question is, will this make me look like a malcontent? Will other employers be loath to hire me having sued my employer? I lost over 50% of my income and I was within a year of being vested for health insurance for life in public employees. Any way I could have done this without suing him? My psychologist and I have been working on ways to walk softly around him for the past couple of years. The rest of the county's response, that he's the elected official and no-one can gainsay the will of the people is very frustrating. The response of my friends, that I carry a weapon as a part of my duties, and I could have used it--well, I don't want to shoot the man, either.
I work for a university now. Not bad work, no one grabs me, but I'm disappointed. Any comments?
I am glad you are suing. Not because I normally advocate suing, I don't. (I normally advocate getting on with your life as quickly as possible, and that doesn't generally involve dwelling on the past.) I am glad because not only is the coroner in need of a (figurative) slap across the face, so is the HR department.
What a bunch of wimps. Yeah, the coroner is elected so they can't fire him. Blah, blah, blah. Sexual harassment and assault is illegal. They have a duty to protect the county from lawsuits just like yours. The fact that you brought this to their attention and they did nothing will help you win your lawsuit.
Now, I'm certainly not an expert in county governments, but I can tell you that they can't exempt themselves from the laws set up to protect people. (Congress can and does, but you don't work for Congress--thankfully.) Therefore, if things are as they seem, they are liable.
Now, as for the sick time headaches, that's annoying, but probably not illegal. Because you worked for the government, it may be illegal, but I wouldn't know for sure. It can definitely be an issue in your lawsuit, though.
Because of the inappropriate sexual behavior of your boss, every punishment or variation from the rules can be used to support a charge of sexual harassment.
You are not under any obligation to disclose that you sued a former employer for sexual harassment. Because this involves an elected official, it may hit the papers in a big way, in which case a google search would bring it up. However, the details would also come out and generally, journalists love a dirty politician story so you'll probably come out looking good.
Make sure you cite wrongful discharge and ask that your lifetime health benefits be reinstated. They may claim that the letter you wrote was a resignation letter. If so (and it could be plausibly interpreted that way), the key phrase from you is "constructive discharge." That is, he made it so miserable the only rational action was to leave and that you were forced out.
Would I label you a malcontent after one lawsuit? Well, no, but I would google you to see what else is available about you. If what I found indicated that you were a sue happy person who not only had bad experiences at three consecutive employers, but was also prone to slip and fall accidents at the local 7-11, I wouldn't hire you.
Given that the facts are as you state them, you have a good case and I'd be horrified at the incompetence of the county government. (Well, actually, with my generally useless background in political science, I wouldn't be horrified, I'd expect it, but it still makes me angry.) Incidentally, I did google your name, since it was on your e-mail and in the first page of hits, it was all about your CV and other qualifications.
We always have to be careful about our reputations. This is one of the reasons why a poor decision to post something on a myspace page (or a blog) can come back to bite you later on. A lawsuit affects your reputation. No doubt about it. But, the fact that you are currently employed in a respectable position means that even if the lawsuit goes badly for you, it's impact on your life and future earnings will probably be negligible. And, if it goes well, you'll probably have other employees of this creep coming forward.
This brings me to an entirely irrelevant point. Why on earth is coroner an elected office? Shouldn't there be accepted scientific standards for a coroner? Why do I care about the political leanings of a coroner? Of course, I don't know much about coroners, except that I hope I don't need the services of one any time soon.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Head of Jargon
Dear Evil HR Lady (I'm sure you're not)
Could you please tell what is the difference between 'HR Director' and 'Head of People'?
Many thanks,
One is hip and trendy. The other is not. I hate "innovative" titles. Put them back in the box, please.
Head of People sounds like you manage all the people. Which you don't. So, stop trying to pretend.
Maybe my not-so-evil readership think there is a real difference. I think it's just a title thing to make the HR leadership seem more in touch with the "people." Personally, I think Head of People is too close to the old "Personnel." I don't want to go back to that era.
Could you please tell what is the difference between 'HR Director' and 'Head of People'?
Many thanks,
One is hip and trendy. The other is not. I hate "innovative" titles. Put them back in the box, please.
Head of People sounds like you manage all the people. Which you don't. So, stop trying to pretend.
