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I can do the job, mostly, really

Fee Phi Faux Phumb I Smell t'Socks o' a Puppetman! — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:20:37 -0800

I have a tricky job-application scenario: basically, I can do all the requirements that were advertised, but I have excellent reason to believe they expect the person in the position to semi-regularly do something my health prevents me from doing at all. How do I handle this in the application/resume process? The job description and situation, as advertised, is basically perfect for my skills, interests, and everything else.

The thing is, I know the person who had the job before was on-call 24/7, and sometimes had to drop everything (including sleep) and run off to take care of something (the something - it varied - could happen anywhere in a ~450 mile radius.) This only happened a few times a month at most, and I have no philosophical problem with it at all; in my younger and more foolish years, this would have been a plus, honestly.

Unfortunately, health reasons prevent this from being even a remote possibility for me - this is well inside in "my doctor will make me go see someone else if I sign up for this, because it really is that irresponsible" land.

So! I'm in a pickle. Two questions:

1. Do I bother applying?
2. At what stage do I let them know about my problem?

I don't want to waste anyone's time, but I would love the job as advertised. I'm reasonably confident they will let me interview if I send in a resume & application but do not disclose my issue. I also don't want to burn bridges with these people, because I would really love to do several of the jobs they may eventually have open (it depends largely on folks retiring.) Oh, and I'd really rather not my boss knowing I'm looking for outside work unless there's at least some shot I can get the job (and she will know if I apply - she knows all these people much better than I do, and they will call her, quite possibly before the interview stage.)

There are, as far as I can see, three options other than not applying at all:

1. Disclose in the cover letter,
2. Disclose in the interview, or
3. Disclose the first time they say "oh and by the way, here's the pager" (which might be during the interview.)

What are the pros and cons? As a hiring manager or HR person or other employer type, what would you recommend? Is it foolish to even try this?

I have talked with someone I know in the office (not the hiring manager, but someone who helped advertise it,) and she's pretty sure the position will still include the on-call stuff.

How do I navigate this health insurance situation?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:11:08 -0800

How do I figure out the details on a tricky health insurance situation so I am not doing anything shady, but also don't accidentally end up many thousand of dollars in debt? The situation is this:

I am currently covered as a dependent under my father's excellent health insurance. I am under the age of 26. I have a surgery (septoplasty) scheduled for May 9th, already approved by my father's insurance in writing, according to my physician's office.

On June 1st, I will be able to enroll in my employer's health insurance, and will do so. It is significantly lower quality insurance than what I'm on now, but I know that even if the coverages overlap (they will for several months) that the Coordination of Benefits policies mean that my employer's policy will have to be considered my primary insurance. At least that's how I understand it.

My core question is this: If I postpone the surgery until mid-June, because of scheduling difficulties (wedding, business trip, etc, are all around that time), does that mean the new employer's insurance will have to handle the billing? Or because it was already approved by my current insurance, am I covered by them for that procedure?

Through the current insurance, the surgery will cost me less than $100. If the current insurance denies responsibility somehow, and the new insurance has to foot the bill, it will cost me several thousand dollars. I am hesitant to contact either insurance about this until I have a better idea of how it might play out.

I don't intend to skirt any laws and will have the surgery as scheduled if necessary, but it would be monumentally easier on myself, my job, and my family if I could have the surgery in June and still have it covered by the current insurance.

I am located in New Jersey, and my father, the primary insured, is in Arizona.

Please guide me! I really appreciate any insight.

Throwaway email: mefiseptoplasty@gmail.com

Saving for retirement with no employer retirement program

Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:46:44 -0800

How to save for retirement when my employer offers no retirement savings program and I cannot contribute to an IRA tax-free? Details inside. I am 35, married, and live in the U.S. (New York). My current employer does not offer any kind of retirement benefits—no 401(k), nothing. They've hinted they might, and I've made my interest in such an offering clear, but it's a small company and I doubt we'll see any movement on that front.

Meanwhile, I have for many years maxed out my IRA contribution annually. It's not nearly as much as you can put into a 401(k), say, but it's not nothing. However, my wife's income is now much higher than mine, meaning that my IRA contributions are no longer tax-deductible. (I also cannot start a Roth IRA for the same reason.)

