short answer Sunday: 7 short answers to 7 short questions by Alison Green on May 15, 2011 Short answer Sunday is here once again… Criminal background check I have been out of work for over a year, I am listed with 4 different temp agencies, applied to numerous jobs online, and through the paper. I have been on a few interviews but have yet to land a job. The main problem other than the amount of out-of-work people also looking is I have a misdemeanor from over 10 yrs ago. When an employee does a background check it comes back as a felony. I live in a state that has no expunge laws. Even when I explain the situation and can show the court paperwork, I still get no offer of employment. What is your best advice for me to land a job? I was working at a corporation, I worked over 5 years and worked very hard up to make over $16 an hour and now I can’t even get a minimum wage job. My unemployment ends in 2 months. Where am I to turn for a job so I can move myself and my child out of my parents house? I’d consult with a lawyer to address the fact that your misdemeanor is being reported as a felony. You should be able to get that fixed. Good luck! Incompetent coworker I have a coworker who is unapproachable regarding constructive criticism or any other concerns or issues related to work tasks. We work in a medical office where we have to make sure patients’ information is correct and there have been many times where that has not been the case and I would ask her about it and she would deny any knowledge of how it got that way. And I know and several other coworkers know she’s responsible for the errors but still she will be dishonest about it. Then she will go off to personal appointments on company time, make trips outside of the office (work related) and stay away for long periods of time. Because we share a office (not cubicle), I work very closely with her and I hear her on work-related phone calls asking questions she should know the answers to, as well as very constant mistakes. So basically she doesn’t know her job and she doesn’t admit to when she does something wrong. Several complaints to manager and she gets very protective of this individual for some reason ever since she started. Everyone who complains about this person, the manager gets very defensive and makes excuses and basically uses her position to disregard the issue. Most of us in the office are very frustrated with the preferential treatment she received from the manager but at the same time concerned about losing our job. What can we do? Probably nothing, if the manager knows about the problem and has decided not to act. Written up for having surgery I work for a company that wrote me up for going out and having emergency surgery then medical leave, next write up for going to the doctors who sent me home for the day, next write up I lied to a patient (untrue) and asked unprofessional. I have been employed since August 2010. One on the employees have told me they are trying to fire me. Do I have any options? I can’t think of the last time I recommended that someone seek legal advice, and yet here I am doing it twice in one post. Talk to a lawyer and find out what your options are. Asking why a job re-opened so soon I was in the top 2 or 3 final applicants for a position back in January but ultimately got the “we decided to go with someone else” call. Now I found the other day that the position was posted again, and so I called the main contact person I had interviewed with and left a message that I was still interested and if they’d like to set up a time to meet with me /reconsider to please call. She called me today and I am supposed to hear back from them mid next week to set up another time to come in. My question is, what is the best way to ask why/how the position opened up again or what can I ask? My curiosity, of course, is did they just hire someone who couldn’t do the job or is the job harder than advertised, etc. Any guidance would be great. Just be direct about it, without making it a big deal. Say something like, “Can I ask what happened after it was filled in January?” Alternately, this might be an additional slot with the same title, rather than the same slot you interviewed for earlier; it’s possible that the person they hired worked out just fine, but they have three of those roles, or whatever. Referred to employer, heard nothing back I made a contact at a conference a few weeks ago who said he knew a woman who, in his opinion, would be interested in talking to me. He kindly sent us both an email a few days later. A few days after that I sent her a two-paragraph email describing my background. I also said that I was very interested to hear about what she was looking for. I did not hear back. I thought I would give her a follow-up call but I did not have her number and could only find the main number of her organization. When I called that number I got a recording. I didn’t leave a message. What should be my next step? Call her and leave a message explaining that you’re calling to follow up on Bob Smith’s recommendation that you speak, and that you’d love to talk. Briefly explain why it might be worth talking. (Do not call and hang up if you get voicemail; with caller ID, people can see when you’re doing this.) If she doesn’t get back to you, I’d assume that your contact guessed wrong about her level of interest, and there’s not much you can do from there. However, I would casually mention to your referring contact that you haven’t heard anything back; it’s possible that after hearing that, he might reach out to her on your behalf to emphasize why he thinks she should talk to you. Rejected for internal position; can I ask for feedback? I work at an university department with about 25 employees. A supervisor I meet with on a weekly basis notified me of a position opening in her staff, which I applied for through their online job site. