OT: Doctor's note for day off sick?

Thought #1: Page down to "Mechanic's Carpal Tunnel" by Tom Gardner. This is the other side of the coin, and the reason I was not anamaverting there about the ways the current laws are structured.

Thought #2: In Oregon companies either are automatically or can declare themselves to be "at will" employers, meaning they can let you go any time they want without having to tell you, and you can leave any time you want without giving notice. From that perspective it was nice of the company to give him a reason.

Thought #3: He was obviously working for an asshole, and now he's not

-- isn't that convenient?

Thought #4: If I were hiring I'd be mailing you off-list asking for his name, because I may be an asshole but not that particular kind, and if he's 1/2 as good as you say he'd be an asset in just about any position.

------------------------------------------- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services

I really have to wonder about the employer.

A friend of mine's sister came down with cancer. She worked, but had no health insurance. She was sick for quite a while before she went to the doctor. When she finally did she was told she should have came sooner and there wasn't much that they could do for her. When she couldn't work any more her boss mailed her a weekly check in full up until the day she died. He didn't have to do that but he did.

Richard W.

snip

I have a great job. Today I left work to get a haircut and was gone an hour and a half. No cut in hours and no hassle from management.

It is our policy that I can take off 36 days a year with little to no explanation and not be penalized (I don't though). I don't work in a high demand (deadline type) job however. I often work over and don't charge extra. Give and take is what I say and I think it works out ok as long as I get to do what I need to do pretty much when I need to. And vice versa!

I don't take this for granted and am very thankful!

If they wanted me to punch a clock....they would be getting less but I can do that to my benefit.

I am really sorry to hear of your brother-in-law's plight. Short sighted, profit now motivated management, demanding loyalty and giving none in return, get absolutely no sympathy from me. I would have sued them into bankruptcy even if I didn't get a dime!

My job, I wouldn't sue for any reason unless there was a total reversal of attitude.

Dale

Andy, I worked for Raytheon, which is reputed to be a rather hard-ass and demanding company (which it is), for over 15 years. To the best of my knowledge, nothing like you describe has ever taken place there.

I strongly suggest that your brother-in-law retain an attorney (on a contingency fee basis) to dispute his temination as being unfounded and unlawful.

Harry C.

People like this usually get screwed in life.

That said, regarding termination, most of the time employment is of "at will" nature. This means, roughly, that the employer can terminate an employee for no reason or for any reason, except for very few forbidden reasons (race, sex, and such). Conversely, an employee can quit at any moment.

So, your boss wanting to hire his friend instead of you, is a perfectly legal grounds for termination. Just as an employee quitting to go to work for a buddy of his, is again acting legally.

Firing that gentleman was not a nice thing to do, but it is unlikely to ever be found illegal, as such.

Now, if your employer made promises of continued employment, in brochures or corporate policy or whatnot, then arbitrary actions can be considered to be breach of those promises.

I am not holding my breath about that guy winning anything, but I sympathize.

i

And he probably outworked most and enjoyed it! He brought something to work you hardly see anymore...an ethic! I'd be proud to have somebody like that on my team! I cringe every time any management takes the low road. There are a lot of business owners that do the right thing and more but a few horror stories like this... Why can't people do the right thing, it's so much easier!

It takes character, integrity and wisdom to understand that, Tom.

"Andy Asberry" skrev i en meddelelse news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

With a medical history like that he shouldnt need to produce a note from the doc, especially if hes only had to stay away for work for 3 days in a year.. The policy where I work is that if you are sick for more than 3 days in a row the company is allowed to ask for a note from the doc.. It rarely happens tho..

I stayed home for 2 weeks once when I hurt my back pretty bad.. Nothing happened 'cept the boss called be to ask how bad it was..

Sounds like it, and over here the union reps would go ballistic if someone pulled that stunt..

Agreed.. He should either get hold of the union rep or a lawyer and give the company h*ll.. After doing that I wouldnt expect him to be welcome there.. Cases like this tend to make you unpopular w. the management :-)

/peter

I'm no HR manager, but I would think this would result in a very sticky legal situation. Even though most states are "at will" states, there are laws that prevent the singling out of any employee for dismissal. That's why most employers have policies written to protect themselves, usually concerning notices of misconduct or perfomance, starting with verbal, written, then termination, all documented to prevent any legal action from the dismissal. In this man's case, I would HIRE A LAWYER, then subpoena all the doctors' excuses from everyone who ever missed a day of work. If only this man was required to submit them... well, I'd hate to be that employer. Aside from that, this man was clearly physically disabled when he was hired (and doesn't play it), unless performance or misconduct was present, I would, as an employer, be scared to death that the ACLU would come to my door waving a copy of the Americans with Disabilities Act , wanting to know why he was let go.

Just hearing about this man's attitude, it's the employers' loss, not his. Ron

New York is also an "at will" state, believe it or not, but judges and arbitrators are very pro-labor. I can't even imagine a company here using 3 days off in a year as a reason for dismissal.

Becomes quite important when someone goes to try and collect his unemployment benefits.

You can also "layoff" an employee for whatever reason you wish--but if you instead fabricate some phony excuse in order to fire them then it needlessly leaves that person ineligable for collecting benefits without his first challenging the "firing" (which needlessly consumes further government resources).

Because your friend has had cancer, I believe this legal makes him handicapped.

Be *sure* that he tells the lawyer he talks to about the full details behind his illnesses.

Jim

Don, are you saying that "Common Sense" isn't so common? Management's only duty is to the stockholders, a companies most valuable assets are the people that make the company function. Who in their right mind would abuse a production machine? Every machine needs to be maintained, repaired and loved as it produces money. The same is true even more so for the human assets of the company. It just makes since! ...and dollars!

Make sure he mentions that he was missing an arm and a leg and partial sight in one eye, too.

--Winston

Andy Asberry wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

He needs a lawyer. The company that fired him put itself in a very bad, bad situation. If he has no reprimands for prior incidents, he probably can get just about any lawyer he wants at no cost to him. They will be more than willing to take on a case like this for a percentage. This could very easily (and probably does) fall under the scope of the ADA laws. He may not get his job back, but he may not need it when the case is done.

He would never sue because he would have to admit he is handicapped. He recently had a shop built. He wired to whole thing alone including

8' fixtures 12' up.

He pretty much covers the ground he stands on; 190# without an arm and leg. He can pluck a car battery out with one hand. Rides horses; restores classic cars.

He was out beating the bushes the next day. Remarkable guy.

He was a senior designer with a civil engineering firm.

Yep!

What Tim said, especially the first part of #3. As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

How can people go through life treating others that way and still sleep at night?

Harold

Some folks seem to have a sense of decency. Thanks for a very nice post.

Harold

I believe that there is eventually a settling of scores.