So what options, if any, do I have, aside from socking away savings that I've paid full taxes on? Thank you.

Company has my cv. I changed parts concerning the past. Send it again?

Triton — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:21:22 -0800

Should I sent a potential employer and updated version of my cv, when the difference concerns the past? In the version they have, I didn't include one project I was working on, but I would include it now. I'm a computer science student nearing my graduation. I've been in contact with a potential employer, Employer Inc. Several months ago I've sent them a copy of my cv, but didn't proceed with the application because my graduation was then still too far away. In the first version of my cv, I've omitted some paid coding work done for an open source product, because the part I was working on was ultimately scrapped and none of my work made it into the release. My embarrassment about it was the reason for not mentioning it the first time. In the meantime, I've continued working on the project and the new work was included in the release, mostly bugfixes and GUI stuff.

As I see it, my options are:
1. Leave the CV as it is.
2. Send them an updated version in which I only mention the second time I worked on the project, where I can point to (albeit unimpressing) results.
3. Include the whole time and hope they don't notice the difference.

What would a lawyer call this?

otto42 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:33:28 -0800

Is there a legal principal here, and if so, what is it called? YANML. Question about paying for a service that is impossible to benefit from. Explanation and example inside…. I am less concerned about the possibility of winning or losing an argument at some point and more interested in whether a specific legal principal or phrase describes the following example.

Example:
A person is fired from a job on June 1, XX. That person is no longer covered by the employer’s health plan. The person and the employer spend June and July (60 days) negotiating a severance package. On August 1, the fired person negotiates a severance package whereby the employer will pay 75% of the premiums for six months.

Let’s say that the settlement contract does not give specific dates as to what six month period would be covered.

The employer tells the fired employee that the premiums they paid the insurance company cover the period from June 1 to December 1 (six months.)

The fired person’s problem:

Premiums were paid for June and July on August 1. Therefore, the fired person can not benefit from the coverage because they can not go back in time.

So my question remains, is there a legal term or principal or phrase that describes not being able to exercise a right because a person could not know they had the right? (Put another way, the person’s coverage for the first two months has no value because June and July have already passed.)

The new employee is sketchy, and only I know it.

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:14:14 -0800

I just started a new job as a researcher. They hired a few people around the same time as me and we all have start dates around now-ish. I've been there a week. There is a new guy starting in my department in a more senior position than me, but not supervising me, on Monday. I just got his name today and looked him up, and... there are some things about him that a little bit of digging uncovered that are sketchy. (It's definitely him, please give me the benefit of the doubt here.) His job is not likely to be impacted by these revelations about his recent past, but if it were to get out that his history includes these things, it could endanger my company's reputation if a competitor or journalist found out. Nothing he did is illegal. What is my ethical duty here? I'm brand new to the company. It could be that someone knows these things about him and doesn't care. But unless he divulged these things about his past, it's unlikely that anyone currently at my workplace has the skill to find the information where it is "hidden."

my employer is fucking me over. what can i do?

windykites — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:46:06 -0800

Do I have any recourse against my employer, who misled me about the terms of my hire, and can you recommend some resources to quickly find work and make him my ex-employer? I'm in Ontario, I am already a recipient of assistance (because I) do not get enough work to be eligible for unemployment. When I was hired, I was told that I'd start part time as a trainee, and take over the fulltime position of an employee who was leaving for an extended (several month) vacation in a month. I asked for these terms in writing; it never happened.

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

After a few conversations with my employer about my hours not being enough, I had a really frank discussion and told him that if I didn't start receiving at least 25 hours a week, I wouldn't be able to pay my rent and would have to find a new job and leave this one. My boss made a lot of sympathetic noises and pretended to care and that he'd work something out for me, saying there'd be a lot more hours available soon. This was a few days ago.

Now the next week's schedule has been posted, and it turns out employee who left is coming back at full time hours starting next week, and my hours have been reduced even further. They make the schedule in advance so there's no way he wasn't aware that this would be happening.