Maybe my not-so-evil readership think there is a real difference. I think it's just a title thing to make the HR leadership seem more in touch with the "people." Personally, I think Head of People is too close to the old "Personnel." I don't want to go back to that era.
Diversity Thoughts
I'm not a huge fan of diversity departments, trainers or the ever present, "we're not telling you to consider race in your hires, but you better have more minorities on board by this time next year or it will affect your performance appraisal."
Then, you have "diversity training." Carmen has talked about diversity training that is ineffective. But, what if it's worse than ineffective? What if it opens you up for legal trouble?
Hans Bader at Open Market writes:
Bader goes on to document other nightmares of sexual harassment and diversity training.
What to do, what to do? Companies do such training to prove that discrimination is "not allowable here," but if they do it in a foolish fashion, they end up in illegal practices. A sexual harassment example from Mr. Bader:
So, here is the short version of the Evil HR Lady school of diversity training. I'll be happy to come present this at your company for asmall large fee. Contact me for the actual numbers.
1. People are different.
2. We should be polite to people--even those who look/talk/dress/act differently than we do.
3. Jokes about race/gender/religion/sexual anything are not appropriate for the workplace. Save them for your friends and family, not your coworkers.
4. Remember, that when you are with your co-workers or boss, even if it's at happy hour after work, you are still at work. If you are at the grocery store and you run into your co-worker, you are immediately at work.
5. If someone makes a comment that insults your race/gender/origin/hairstyle/significant other/religion say to them seriously, "I found that comment offensive." If they don't know you find something offensive, can you really expect them to change their behavior?
6. If you say something that you don't mean to be offensive and find out someone is offended, please apologize and don't do it again. I don't care that your co-worker is over sensitive and that joke about how many people of [ethnic origin] it takes to change a light bulb is really, really, funny and this is the only person in the planet that finds this joke offensive, apologize and don't tell it again.
7. Stop being so darn sensitive. Assume that people are not racist/sexist at heart and that their offensive statements are without malice.
8. There is no such thing as a "diverse" candidate. There can be a diverse slate of candidates, which would mean you have a bunch of candidates with different backgrounds. There can be a candidate which would help you achieve your affirmative action goals, but there is not a "diverse" candidate. So, stop saying that.
9. Remember point 2? We need to be polite to everyone.
10. Leave dating out of the office. It only results in problems (and, well, a few happily ever afters, but boy the potential problems are huge and I am in HR and I do worry about such things).
As I said, this is the short version of my diversity plan. But, I think it's better than the Diversity Trainer who teaches that:
No thanks.
Then, you have "diversity training." Carmen has talked about diversity training that is ineffective. But, what if it's worse than ineffective? What if it opens you up for legal trouble?
Hans Bader at Open Market writes:
Gail Heriot, a law professor and member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, reports on the sexual harassment training she received at the University of San Diego, in a state (California) where such training is mandatory under state law. She points out that the training sent the message that criticisms of affirmative action by white male employees are something that the employer should “nip in the bud” through investigations.
This is exceedingly dumb legal advice, since criticism of affirmative action is protected against retaliation by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1981, and other laws, even when the affirmative action program criticized turns out to have been perfectly legal. Even the very court rulings that have upheld private-sector affirmative action programs, such as Sisco v. J.S. Alberici Const. Co. (8th Cir. 1981), have allowed employees to sue employers who retaliate against them for criticizing affirmative action.
Bader goes on to document other nightmares of sexual harassment and diversity training.
What to do, what to do? Companies do such training to prove that discrimination is "not allowable here," but if they do it in a foolish fashion, they end up in illegal practices. A sexual harassment example from Mr. Bader:
In Hartman v. Pena (1995), the Federal Aviation Administration got sued for sexual harassment after it subjected employees to three days of diversity training that scapegoated white males. After a federal judge refused to dismiss the case against it, the agency had to pay out a settlement to the white male employee who sued.
So, here is the short version of the Evil HR Lady school of diversity training. I'll be happy to come present this at your company for a
1. People are different.
2. We should be polite to people--even those who look/talk/dress/act differently than we do.
3. Jokes about race/gender/religion/sexual anything are not appropriate for the workplace. Save them for your friends and family, not your coworkers.
4. Remember, that when you are with your co-workers or boss, even if it's at happy hour after work, you are still at work. If you are at the grocery store and you run into your co-worker, you are immediately at work.
