Plant Services - August 2007 - (Page 58) IN THE TRENCHES Lee took her suspicions to Acme’s HR department for advice on what to do when Shirley returns to work. The discussions took a right turn somewhere, which resulted in Acme hiring a private detective to find out what Shirley was doing. Within 48 hours, the investigator returned with an uncut one-hour video showing Shirley playing second base in a coed softball league game. Acme’s HR department interpreted the video to mean that Shirley was engaged in an activity that was somehow inconsistent with a claim of ankle injury. Lee was instructed to suspend Shirley without pay upon her return to work pending an investigation into whether Shirley falsified company records, in triplicate, which was, according to the company handbook, cause for termination. At the hearing the next month, Shirley offered no reason why she shouldn’t be terminated and admitted that she and Ken flew to Nevada, where they were married in one of those charming roadside chapels. How could this situation have been avoided? Now that it hasn’t, how should Acme respond to it? Is Acme’s vacation policy the root cause of the problem? Is Acme’s corporate culture part of the problem? Does it make sense to get romantically involved with a coworker? Should Acme modify its employee handbook in response to this case? Should the paperwork flow be improved since Lee did not receive the information in time to deny the initial request, which would have avoided the problem altogether? necessarily follow that either party will lie, defraud or cheat. This case isn’t about office romance, and shouldn’t be broadened to include those involved in office romances. This case is about the manipulative, deceitful behavior of one individual. It brings to mind a quote from the wise and gifted Maya Angelou: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Francie Dalton Dalton Alliances Inc. (410) 715-0484 fmdalton@daltonalliances.com An academician says: Sick days and disability leaves are recurring problems in most organizations. And they can be expensive. I don’t understand Acme having only two forms of paid time off – vacation and disability leave. Most companies have vacation days and sick days, both paid up to a specific limit. Disability is a different category as it implies being off of the job for an extended period and when returning, the employee may need special accommodation. Acme needs to rethink its policy on sick and disability leave (the vacation policy looks good). Let me talk a bit about sick leave, which is probably what Shirley should have taken if Acme had such. Companies have developed a variety of programs to avoid some of the disruptions that illness and disability cause. For example, some companies allow the employee so many “personal days” or “doctor days,” which the employee simply takes as needed – no explanation needed. This avoids the employee having to lie about being sick when they just want to handle some personal business. Other companies eliminate these distinctions by giving the employee a fixed number of paid days each year to be taken any way they want. They could be vacation, could be sick days, and could be personal days. The employee need provide no explanation. Once the days are used up, that’s it. Other companies allow employees to “save up” vacation or sick days, for which they receive a cash award at the end of the year. This avoids the perception by employees that sick days are simply free days with pay that have to be taken every year even if you aren’t sick. Companies have invented numerous rules. For example, no vacation or sick days are allowed before or after a paid holiday. No sick days can be taken in conjunction with vacation days. August 2007 A corporate consultant says: Although it’s possible that this instance may have been avoided if x, y or z had or hadn’t happened, the root cause here is Shirley’s deceitfulness. Having demonstrated that she’s willing to misuse company benefits, defraud the benefits provider, falsify records, elevate her wants above equally deserving coworkers, and lie about it all, more than once, would eventually result in more “deceptions à la Shirley.” Sure, if Acme’s paper flow were structured such that Shirley’s leave requests would have reached her supervisor in advance, this particular case might not have occurred. But even if her supervisor found out in advance and prevented Shirley from taking the time off, this wouldn’t have changed the facts of Shirley’s dishonesty. And perhaps the employee handbook should be modified. However, there’s absolutely no question that Shirley intentionally deceived Acme and other parties to get her way. If Acme expects its policies to be followed, Shirley must be terminated. Retaining her, regardless of her skill level, would send the message that policies are only going to be randomly enforced. This would make Acme vulnerable to claims of discrimination if all others don’t get the same consideration. Whatever one’s position on workplace romance, it doesn’t 58 www.PLANTSERVICES.com http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com
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