I feel like my manager is trying to get me to quit (he overhired in the first place). I believe he just wanted a temp to cover the busy holiday season and this employee's absence, but my 3-month probation is up so he can't just fire me. I am choosing to believe that the fact that I'm the only black cashier and the only cashier getting significantly reduced hours is a coincidence, but it is hard not to wonder if that's a factor.

I'm already looking for another job. I'm handing out resumes and i've signed up with two employment agencies and have told them I'm willing to do basically anything I am capable, office-csr-cashier-fastfood-waitress-warehouse-factory-shovelling pig poop-anything. They're useless and haven't found me anything.

My question's twofold: 1) is there anything I can do about my employer screwing me over like this?

2) are there any avenues to find work quickly? I remember ads for a temp agency that could get you work the next day, but that was years ago and I can't figure out which one it was or if anyone still offers that service.

Fired. Helped me get hired again.

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:43:51 -0800

How do I talk about being fired in future job interviews? Advice and encouragement needed. This was me. I was fired from my job of 11 years because of having too many absences. I was intermittently under the care of a psychiatrist and therapist, but I was not able to fight my way out of depression, social anxiety, ADD and a thyroid disorder enough to make it out of the house and to work every day. At the time I was fired I was on short term disability, but the employer had no choice but to let me go; I wasn’t there to do my job.

Prior to that, I had 10 years of work at this company, and an additional two years of work at another company. I excelled at my job, was promoted twice while working there, and had excellent working relationships with my coworkers and supervisors.

What I have been up to in the past year and a half:
- I worked with my GP, psychiatrist and therapist on a lot of the various issues that contributed to my debilitating condition. I am on new medication and I have made huge dietary and lifestyle changes. I am now in a place where I can honestly say that I feel more physically, mentally and emotionally stable than I have felt in my life.
- I have worked as a freelance writer for Textbroker and have been taking online courses to brush up on my Microsoft Office skills.
- In the last year, I have become a primary caregiver for my seriously ill mother.

Other data points:
- There is obviously no way to leave this job off my resume (I worked there for 11 years, my entire adult employed life so far). I cannot and would not lie or omit the fact that I was let go from my previous job. If it came to light that I lied on my application, I could be fired. I can’t say that I “needed a change” or that “I left to pursue other interests.” Employers are rightfully going to want a specific, truthful explanation.
- I am not sure of the policy of my former company regarding what they say when called for a reference. I am sure they would not say I was fired, but if asked if I was eligible for rehire they would most likely say no.

Questions:
- How do I talk about this to future employers? I know enough not to get into a long-winded explanation about my mental health, but how much do I say? Do I need to say it was from absences, or should I say something like “I was unable to perform my job."
- I think I need to showcase what I have learned and demonstrate why this will not happen again. Are there any “magic words” that those in a hiring position would look for? How much detail do I give when talking about what I have been doing during this time? Do I mention caring for my mother? Do I get into the areas I have improved upon in my personal life (which directly correlate to my working life)?
- How do I use my successes in the past to sell myself for future jobs? I know I can't rest on my laurels, but do they count for anything in this situation?
- Do I call an HR person at my former company and just straight up ask them what their policy is of confirming or denying eligibility for rehire? Do I really have to get a friend to call and pretend to be asking for a reference about me to see what they say?

I am looking for experience from others who have been in this situation, and opinions from those in hiring positions. I know the odds are stacked against me, and I know that I would be looked at as a risk for employers. I want to be real and honest, and I want to deal with what I experienced and move on. Thank you for any advice or encouragement you can give me.

Throwaway email still: nowork2011@gmail.com.

My employer stole my money?

cartoonella — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:51:18 -0800

How to pursue check theft with my employer Over the past year or so, my workplace has had a rash of random thefts - everything from computers and microphones to jewelry and clothing, phones and chargers, to bowls, plastic tableware and coffee creamer. There was a lot of hand-wringing and holding of meetings for a while, and then nothing - just a directive to employees to not bring in items we don't want to lose, and lock up everything else.

The response from management was a bit lacking. I felt unsafe and resented the fact that nothing had really been redressed. I had asked about compensation for my lost items (a phone charger and some burnable cds) and they said they weren't going to compensate me.

I brought it to the green. I got some advice to go to the police if it continued. I hadn't done that yet, but was considering it.