5. If someone makes a comment that insults your race/gender/origin/hairstyle/significant other/religion say to them seriously, "I found that comment offensive." If they don't know you find something offensive, can you really expect them to change their behavior?
6. If you say something that you don't mean to be offensive and find out someone is offended, please apologize and don't do it again. I don't care that your co-worker is over sensitive and that joke about how many people of [ethnic origin] it takes to change a light bulb is really, really, funny and this is the only person in the planet that finds this joke offensive, apologize and don't tell it again.
7. Stop being so darn sensitive. Assume that people are not racist/sexist at heart and that their offensive statements are without malice.
8. There is no such thing as a "diverse" candidate. There can be a diverse slate of candidates, which would mean you have a bunch of candidates with different backgrounds. There can be a candidate which would help you achieve your affirmative action goals, but there is not a "diverse" candidate. So, stop saying that.
9. Remember point 2? We need to be polite to everyone.
10. Leave dating out of the office. It only results in problems (and, well, a few happily ever afters, but boy the potential problems are huge and I am in HR and I do worry about such things).
As I said, this is the short version of my diversity plan. But, I think it's better than the Diversity Trainer who teaches that:
Participants must "come to recognize that race impacts every aspect of your life 100 percent of the time." Meanwhile, "anger, guilt and shame are just a few of the emotions" whites should expect to experience "as they move toward greater understanding of Whiteness."
No thanks.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Carnival of HR #23
Is up over at Compensation Force. I'm so glad that the rest of you remembered to submit posts. I've been so stressed over Christmas and year end I forgot all about it.
Go over and read it!
Go over and read it!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Telecommuting Dreams
Hi I love your blog, so I am submitting a question/situation that I hope that you can help me with.
Telecommuting is not looked upon favorable even though Congress is trying to change that. The reason I am asking about telework/telecommuting is because I would like to do it when I am pregnant. I did it for 2 ½ years before accepting this position within the same office. As part of the acceptance, I had to give up the telecommuting part.
It was because I was a paid “intern” and interns couldn’t do that. Now my boss says oh no it’s because it is not appropriate for the work. All of the work is conducted via the server. I have a laptop for work that docks into a docking station, phone card, all in one printer/copier/fax/scanner and cable internet (wireless system) installed at home. I also have software on my computer that lets me receive calls on my computer (messages and faxes). She has let me do it to work over 400 hours of OT this past year. She just doesn’t want it to be used for regular hours.
My last pregnancy, this same boss let me telecommute for 2 days a week. This was at 26 weeks. However, she said I can only do it for three weeks. Not sure why as my dr had written a note for till the end of pregnancy. So I had a medical excuse. I commute an hour each way and the drs felt it was too much. At the end of that 3 weeks, I decided I needed to totally go out and asked my dr to write the medical note. He readily agreed. I ended up delivering at 35 weeks. Every single pregnant woman in the district/agency has been allowed to telecommute with a medical note during pregnancy.
My husband and I want a third child. Then this one will be it. How do I get my boss to let me telecommute during pregnancy. A medical note would be no problem. Due to the nature of why it would be high risk, my primary care dr would actually want me doing telework from the beginning. My ob and perinatologist would agree to a medical note as well, but in the second trimester. My fine points are that I am the only person in the office that knows how to upload, change, add solicitations to the website.
Pretty much everything with my job can be done from home with the exception of me being physically present in the office. It would be a win win situation and I just need for her to see that. I want to be able to still contribute. Only I will have to do it from a different location. An hour each way to and from work will make my perinatologist’s blood boil (last time she told me I had no business commuting back and forth and needed to be on bedrest). I am a higher level grade, a GS 11. Our office is also short handed. I guess if she tells me no, that I could bring an EEO complaint as all the other pregnant women in the District were allowed to work from home during and after their pregnancies. I would rather not do that. I will if I need to.
