J
JustLaurie
Guest
I have two questions. 1) Can an employer require me to schedule all medical/dental appointments during the time I am off? I work in Texas as an audiologist in an ear, nose & throat dr.'s office M-Th, 9-6, and have an outside consulting job on Fridays at a large company (also in Texas). The office manager at the dr.'s office is insisting that I schedule all appointments, including any for my daughter, on Fridays. (If my daughter has to miss school for ortho appointments, etc, I would prefer that these be spread out, so that she is not always missing the same classes, etc.)
2) If it comes to a showdown, can the office manager insist that I not work anywhere else on Fridays? (If the answer is "yes," and this occurs, I will resign the dr.'s office.)
When I was hired at the dr.'s office, I was hired for a 32-hr week. I never signed or agreed to anything that said I would not work outside, or that I would schedule all medical/dental appointments outside my M-Th hours.
I have always been considerate & have done my best to schedule outside my hours, but it's not always possible, nor is that always in my, or my daughter's, best interest. In addition, 2 months ago I signed a contract to work Fridays as a consultant for another company. If you were to ask their opinion, I'm sure they'd say that, since I am only expected there once a week, they would not understand why I would deliberately schedule all my appointments for that day!
I should add that this outside company has far more potential for me. In fact, they are doubling my pay & allowing me to double my hours however I see fit after the first of the year. If I could get hired there full-time, eventually, it would mean all sorts of benefits, such as stock options & a nice retirement plan, that I do not have at the doctor's office, not to mention much greater income potential.
Here's what happened: after a full year of never taking time off from the dr.'s office, with the exception of a one-week hospital stay for a heart problem, I had a dental emergency come up. It was a gum infection from a recent endodontic procedure. (Gum infections & heart problems do not mix......)
This turned into a "no-choice" situation, where I had to go back to the endodontist ASAP. While I was there, I found out that the office manager had tried to track down the name of the endodontist (enlisting another employee to do so) to check out my "story!" Naturally, when this was discovered, she said that she had a reason to call - she had a "question" to ask me. Did she try to call my cell phone or page me? No! Did she still have the "question" when I returned? No!
Next, I made an appointment to see my dr. about some palpitations & to get a referral to the cardiologist. The palpitations had started about the same time as the gum infection & this was scaring me to think that maybe the infection was attacking heart tissue. I scheduled the appointment for 12:30. Well, the dr. was running late, and by 2:15, I was sitting in the examining room waiting to be seen, when my cell phone rang. It was my office manager calling to say that the dr. I work for was upset because I was still not back (our office re-opens to see patients after lunch at 2), and then she started lecturing me that I really need to schedule these things for Fridays.
I politely told her that not everything CAN be scheduled on Fridays, that I felt this was urgent, and that I do not visit doctors "frivolously."
Well, they are upset by this & it is making my work life difficult.
I live & work in Texas; what are my rights? I think I know the answer; I just need ammunition, because I foresee more trouble. It's ridiculous! I am paid hourly & docked myself for the time away.
It's ironic that OUR office is closed on Fridays - what would make them assume that everyone else is open? They get really "put out" when our patients get insistent about needing appointments at certain times or on certain days; their attitude is that, if they really need to be seen, they will take what we offer them.
Even if I did not have this consulting job on Fridays, I don't think it would be fair for them to expect me to schedule absolutely everything on Fridays. As things stand now, I will schedule my appointments at the earliest convenient time, and as far as I am concerned, Fridays are no different from any other days. And if there is an emergency, I plan to take the "first-available," without preference to EITHER job!
Please advise! Thanks!
2) If it comes to a showdown, can the office manager insist that I not work anywhere else on Fridays? (If the answer is "yes," and this occurs, I will resign the dr.'s office.)
When I was hired at the dr.'s office, I was hired for a 32-hr week. I never signed or agreed to anything that said I would not work outside, or that I would schedule all medical/dental appointments outside my M-Th hours.
I have always been considerate & have done my best to schedule outside my hours, but it's not always possible, nor is that always in my, or my daughter's, best interest. In addition, 2 months ago I signed a contract to work Fridays as a consultant for another company. If you were to ask their opinion, I'm sure they'd say that, since I am only expected there once a week, they would not understand why I would deliberately schedule all my appointments for that day!
I should add that this outside company has far more potential for me. In fact, they are doubling my pay & allowing me to double my hours however I see fit after the first of the year. If I could get hired there full-time, eventually, it would mean all sorts of benefits, such as stock options & a nice retirement plan, that I do not have at the doctor's office, not to mention much greater income potential.
Here's what happened: after a full year of never taking time off from the dr.'s office, with the exception of a one-week hospital stay for a heart problem, I had a dental emergency come up. It was a gum infection from a recent endodontic procedure. (Gum infections & heart problems do not mix......)
This turned into a "no-choice" situation, where I had to go back to the endodontist ASAP. While I was there, I found out that the office manager had tried to track down the name of the endodontist (enlisting another employee to do so) to check out my "story!" Naturally, when this was discovered, she said that she had a reason to call - she had a "question" to ask me. Did she try to call my cell phone or page me? No! Did she still have the "question" when I returned? No!
Next, I made an appointment to see my dr. about some palpitations & to get a referral to the cardiologist. The palpitations had started about the same time as the gum infection & this was scaring me to think that maybe the infection was attacking heart tissue. I scheduled the appointment for 12:30. Well, the dr. was running late, and by 2:15, I was sitting in the examining room waiting to be seen, when my cell phone rang. It was my office manager calling to say that the dr. I work for was upset because I was still not back (our office re-opens to see patients after lunch at 2), and then she started lecturing me that I really need to schedule these things for Fridays.
I politely told her that not everything CAN be scheduled on Fridays, that I felt this was urgent, and that I do not visit doctors "frivolously."
Well, they are upset by this & it is making my work life difficult.
I live & work in Texas; what are my rights? I think I know the answer; I just need ammunition, because I foresee more trouble. It's ridiculous! I am paid hourly & docked myself for the time away.
It's ironic that OUR office is closed on Fridays - what would make them assume that everyone else is open? They get really "put out" when our patients get insistent about needing appointments at certain times or on certain days; their attitude is that, if they really need to be seen, they will take what we offer them.
Even if I did not have this consulting job on Fridays, I don't think it would be fair for them to expect me to schedule absolutely everything on Fridays. As things stand now, I will schedule my appointments at the earliest convenient time, and as far as I am concerned, Fridays are no different from any other days. And if there is an emergency, I plan to take the "first-available," without preference to EITHER job!
Please advise! Thanks!