Suspension due to ~ sick w/Dr. note & called to pick sick child up from school !!!

[willofthewest]

I live in Wyoming and work for a LARGE national corporation ~ I am an hourly employee, with paid vacation (not usuable for sick days) ~ We have a no fault attendance policy that was made affective after our Union contract.. so it is not in our Union book. It is based on "points" which are given for being late, tardy, or absent (for any fault not of the company). I have never had a problem in any of these area's... until recently. I received a points for twice in 60 days being sick with a doc's note each time, 1 minute late (REALLY) to a before work safety meeting (but got there well before the meeting started), and because my son's school called me to come pick him up due to a high fever and my wife was at an appointment and couldn't be reached. I have been suspended for 3 days without pay... and told that if I get sick, or for any other reason miss work within the next 30 days I will be terminated! Is this legal??????? I see there is a Federal Family Medical Leave Act, but it appears to only cover serious illness... what about an individual getting sick as everyone will sometime or another??? Or having to pick up a sick child?? ARGHHHH ~ it seems so unfair and unreasonable!

 

[loku]

If the policy itself does not violate some provision of the Union contract, then what they did is probably valid as long as they did not violate their own policy. That is, if the points you were given were given according to the policy, then there is probably no recourse for you.

As far as firing you is concerned, they can fire you for any reason or no reason at all unless it is in violation of the union contract or their own policy, or if it amounts to discrimination on the basis of such things such as race, color, creed, etc.

 

[willofthewest]

THANKS for your time... I did find out that another (MUCH younger) employee was called out to take his son to the doctor, and he wasn't given a point... well, not until more than a week later, and only because I mentioned discrimination to my boss (he said, OH OH OH... you're right, we need to give him a point too. Which is NOT what I wanted, I wanted mine removed.) Also, they posted a Maximum Coliform Violation while I was home sick with my Doc note... my diagnosis was Gastronitis which can be caused by Coliform contamination. I drank some water the night before I got sick. I asked for reconsideration for my sick point due to this possibility and they said NO. My Union Rep is encouraging me to take (all of) this much further, any suggestions on how to proceed?

 

[loku]

Coliform Violation

It seems clear that if their “Maximum Coliform Violation” probably caused your illness, then you should not be charged a point. In most union situations, the union would represent the employee in such a matter. I assume your union will not or you would not be asking how to proceed.

If you have not yes discussed this with the HR representative in your company, that would be the next step. If that does not work, you could consider lodging a complaint with the state department of labor or employment, or you could consider having an attorney write a letter to the company HR on your behalf.