So how do I present it to her as a win win situation. She gets to keep an employee that has a lot of knowledge (I have gotten the highest ratings on all of my performance appraisals and performance awards each year). I still get a paycheck without using up all of my leave (which there is only about 8 weeks of due to this medical problem and would be taken when the baby is born). I am willing to accommodate and do what I need to do. She is a very old fashioned person. She is 56 and getting ready to retire in a year. She doesn’t understand computers or technology well. She has never said that I didn’t do a bad job on telework, just that she doesn’t want me to do it consistently. Actually she says I do a good job on it and present constant evidence of what I do while at home. She says she is not one of those people that can be focused and do work from home. I am one of those people. I work best from home! So any help that you can give me to arrange this with her and so that it works for both of us would be greatly appreciated.
Here are the facts of the case as I see them:
1. Your boss doesn't like telecommuting employees
2. You knew this when you accepted the job
3. You want to get pregnant and telecommute while pregnant
4. You can effectively do your job from home
5. Other women have been allowed to telecommute during pregnancy
I like telecommuting. I work from home from time to time and find it to be quite effective. But, not for everyone.
Your problem is your boss doesn't like full time telecommuters. Unfortunately, you knew this when you took the job, so it's not like it was a big surprise to you. Some bosses don't like it at all. They feel like if they can't see you, you must not be working.
I'm a big fan of results oriented work, rather than time clock punching. Some managers cannot separate out the two. They are utterly convinced that if you are not right where they can see you, then you must be watching Oprah. (This is false, you are actually watching HGTV and spray painting regular household objects to turn them into Christmas decorations!) Now, I will say that my neighbor telecommutes full time and she confessed that she has procured a board that she places across her bathtub. This allows her to sit in the bathtub, with her laptop, and work in luxury. I told her I hope she doesn't get electrocuted. I suspect your boss fears just such a set up and that nothing productive can be accomplished covered in bubbles.
So, how do you convince your boss? I suspect at this point you can't. You've shown her all the evidence. You've put in overtime from home. Other people do it successfully. You've done it successfully in the past. She does not like it.
Pregnancy isn't automatically covered by the American's with Disabilities Act. Your high risk pregnancy might be. Depends on how much it affects your life in other ways. Even if it is, telecommuting is not required as a reasonable accommodation under ADA unless it is the only accommodation. This may be your best tactic. If your doctors insist that you must work from home or not work at all, after the second trimester, (I think your OB and Perinatologist are going to pull more weight on this issue than your primary care doctor--don't push your luck) you may be able to accomplish your goal under "reasonable accommodation."
It will be difficult for your boss to argue that it doens't work with the organization because other women do it. (Of course, that begs the question, are men allowed to telecommute? Most pregnant women do not need special accommodation during pregnancy, other than a dedicated bathroom stall, and the more protections we make around pregnancy the less desireable young female hires become. Pregnancy, to me (a currently pregnant employee, I might add) should not automatically result in special accommodations.)
With your doctor's note and the other people in the department who do so, you may be able to go over her head.
However, have you thought about transferring to a new position? I don't know how government jobs work, but I imagine you could look into that. Look for a boss that is more favorable to such arrangements. I know I've mentioned this before, but you knew she didn't like telecommuting when you took the job.
Frequently, we accept obligations and then get all huffy when we have to meet those obligations. It's like marrying someone because you are so sure "he'll change." This is one of the dumbest things people do and they do it all the time. (Sure, he drinks now, but once we're married he'll settle down. Or, sure, she's whiny and clingy, but once we're married she'll feel more secure and stop whining.)
Good luck with your pregnancy and your job. I hope you can work something out.
UPDATE: Stella Commute gives a much better answer here. She obviously has more experience in this matter than I do.
Telecommuting is not looked upon favorable even though Congress is trying to change that. The reason I am asking about telework/telecommuting is because I would like to do it when I am pregnant. I did it for 2 ½ years before accepting this position within the same office. As part of the acceptance, I had to give up the telecommuting part.
It was because I was a paid “intern” and interns couldn’t do that. Now my boss says oh no it’s because it is not appropriate for the work. All of the work is conducted via the server. I have a laptop for work that docks into a docking station, phone card, all in one printer/copier/fax/scanner and cable internet (wireless system) installed at home. I also have software on my computer that lets me receive calls on my computer (messages and faxes). She has let me do it to work over 400 hours of OT this past year. She just doesn’t want it to be used for regular hours.