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I was no longer considered for the position on the online job site. I have met with the supervisor several times since, but have not discussed the position with her. Do you think it would be appropriate for me to ask why I was not considered for an interview or should I wait for the supervisor to discuss it with me? You should ask. It’s totally normal to ask. Say something like, “I was hoping you could give me some feedback on my application for the ___ position so that I can hopefully be more successful in the future.” If you wait for feedback to be offered, you may be waiting forever. Following up with hiring manager after turning down an offer After several interviews for a position, I was finally made an offer. A low offer, $1k more than what I was currently being made. The company refused to negotiate and while I thought this new position had a lot of appeal, I couldn’t justify moving for such a small increase. I only discussed the offer with HR, never with the hiring manager. I thought we got along well and I am very interested in pursuing other opportunities that may come up within this company in the future. Should I send the hiring manager a final email refusing the offer, thanking him and asking him to keep me in mind for future positions? Or should I just let this go and hope that the impression I left could still help me in the future? If you’ve already turned down the offer, it would be weird to turn it down again in your email to the hiring manager. But you can definitely email him and say that while you weren’t able to come to terms with HR on salary, you greatly enjoyed talking with him, would love to talk with him about positions that may come up in the future, etc. You may also like:a resigning employee gave me the best giftI'm a nepotism baby, paying based on where employees live, and moremy new employee ran a background check on me and asked me about what he found { 55 comments }
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 12:34 pm I’m the question about the position opening up. While technically yes it’s possible they’re hiring an additional person I am thinking that’s not the case based on what I know from when I interviewed before. It’s a very small office with only three other people and unless they’ve moved offices (which with some construction they hadn’t planned on for about 5 years) my guess is the person left the position. We shall see.
anon-2* May 16, 2011 at 12:31 pm It is not all that uncommon for a new hire to a) change their mind about the job b) didn’t work out from the get-go and decided to get their old job back or (I’ve seen this happen) c) the successful applicant could not prove he/she was legally permitted to work in the United States. As a potential employer — I don’t know if it’s the case today — but you’re not supposed to ask to see that Green Card or US passport until the new hire reports for work the first day. In case c) I would prefer the applicant ask “Do you sponsor?” rather than pull a “surprise” on the first day of work.
Anonymous* May 17, 2011 at 5:09 am Emergencies happen, though – both unfortunate and fortunate (hey, she could have won the lottery? :) )
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 1:08 pm Unfortunately there are heartless, cruel work places that do write up people for medical reasons. I knew a woman who was written up because she had a heart attack at work! The man next to her was also written up for leaving his desk to help her.
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 6:07 pm My jaw just hit the floor and shattered! What is this world coming to?!
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 8:13 pm I was fired for having the audacity to get cancer requiring chemo. Yup. People suck.
Seattle Writer Girl* May 16, 2011 at 1:17 pm Yes, this stuff totally happens. A direct report of a friend of mine had to go out on emergency medical leave (covered under FMLA with appropriate doctor’s note, etc.) and his boss immediately wanted to fire her on the spot! Luckily, the HR person made it clear that this wasn’t going to happen (because it’s illegal) but his boss wasn’t very happy about it.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 1:56 pm How do people sleep at night?! I really don’t understand how any human being could justify these types of things..!
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 2:59 pm Capitalism, don’t you know. Employers aren’t charities. Survival of the fittest stuff. The weak be damned.
anon-2* May 17, 2011 at 12:10 pm Companies do that — but your question, “how do they sleep at night?” (firing someone who suffers from cancer). They sleep well. That’s because at the end of the day, a manager that pulls a stunt like that generally doesn’t think that he/she has done anything wrong.