So - a friend owed me some money recently, and wanted to send me a check for it. I asked him to send it to me at work, because the mail delivery at my apartment can vary as to times, and I'm at work all day. So I asked him to send the money to me at my work address. I now realize that was a terrible move.

I waited for a week, didn't receive anything. The guy swore up and down he'd sent the check. All I knew was I hadn't received it, so I asked him to check with his bank. He did - and sent me a copy of the cleared check, which had been endorsed by - my employer!

I was stunned. It wasn't something HR would do. Somebody saw that envelope and figured it must contain a check. They opened an envelope addressed to me, stamped it with the company endorsement stamp, and cashed it. I mean, this is what I assume from what I'm seeing. I told my employer, and emailed HR the copy of the cleared check. No response yet - they're "working" on it.

The check was for $100. I assume my employer has theft insurance, but I can't get a straight answer from them. If they refuse to compensate me, is it time to file a report?

I'm also a union member - I have a call in to my union rep in case they can help, but I doubt it. They tend to side with management, even in one instance when they felt I was in the right. "I agree with you on this," the rep told me, "but is it worth making waves over?" That's their attitude, so not holding out much hope for that quarter.

I mainly want my money back, but I'm also wondering which fellow employee of mine had the cohones to open a check addressed to me, and cash a check made out to me. I'm not into vigilante justice or anything, but it would be nice to know that this person has received some sort of warning or wrist slap or SOMETHING. It has to be someone in the admin office, because they have access to the company endorsement stamp. Also, the name of the bank that processed the check is printed on the photostat of the cleared check. HR could probably easily determine which of their employees use that bank. I mean there are ways to narrow down the range of possible folks here that could be responsible.

Also - if someone has cashed my check, is there anything else the bank could tell me about this? The check was cashed at a bank where I don't have an account. Should I pursue details with them like what time and day it was done, which branch, etc? Am I vulnerable to further ID theft? What steps should I take to try to prevent further incursions on my finances and my sanity here?

I'm glad the check wasn't for a huge sum of money, but I'm still out $100. Any ideas appreciated.

I want it all, I want it all, I want it all and I want it now.

fearnothing — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:10:56 -0800

Help me talk about salaries to a potential employer! Snowflakes inside! So, I'm in the final year of my Forensic Computing degree and I've been throwing out a few feelers for jobs already. One came up on my radar for a company literally around the corner from my University - fantastic! I'd love to stay in the area. The company's a very small (half a dozen employees), highly versatile business involved in technology investigation and consulting (digital forensics, incident response, intellectual property rights and a few other things).

Today I had a phone call with the MD who outlined the kind of work they do on a day-to-day basis; it's extremely varied and calls for a lot of lateral and analytical thinking. There's no real routine because it's highly dependent on the contract they're working on at the time. He told me that up until now he'd recruited from industry, and that the current position was the first graduate he was looking for, so he still hadn't pinned down the position's salary.

He asked me to contact him with my CV (resumé) and a covering letter and said if I had a good idea of what ballpark figure a graduate like myself might expect, that I should include that too. I have a reasonable idea, but I want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot by aiming for the moon (please excuse the mixing metaphors!).

Pertinent details:

I have much more experience than most graduates, including 3 1/2 years in two different technical support roles and 1 year undergraduate placement as a forensic analyst

I have expert witness training and have appeared in court as an expert witness

I am getting excellent grades and if I miss a 1st class degree, it won't be by much

The job is located in the North West of England.

Both of us had just attended a talk by a manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers who described a similar role at PWC with a graduate salary of £32,000

A similar company in the south of England, CCL Forensics, recruited a friend of mine with a 1st class Honours degree on a salary of £33,000

The company in the North I did my placement at employs computer forensic examiners on a salary of approx £20,000 - but the position I am applying for requires a lot more flexibility and adaptability from the sound of it

Is stealing a big issue at work, or just sort of, meh?

cartoonella — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 11:24:20 -0800

Theft problem at work creating lack of trust I'm a little baffled by my employer's response, or lack of response, to a rash of workplace thefts that have been happening over the past six months. I'm wondering what you think of it, and whether my suggestion that we start random drug testing was out of line.