My last pregnancy, this same boss let me telecommute for 2 days a week. This was at 26 weeks. However, she said I can only do it for three weeks. Not sure why as my dr had written a note for till the end of pregnancy. So I had a medical excuse. I commute an hour each way and the drs felt it was too much. At the end of that 3 weeks, I decided I needed to totally go out and asked my dr to write the medical note. He readily agreed. I ended up delivering at 35 weeks. Every single pregnant woman in the district/agency has been allowed to telecommute with a medical note during pregnancy.
My husband and I want a third child. Then this one will be it. How do I get my boss to let me telecommute during pregnancy. A medical note would be no problem. Due to the nature of why it would be high risk, my primary care dr would actually want me doing telework from the beginning. My ob and perinatologist would agree to a medical note as well, but in the second trimester. My fine points are that I am the only person in the office that knows how to upload, change, add solicitations to the website.
Pretty much everything with my job can be done from home with the exception of me being physically present in the office. It would be a win win situation and I just need for her to see that. I want to be able to still contribute. Only I will have to do it from a different location. An hour each way to and from work will make my perinatologist’s blood boil (last time she told me I had no business commuting back and forth and needed to be on bedrest). I am a higher level grade, a GS 11. Our office is also short handed. I guess if she tells me no, that I could bring an EEO complaint as all the other pregnant women in the District were allowed to work from home during and after their pregnancies. I would rather not do that. I will if I need to.
So how do I present it to her as a win win situation. She gets to keep an employee that has a lot of knowledge (I have gotten the highest ratings on all of my performance appraisals and performance awards each year). I still get a paycheck without using up all of my leave (which there is only about 8 weeks of due to this medical problem and would be taken when the baby is born). I am willing to accommodate and do what I need to do. She is a very old fashioned person. She is 56 and getting ready to retire in a year. She doesn’t understand computers or technology well. She has never said that I didn’t do a bad job on telework, just that she doesn’t want me to do it consistently. Actually she says I do a good job on it and present constant evidence of what I do while at home. She says she is not one of those people that can be focused and do work from home. I am one of those people. I work best from home! So any help that you can give me to arrange this with her and so that it works for both of us would be greatly appreciated.
Here are the facts of the case as I see them:
1. Your boss doesn't like telecommuting employees
2. You knew this when you accepted the job
3. You want to get pregnant and telecommute while pregnant
4. You can effectively do your job from home
5. Other women have been allowed to telecommute during pregnancy
I like telecommuting. I work from home from time to time and find it to be quite effective. But, not for everyone.
Your problem is your boss doesn't like full time telecommuters. Unfortunately, you knew this when you took the job, so it's not like it was a big surprise to you. Some bosses don't like it at all. They feel like if they can't see you, you must not be working.
I'm a big fan of results oriented work, rather than time clock punching. Some managers cannot separate out the two. They are utterly convinced that if you are not right where they can see you, then you must be watching Oprah. (This is false, you are actually watching HGTV and spray painting regular household objects to turn them into Christmas decorations!) Now, I will say that my neighbor telecommutes full time and she confessed that she has procured a board that she places across her bathtub. This allows her to sit in the bathtub, with her laptop, and work in luxury. I told her I hope she doesn't get electrocuted. I suspect your boss fears just such a set up and that nothing productive can be accomplished covered in bubbles.
So, how do you convince your boss? I suspect at this point you can't. You've shown her all the evidence. You've put in overtime from home. Other people do it successfully. You've done it successfully in the past. She does not like it.
Pregnancy isn't automatically covered by the American's with Disabilities Act. Your high risk pregnancy might be. Depends on how much it affects your life in other ways. Even if it is, telecommuting is not required as a reasonable accommodation under ADA unless it is the only accommodation. This may be your best tactic. If your doctors insist that you must work from home or not work at all, after the second trimester, (I think your OB and Perinatologist are going to pull more weight on this issue than your primary care doctor--don't push your luck) you may be able to accomplish your goal under "reasonable accommodation."
It will be difficult for your boss to argue that it doens't work with the organization because other women do it. (Of course, that begs the question, are men allowed to telecommute? Most pregnant women do not need special accommodation during pregnancy, other than a dedicated bathroom stall, and the more protections we make around pregnancy the less desireable young female hires become. Pregnancy, to me (a currently pregnant employee, I might add) should not automatically result in special accommodations.)
With your doctor's note and the other people in the department who do so, you may be able to go over her head.