Anonymous* May 18, 2011 at 9:47 am I was given a poor review and my job was threatened, because I had to go out for multiple rounds of testing and then finally surgery. (FMLA saved my job, I think.)
Mike C.* May 15, 2011 at 1:23 pm Regarding the fellow with the misdemeanor, I would also suggest discussing the issue with either your state or federal representatives. Generally speaking, there are a lot of random things they can do or people they can put you in contact with to get things done. Just call them up, be short and factual and ensure that your are polite and professional. You’ll most likely talk to a staffer, and this is fine. Don’t be afraid to check up every few weeks to ask about progress.
Ask a Manager* Post authorMay 15, 2011 at 1:32 pm This is a very good idea. Legislators have staffers devoted to “constituent services,” and they can often help you solve problems like this.
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 8:15 pm My guess is they would refer the writer to their state or county bar association. Most have pro-bono help for every kind of legal matter under the sun.
Anonymous* May 18, 2011 at 9:49 am Absolutely. My boyfriend has gotten a lot of help with his disability case from our local Congressman’s office. If it hadn’t been for the wonderful woman who was his case worker, he might not have an income right now. It’s definitely worth making a call.
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 1:25 pm In response to the person who wrote in about being written up for surgery does their company meet the requirements for fmla and if so did the person writing follow the requirements for requesting leave due to the surgery? I’m also unclear about the write up for “going to the doctor”. Did they leave work without notice to “go to the doctor”? I usually err on the side of the employee in many cases but this one sounds like we are missing the other side of this story. In regards to the anonymous post at 1:08 I can’t even imagine working for a company that would write people up for having a heart attack at work or trying to help someone that had a heart attack.
fposte* May 15, 2011 at 5:39 pm The OP writes that they’ve been in the position less than a year, so they’re not eligible for FMLA, at least not federally. While it wouldn’t hurt to talk to a lawyer (especially since there may be state laws that cover people earlier), employees certainly can be written up or fired for taking unauthorized or excessive leave.
Anonymous* May 15, 2011 at 8:19 pm Unfortunately, there are no FMLA protections in place for new employees or those who work for small companies. I’ll never understand why not. It seems highly cruel for anyone to be PUNISHED for becoming ill, but it happens all the time. People are demoted, fired and paid-off with severance to keep quiet and not sue.
fposte* May 16, 2011 at 1:11 am I believe Massachusetts only requires 3 full-time months and 6 employees, which is pretty new and pretty small, but that’s also the easiest eligibility threshold in the country (I think). And of course there’s no need for severance to keep people from suing if they’re outside the eligibility limits, because they’ve got no grounds–their terminations were perfectly legal.
EngineerGirl* May 15, 2011 at 5:19 pm In regard to the incompetent employee. I would suggest talking to the manager one last time, but with a different twist. Let the manager know that you are really concerned about potential malpractice lawsuits resulting from your coworker misentering patient information. Be very specific, fact wise, what you have personally seen. It is possible that the manager is protecting her for someone’s sake, but mentioning that the company is being set up for a lawsuit ought to get her attention. If she still won’t listen it might be worth the risk of going to one of the doctors. After all, someones life could be at stake because of the mistakes. But you need to be very, very, factually specific about what you have seen. Your statement ” And I know and several other coworkers know she’s responsible for the errors but still she will be dishonest about it.” just doesn’t cut it. There are no facts there to check! You need to document exactly what you are seeing.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 10:23 am I’m curious why the misdemeanor is coming back as a felony. Is it possible that since then, that crime was changed to a felony? I don’t know how that whole aspect works, but I would find out why this is happening. There are probably going to be people who will evade those with any sort of criminal records (misdemeanor or felony, no matter), but if the background is falsifying the record, then that needs to be fixed. Go see a lawyer.
