Can you legally state...no time off, ever?

[Cocopelle]

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin

I am currently in the process of being hired by a large company in SE Wisconsin. The position is a seasonal position at a utility company. During the interview process it was disclosed that I could not be considered a candidate for the position if I was planning on a trip or taking time off in the future. This was made in reference to not only the probationary period but also time past that covering the duration of the position.
My problem is that I have several trips planned in the next couple of months. 1 trip is to another state for a job opportunity (firefighter), which I have already made travel arrangements. The other trip is home for several days for my brothers wedding.

Can a company in Wisconsin legally state you are not going to be considered for this position if you are planning on missing a day of work? I understand absences are a problem and reduce productivity, but I have already made arrangements for travel even before applying for this position. Can this company legally state this at the time of hire or interview and back it? Similarly would they be in their rights to terminate me provided I accept the position and then inform them that I will be taking time off, but with the expectation that it will be unpaid and I would be more than willing to work on my other scheduled days off to make up the time? What are my options? I don’t want to miss out on this job opportunity, but I have other larger things in motion for my future.

 

[Zigner]

Yes - the company can do this.
Find a different job.

 

[cbg]

There is no state where an employer is prohibited from refusing to hire an employee who will need time off; nor does any state prohibit an employer from firing an employee who takes time off unless that time is protected under FMLA or an applicable state law.

It may or may not be a good business decision. It is not illegal.

 

[Beth3]

Yes, they can do this. You may have to take a pass on this position in order to proceed with your other commitments and plans.

 

[Cocopelle]

Thank you for the advice. It looks like I will have some thinking to do on whether or not I accept this position. Again thank you for your insight with my issue. I appreciate it.

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

Unless the money's so good that one could work the job for a couple years and retire, why would one consider taking such a position?

 

[xylene]

Good story of a few years ago.

Take job and then take your trip... on the day of your trip see what happens.

I had a job and these tools said you couldn't go to the doctor... In the handbook. Well after coughing for 3 weeks and me getting everyone in my department sick, I went to the doctor. Nothing happened.. yet.

I did get fired, but not for that. I got fired for being, their words, 'suicidally depressed' by their BS job they had me doing that had nothing with my education or what they had hired me to do. Hired me to be a map maker and then 1st day I'm doing billing on their 1970's legacy system! Pathetic.

That and because at some point (if you believe their story) I just I didn't give a crap, I stopped trying and they lost biggest client, got threatened to be sued, and they couldn't bill over 340k worth of work done and billable for 6 months.

Oh yeah, the trainee employee been there 2 months caused all that. I got bridge to sell you too...

Of course... I think you can see that I was railroaded by both my mangers, along with the division chief.. to save their jobs as they had been treating their best client like a cash cow and when they realized how much their neglect and stupidity had put them in a place that could not be recovered from they threw me under the bus.

How does somebody hired 2 months ago get fired for over 60 billing failures going back 6 months? You can when you were literally hired to be fired.

All while my loser boss was spending all day 5 days a week planning the county softball league. Softball is losers, and I told him (and the whole department that on my way out the door.) I knew I was going to get fired, so I said, I aint going out like a chump (3 people were fired that week and they did the little mouse crying routine. Not me.

First I went into the common area conference room to get my candy machine (I had free candy dispensing machine that I put jellybeans in for my co-workers, since they liked jellybeans very much. I wanted them to like me and more importantly I wanted an excuse to get the nasty Buffalo Bills cracked, dirty bowl out of our team area. I hate football, and I really hate dirty unsanitary plastic that every hand in the department grubbed on 15 times a day.)

I dumped all the jellybean on the counter. MESS THAT SEEMED LIKE AN ACCIDENT! Score one.

Then, they told me to just grab my stuff. IE all the reference books related to what I thought they hired me for... They give me this nasty Post Office plastic crate that they had been illegally using instead of a proper recyling bin... I throw all my good stuff in it an throw a ton of stuff out. Including all the work I had done for 2 weeks which they didn't understand but would have benefited their client... POOF. Score 2.

Then I get escorted to my car my boss and this pitiably creature of the security guy / janitor. I load my trunk, And my boss is like, "You know you can't keep the post office crate." I'm like "Oh sorry." and i proceed to forcefully dump the contents into my car trunk, obviously purposely smashing and destroying many of my personal items... And I go to hand it back to them, and boss man is just about to take it and I whip the crate the other direction and throw it a good 50 feet, landing it square on top of a 20 foot mountain of snow in the parking lot. Mouths AGAPE of the security man and my boss. Score 3

Bonus points: As I was driving away, I realized I had my corporate mug in my overcoat pocket.... SMASH. Gunned it out the window at the ugly corporate sign... (hopefully slightly damaging it although I don't actually know)... while evaporating the mug into a spray of shards.

Then I went home and cried.

 

[Beth3]

Take job and then take your trip... on the day of your trip see what happens. I suspect it won't do Cocopelle's career advancement any good to have to list on his resume that he was fired after just a few months on the job...

 

[xylene]

Take job and then take your trip... on the day of your trip see what happens. I suspect it won't do Cocopelle's career advancement any good to have to list on his resume that he was fired after just a few months on the job...

Neither would being a a job that sucks. the point of that long winded story was learn when to dodge a bullet. (Hint hint, you don't get an do overs and that story wasn't exactly true biography. )

If you cant read between the lines... I'll just spell it out plainly. Don't take the job with a weird BS policy because something in that company is screwed, and the next thing to be screwed will be the next person hired.