However, have you thought about transferring to a new position? I don't know how government jobs work, but I imagine you could look into that. Look for a boss that is more favorable to such arrangements. I know I've mentioned this before, but you knew she didn't like telecommuting when you took the job.
Frequently, we accept obligations and then get all huffy when we have to meet those obligations. It's like marrying someone because you are so sure "he'll change." This is one of the dumbest things people do and they do it all the time. (Sure, he drinks now, but once we're married he'll settle down. Or, sure, she's whiny and clingy, but once we're married she'll feel more secure and stop whining.)
Good luck with your pregnancy and your job. I hope you can work something out.
UPDATE: Stella Commute gives a much better answer here. She obviously has more experience in this matter than I do.
Rehire
Dear Evil HR Lady,
I have a question for you. I was laid off in a senseless "cut-just-to- make-cuts" decision by clueless upper management (who, by now, I already know are the truly EVIL ones - not HR).
The thing is, I know that as soon as the company's profits come in line (once the aforementioned evil bunch are ousted), I'll be able to get my job back immediately. My question is - I know that there's some time limitation for when you can re-hire someone for a job that they were laid off from. Do you know what this is? I'm in Washington state.
There is no such thing as a time limitation by law. If your company wants to hire you back today they can. If they want to hire you back in 5 years, they can. Any limitation would be imposed by the company itself, it's not legal.
If you are in a union, there may be recall rights that will expire after a certain amount of time.
If you had to sign any documents, the information should be contained within your release or the accompanying information.
However, please don't count your chickens before they are hatched, or put all your eggs in one basket or any other poultry related trite sayings. If you "know" you'll be hired back I have to ask how you know this. You say the bad management will be fired.
Maybe, maybe not. Even assuming you are right and they are completely incompentant doesn't mean that they'll actually get fired. It may just mean that they will continue on in their ineffective management style.
Go look for another job. Don't count on this one to be there for you.
I have a question for you. I was laid off in a senseless "cut-just-to- make-cuts" decision by clueless upper management (who, by now, I already know are the truly EVIL ones - not HR).
The thing is, I know that as soon as the company's profits come in line (once the aforementioned evil bunch are ousted), I'll be able to get my job back immediately. My question is - I know that there's some time limitation for when you can re-hire someone for a job that they were laid off from. Do you know what this is? I'm in Washington state.
There is no such thing as a time limitation by law. If your company wants to hire you back today they can. If they want to hire you back in 5 years, they can. Any limitation would be imposed by the company itself, it's not legal.
If you are in a union, there may be recall rights that will expire after a certain amount of time.
If you had to sign any documents, the information should be contained within your release or the accompanying information.
However, please don't count your chickens before they are hatched, or put all your eggs in one basket or any other poultry related trite sayings. If you "know" you'll be hired back I have to ask how you know this. You say the bad management will be fired.
Maybe, maybe not. Even assuming you are right and they are completely incompentant doesn't mean that they'll actually get fired. It may just mean that they will continue on in their ineffective management style.
Go look for another job. Don't count on this one to be there for you.
Christmas Meme
I got tagged by The Happy Employee, so I thought I'd kind of play along. It's too close to Christmas to tag anyone else, so I'll just answer the questions.
1. Wrapping or gift bags?
I wrap, but despise it. I find the whole wrapping thing tedious.
2. Real or artificial tree?
Real. We drive up to the middle of nowhere and my husband saws it down himself. (The farm has men with chain saws that will do it for you, but it's much more traditional to saw it ourself.) We get a 9 foot Douglas Fir every year. It takes up way too much space in our family room.
3. When do you put up the tree?
First Saturday in December
4. When do you take the tree down?
Sometime in January before the last township tree pick up.
5. Do you like eggnog?
It's all right--non-alcoholic only.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Hungry Hungry Hippos
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Five of them. The first is a white porcelin one made for me by a youth leader when I was 16. Then I have three international ones--from Peru, Kenya and Nepal. These three were all purchased from 10,000 Villages. They sell fabulous nativity scenese from all over the world. The last is a cheap wooden one, purchased for $1 at a garage sale. The offspring plays with that one.
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A make-over. Sure, it sounds like a good gift, but the woman who gave it to me alternated between talking on the phone, insulting me, and putting on thick purple make-up. It was a wonderful thought, but it turned out awful.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, but I haven't sent them out yet this year.