anon-2* May 16, 2011 at 12:26 pm Quite often, someone , as a young adult, is informed, “just sign this paper and you can go”, and then finds out 15 years later that he/she had pleaded guilty to a felony charge. There are also things that might even identify someone as a sex offender (a man urinating in the back of a parking garage at night, or a woman took her top off on a beach = public lewdness — now categorized as a “sex offense” in the 2000’s…)
Anonymous* May 17, 2011 at 11:23 pm While he might have signed papers, not knowing or reading what he was signing, apparently he still has those papers, which he wrote about showing to potential employers when they get a felony result. I think that if he is showing them to refute the felony charge, then I think his papers read misdemeanor, not felony.
Chuck* May 16, 2011 at 11:28 am Re: Criminal background check – From a blog I read – “Let me suggest a very underutilized resource that ex-offenders and felons can use to find jobs, One-stop Career Centers . Each state has a network of centers that offer a variety of free services that can get you ready for work and assist you in finding employment. In addition, these centers offer training programs that may prepare you for a career. Some services available are: Career planning and counseling Workshops (Resume Writing, Interviewing Skills, and related topics.) Computers with internet access and word processing Daily access to thousands of job listings Job-related magazines and local newspapers Job postings and referrals Printers, fax machines, phones, and copiers for job search use There are counselors there whose function is helping citizens gain employment. Many of them have experience working with ex-offenders and felons looking for employment.” URL – http://howfelonscangetjobs.blogspot.com/2011/03/ex-offender-in-texas-need-help-finding.html
Mike C.* May 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm As an aside, it pisses me off the lengths ex-offenders have to go to find employment. If they’re out of prison they’ve paid their debt to society and it’s time to let them get on with their lives. Holding them back from proper employment like we see above does nothing to help them or society at large.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 12:26 pm Let me introduce you to you to reality. When you have a ton of applicants it’s a no brainer to lump the felons into the loser pile. I mean all things equal are you really going to hire a felon vs. someone with a clean record. Yes, you’re supposed to tie it to the job, but can you think of a felony conviction you would be okay with if you owned a company.
Mike C.* May 16, 2011 at 12:44 pm No, you’re right. What was I thinking? It’s more realistic to shunt felons out of jobs they’re qualified for so they go back to dealing drugs and stealing cars rather than becoming productive members of society. Thanks for the “reality check”! PS: This study from the American Journal of Sociology shows that race is actually more important than criminal record. Skip to page 34 of the study for the correlation values: http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/papers/2002/WP-02-37.pdf “Reality check” right back at you!
anon-2* May 16, 2011 at 12:33 pm Mike, I agree with you – somewhat — but there are certain professions in which felons are barred from working, and also as someone before me said = do you go with the guy/gal with the clean record, or the one with the criminal record, if all things are otherwise equal?
Mike C.* May 16, 2011 at 12:52 pm I understand you might not want an inside trader working at your hedge fund, but outside of that if they’ve paid their price treat them as you would any other employee. The alternative is to say that once you’ve made a mistake there is nothing you can ever do to redeem yourself and become a productive member of society. It kills me when someone has been in prison due to drug addiction or something stupid they’ve done in their youth and we as a society actively prevent them from living a normal life after they pay their dues. People make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes are big ones. But that doesn’t mean they are suddenly unqualified for any sort of work. The reality is that if they weren’t treated as pariahs they would be better able to move back into society. If you can pay your bills, and feed/shelter yourself and your family you have less motivation to commit crime. Keep them out of work and it becomes their only option.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 1:08 pm I agree with this wholeheartedly. I’m the OP for the post “company withdrew offer due to criminal record – which I disclosed”. I’ve had written offers rescinded for a misdemeanor offense, which to me constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. My judge sentenced me to a fine and 16 hours community service, not “barred from employment for rest of your life”, but employers evidently don’t see it that way.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 1:20 pm Your argument is a noble one, but also an inexperienced one. You might argue it was a mistake, but I argue that there are always consequences to mistakes. Here are your options as a felon, get lucky, lie and pray you wont be found out, or shuffle through crappy jobs until the conviction is so old you’re not asked to disclose it. Tell you what, tell me when youre hiring and I’ll send you all of the felons that apply at my company.
Anonymous* May 17, 2011 at 1:13 pm Anonymous 1:20, you’re disgusting. You really think — no, really? — that over a misdemeanor conviction, with a suspended sentence, that I – with 15 years experience and a Master’s degree – should never be allowed to get a job, ever again??? Get bent.
Anonymous* May 18, 2011 at 9:56 am While I do agree with this, and I hope, hope, hope the Letter Writer can get his/her issue corrected (because that SUCKS,) there are cases when you might not want a felon working for you. I, personally, would not want someone with a history of violence working with children, animals, or the elderly or disabled, for instance. I wouldn’t want a sex offender working with children or other vulnerable populations…etc. Drug offenders? That’s a totally different issue, and it also pisses me off to no end to see drug offenders treated the same as rapists and murderers. Addiction is a disease and should be treated as such. (Dealers, I view differently.)
anon-2* May 16, 2011 at 12:46 pm “Following up with hiring manager after turning down an offer..” I once had that happen to me — where we had a “perfect fit” — perfect match for the position , and then the new employer expected me to take a pay cut! I declined the offer — stating that a “jump” for a pay cut was not a good career advancement strategy, I also had another job offer from someone else and was considering it — but as I was about to hang up on the HR person, she asked “If we were to offer you more, would you consider it?” I said “Perhaps. But please, don’t waste any more of my time. I will talk turkey with you *if you are serious*.” Within 25 minutes they called back with an acceptable offer. Now, this was not a ‘red flag’, but a yellow caution light, that this company only understood brinkmanship and that when promotion or serious raise time came, you would need to hang them over a barrel. It proved true a few years later.
anon-2* May 16, 2011 at 12:52 pm “Reality check” is that a business is NOT a charity or social services provider. They want good people with low risk. In today’s competitive world and recession economy, you almost always can find a highly qualified individual who does NOT have a criminal record. Your statement implies that felons should be given special treatment — or that their past should not be a hiring consideration. Most employers feel that it is. I don’t know how you’d change all that.
Mike C.* May 16, 2011 at 1:04 pm My statement says that if they’ve done their time and the crime has nothing to do with the business it shouldn’t factor into the hiring decision. I’m not implying anything here, I’m being very direct. No equivocation, no confusion and no tricks. I simply don’t agree with the “in today’s competitive environment” argument. The same argument was applied to plenty of other groups in history, specific races, women of child bearing age (or in general), the disabled and so on. If it’s not charity for employers to not take these factors into consideration, it’s not charity in the example I cited above. If it has nothing to do with the job it shouldn’t be considered. I don’t know how to change it but society would be a better place for all of us if those who make mistakes are allowed to make up for them and then move on to a better life.
Jamie* May 16, 2011 at 1:21 pm I think it’s really over reaching to compare selecting someone with a clean criminal record over a felon to those who have been discriminated against based on legally protected status. People make choices – but our race, gender, age, disabilities, etc. are not among them. The laws level the playing field for these issues…people who have chosen at some point in their lives to un-level their own playing field is a completely different scenario.
Mike C.* May 16, 2011 at 3:08 pm It’s not over-reaching at all. The reason the protection exists is not because there is no choice in the status but because the status has no effect on the business – women can be neurosurgeons just like men, and folks who use wheel chairs can make sales calls just like those who can walk. In the same vein, those who have paid their debt to society and who’s crime has nothing to do with the business should have the same consideration as anyone else with a similar skill set and experience.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 3:08 pm So what would you say if Martha Stewart came to your decorating firm looking for an entry-level job?