10. Favorite Christmas movie?
It's a Wonderful Life.
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I would love to do my shopping early, but my husband's family is very big on "lists" and no one wlll give me a list until after Thanksgiving.
12. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Fudge
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored
14. Favorite Christmas song? Baby, What Are You Going to Be? My parents had this on a Mormon Tabernacle Choir album, purchased in the early '80s. I would love to find it again, but have been unsuccessful.
And on that thought, Merry Christmas everyone!
1. Wrapping or gift bags?
I wrap, but despise it. I find the whole wrapping thing tedious.
2. Real or artificial tree?
Real. We drive up to the middle of nowhere and my husband saws it down himself. (The farm has men with chain saws that will do it for you, but it's much more traditional to saw it ourself.) We get a 9 foot Douglas Fir every year. It takes up way too much space in our family room.
3. When do you put up the tree?
First Saturday in December
4. When do you take the tree down?
Sometime in January before the last township tree pick up.
5. Do you like eggnog?
It's all right--non-alcoholic only.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Hungry Hungry Hippos
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Five of them. The first is a white porcelin one made for me by a youth leader when I was 16. Then I have three international ones--from Peru, Kenya and Nepal. These three were all purchased from 10,000 Villages. They sell fabulous nativity scenese from all over the world. The last is a cheap wooden one, purchased for $1 at a garage sale. The offspring plays with that one.
8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A make-over. Sure, it sounds like a good gift, but the woman who gave it to me alternated between talking on the phone, insulting me, and putting on thick purple make-up. It was a wonderful thought, but it turned out awful.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, but I haven't sent them out yet this year.
10. Favorite Christmas movie?
It's a Wonderful Life.
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I would love to do my shopping early, but my husband's family is very big on "lists" and no one wlll give me a list until after Thanksgiving.
12. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Fudge
13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored
14. Favorite Christmas song? Baby, What Are You Going to Be? My parents had this on a Mormon Tabernacle Choir album, purchased in the early '80s. I would love to find it again, but have been unsuccessful.
And on that thought, Merry Christmas everyone!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Sometimes This is What I Want to Send to People
Have you ever had one of those days, where people ask you inane questions? Of course you have. Don't you wish you could just reply with this bunny picture?
(And somebody sent this picture to me, so I did not take it. If it is your creative work, let me know and I'll either give you credit or take it down, whatever your preference may be.)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Judging
After reading your response to the women with 2 DUIs, I was hoping you could give me some insight. Here is my story:
I graduated college in December 2004. I accepted a job right away. I was 23 years old at the time. 3 months into my job, I got a DUI. I jumped through all the loops and have not had a problem with drinking since then. The night I did drive under the influence, I had very poor judgment. It definitely was a profound learning experience that I will never let happen again.
Three years later and I am ready to look for a new job. I have been asked to be interviewed by a great company, and they sent me a formal application. Of course one of the questions included is around if I have had any convictions other than a minor traffic offense. Of course I have, and I do plan on disclosing that I got a DUI.
My question is how much will this affect my chance to get the position? Do employers truly not judge, especially if I have had a clean record since?
Employers aren't supposed to let a conviction affect their decision to hire someone unless that conviction is related to the job. Supposed to is the operative phrase. Will they? Hard to say.
The conviction was 4 years ago and you've been good (or not caught!) since. We'll assume the former. This shows you realized your mistake and are determined not to repeat it. That said, one DUI conviction shows exceedingly poor judgment on your part (which you know).
Personally, if you were my top candidate I wouldn't let this affect my decision. In fact, I don't think this type of information should be revealed to the hiring manager. It should be placed on the application and the recruiter should only bring it to the attention of the hiring manager if the job involves driving or operating heavy equipment or something related. I think this should be the case for all convictions.
There are tons of reasons to not hire someone. It's easy to say, "It's not because of your old DUI conviction that we're not offering you the job, it's because your skill A isn't as good as another candidate's." (Not that anyone tells you why they aren't hiring you, they just don't hire you, but if you were to sue, that would come up. I don't advise suing, by the way. Suck it up and keep looking. That's my motto!)
I hope you get this job, and I hope you continue not to drink and drive.
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