Jamie* May 16, 2011 at 1:14 pm I agree with anon-2 – with so many qualified candidates for any given position employers can certainly afford to be more selective. I understand the argument that people who have paid their debt to society should be able to reintegrate and earn a living. However, not all felonies are youthful indiscretions, or victimless crimes, and it’s a hard truth that some mistakes you will have to live with for the rest of your life. And yes, that means your employment opportunities may be limited. An employer owes nothing to a candidate aside from evaluating them fairly without any legally protected bias. An employer owes a great deal to it’s current employees, such as getting the best possible staff and not creating unnecessary risks. All things being equal I don’t want someone convicted of fraud managing my hedge fund, as was stated. By the same token I don’t want someone who has been convicted of assault to be the only other person with me in the office when I’m working late.
Mike C.* May 16, 2011 at 3:05 pm Jamie, didn’t I already lay out that if the crime had nothing to do with the business it shouldn’t be a consideration? I don’t know why you’re bringing it up when I’ve already conceded the point. It doesn’t matter what the crime was so long as it has nothing to do with the business at hand. It doesn’t matter if there were victims in the crime or not, the punishment has bee dealt and taken care of. If you don’t believe that this is enough then go ahead and advocate that we need more life sentences. But unless they are serving such a sentence they will become members of society again. When they come out their debt is paid and there should be no further punishment from others. There is no reason that people should have to live with such things for the rest of their life when they are actively trying to redeem themselves. The hard truth is that we’re a vengeful society that never forgives and never forgets. We’d rather they live under bridges and go back to illegal activities to make a living rather than give them a second chance and treat them as we treat others. We as a nation imprison more people in absolute and per capita numbers than any other nation on Earth. The fact that we don’t allow them back into society after their debt has been paid simply makes the problem worse. Every employee you hire is a potential risk.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 3:15 pm It would be quite ironic if an obese hiring manager (clearly with a food addiction) rejects a qualified candidate and recovered addict with a 20 year old drug-possession charge on their record. I’m pretty sure most people have some really ugly skeletons in their closet. Some get caught. Some don’t. Some are born into hardship. Others, not so much. I think it’s fair to judge people on who they are now, not who they were. Although, I draw the line on all rapists and child predators. Just throw them on an deserted island and let them fend for themselves.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 3:34 pm Mike, how many felons you’ve actually hired? I bet not many, if any at all.
Ask a Manager* Post authorMay 16, 2011 at 3:44 pm I think the issue is this: Mike is right that if past felons can’t get legitimate employment, they’re more likely to turn back to crime. It’s in all our best interests that people be assimilated back into society and employed. One could argue it’s good citizenry for employers to assist with this. On the other hand, it’s also true that it’s a solid tenet in hiring that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. That’s why good interviewers will probe heavily into past experiences and how candidates have handled past situations. It’s hard to convincingly say that past crimes should be exempt from this principle; it’s not crazy to assume that someone who has already shown themselves willing to commit a crime might be willing to do so in the future too. So there are conflicting principles here, which is what makes this a really hard issue, and not black and white. I do think it’s unrealistic to expect employers to shoulder all this risk by themselves, and if legislators/voters really wanted to prioritize this, I suspect there are all kinds of incentives they could set up to make employers more willing to take this risk.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 7:48 pm Something far more egregious is going on in hiring practices than keeping felons from getting work. Can we all agree that employer credit background checks are completely inappropriate, as employers make criminal assumptions against someone with poor credit even if they’ve never gotten a speeding ticket, let alone committed an actual crime?!!!
Joe* May 17, 2011 at 2:36 pm This whole conversation reminds me of the recent thread (in which I participated) about hiring/firing people based on political beliefs (including extreme political beliefs). I feel that Mike’s arguments here very much mirror the arguments I made on that thread. If the behavior in question is not related to the job at hand, why should the person be penalized for it? AAM makes a good point that it’s in everyone’s interests for ex-felons to get jobs, but it’s also in their interests, in some way, for _someone else_ to give them that job. But this same thing is true of various protected classes. Physical disability, for example: if I hire someone who is in a wheelchair, then I might have to make extra accommodations to make sure that person has access to everything they need. So, since every employer would want to dodge the responsibility of handling that themselves, the law provides protections for that class. And just like in Mike’s example, cases where the disability is directly related to the work are not protected; I can’t be forced to hire someone who cannot carry heavy boxes for a job that involves carrying heavy boxes. Have I ever hired an ex-felon? Not that I know of, but I’ve also never asked. (It’s likely that someone in an HR position asked before I ever saw a candidate, though.) Would I hire an ex-felon? I believe I would, as long as their crime was not related to the work.
Anonymous* May 16, 2011 at 2:57 pm Pardon the interruption… Totally random question for hiring managers: On average, how many candidates do you phone screen and interview in-person before making your hiring decision. If the job is a temporary one are the numbers the same?
Ask a Manager* Post authorMay 16, 2011 at 3:14 pm People vary, but I’ll usually do phone interviews with about 8-15 candidates, depending on the position and the candidate pool, and then in-person interviews with 3-5. You might find this post interesting: https://www.askamanager.org/2009/06/how-hiring-process-works-on-employers.html
Parker* May 18, 2011 at 8:51 am I read with interest those who are appalled at a company terminating someone with health issues. Hopefully you folks are not in management and even more hopefully you are not in human resources (or maybe you are one of those bleeding hearts that give the profession a bad name). Companies exist to serve their clients, make a profit, develop products, etc. I am so sorry you are sick, your cat is sick, your child has cholic, your grandmother needs her presription, etc. Employers want and need employees to come to work, period. They really cannot and should not care what your personal or health problems are. And I have found that 99 out of 100 people who complain about being fired for sickness have a record of prior poor attendance. Get over it and find another job with a social service agency.
Joe* May 18, 2011 at 10:08 am That’s right. The single motivation for all companies should be to make as much money as possible, and any decision made in service of that goal is acceptable, regardless of the human cost. That’s why there should be no minimum wage (companies could make so much more money if they could pay their workers less!), no laws regarding work hours/overtime (think how much more you’d get out of your workers if they’d work 100 hours a week for the same pay), child labor (I bet a lot of those kids don’t even need school, that’s just wasted time that they could be working instead), or safety/health issues (after all, if someone gets sick or dies, you just replace ’em, and no harm done to the company!). Snark aside, companies, like society in general, have responsibilities to people beyond pure profit, and enabling employees to deal with health issues is one of those responsibilities. Even if it’s not legally mandated, it’s still something companies should be doing.
Ask a Manager* Post authorMay 18, 2011 at 10:11 am There’s also a selfish, profit-motivated reason for companies to treat sick employees well: Other employees, and prospective employees, will see how you handle it, and you will not be able to hire/retain great people if you treat people poorly.
Joe* May 18, 2011 at 10:14 am This is true of white collar jobs which require a significant skill level (which, I suspect, most of the readers of this blog (myself included) hold), but less so for blue collar jobs (which can still require a significant skill set, but people in these jobs are often considered more expendable/interchangeable).
Anonymous* May 18, 2011 at 9:49 pm Parker, when judgment day does come (whether or not it’s this May 21st or not) how do you want to be judged? As the ruthless prick your post makes you sound like, or someone who showed compassion towards the suffering of others?
Mary* May 24, 2011 at 12:04 pm Alison asked me to post a comment here after answering my question. My question was ” Referred to employer, heard nothing back”. I must admit, now that I have read all the comments about being fired for getting sick and hiring felons I feel a lot better! My problems are trivial by comparison. Anyway, here’s what I did: I called and left a message for the employer and then I emailed the contact who had given me the the potential employer’s name and enlisted his help again. I figured I have nothing to lose and the contact might be interested to know that the employer is too busy (or whatever) to respond to applicants that he refers to her. Thanks Alison!