So everything from computers and microphones, cds and phone charges, have been lifted at my workplace recently. If there's any pattern, it seems that somebody was focusing mostly on gadgets and office supplies at first. So they locked down the studios and rooms that held supplies in the evening. Seemed to work for most things.

Then things out of the kitchen started disappearing - bowls, glasses, crockery. Nothing valuable. Then this person or people got into the basement somehow (which as I understood it is some kind of uber-privileged secret dungeon that only two people on the planet have ever had the key to, so not sure how that happened), and started stealing sealed crates of coffee creamer, napkins and toilet paper, and plastic tableware.

To me, it looks like the pattern of stealing you see with substance abusers. I'm related to a couple of these, so it just screams opportunistic lifting of anything that isn't nailed down for purposes of resale. Especially with the stuff that was sealed in like-new packaging, it seems like this would be great to shop to the convenience store down the street that sells Diet Coke and bongs, you know? Either that or it's a klepto who just wants to steal little stuff for the kicks.

It's really sort of depressing. I bought a tower of burnable cds and forgot to take them home on Friday night - today it's poof, gone. It makes you feel violated. People have gone through my drawers, apparently, and taken weird random items that don't seem like anyone else would really want them. My studio and cabinets have no locks - and they're not paying to get me a locking cabinet. So I've taken to not bringing in stuff I don't want to lose anymore. So far so good. But -

Why no effort to actually resolve the problem, instead of telling us to live with it? I suggested that since the thefts seem to be happening overnight and on weekends, was there any way we could put a spotlight on our evening crew?

Everyone was aghast at that suggestion. "Oh no, that would be profiling!" The overnight guys - board-operators at our radio station - are a nice group of guys (although poor as church mice at their rate of pay) and everyone likes them. So I see their point, but what is this fear of pointing the finger?

Personally, I no longer take thoughtless risks and I do what I can to keep my stuff safe. But I'm annoyed by the lack of response to our concerns. How hard would it be, on the morning after a new theft is reported, to simply:

1) check the electronic keycard records to see who entered the building
2) narrow down the range of possibilities
3) talk to the folks in question and ask for the return of the item

I suggested this in a meeting, and got the response, "Well, but it might not be someone who works here. It could be someone they're inviting in to the building." So I said, "Okay, so if our employees are inviting non-employees into the building overnight and on weekends, maybe we should put a stop to that?" No coherent response.

Cameras have been suggested - everyone balks at that. Invasion of privacy, we're not a prison, etc.

I also mentioned that drug testing might be helpful. It just seems like a reasonable option. Sure, you can't accuse someone who fails a drug test of stealing - without other evidence. But once you've removed them from their job, you don't have to confront them. You've solved the problem tangentially, and without damaging anyone's self-esteem (God forbid).

The workplace is paranoid these days, and I feel squiggy knowing that my studio is regularly being rifled by unseen hands. I don't know who to trust - the person stealing my stuff could be the person I'm yakking with over coffee about all kinds of aspects of my life. I feel my employer is really not taking care of me here. Have I got any sort of grounds, as an employee, for insisting they deal with the issue, or is this something I just have to let go?

Is employee conduct or disciplinary standings protected information in B.C.?

pahalial — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:28:54 -0800

[YANML] Are private sector managers in British Columbia restricted in what they can discuss amongst themselves with regards to employee's conduct or disciplinary actions taken as a result? I understand that PIPA protects employee confidentiality around "personal information", which very clearly covers things such as health information and financials. However I'm much less clear on whether anything limits the disclosure/discussion of employee conduct, especially within a given organization. PIPA would seem by my reading to exclude it as being part of the unprotected "work product information." However, it could be argued that information about disciplinary action is personal in nature.

I was not able to find anything addressing this in the Canadian Labour Standards regulation. Can anyone point me to applicable law/regulation/rulings around this, or publicly documented (specific) best practice?

clueless supervisor

singinginmychains — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:21:03 -0800

As a supervisor, what can I do to help my assistant feel more needed or is it a lost cause? Lots of snowflakiness inside. A little over a year ago, I moved into a higher position at the institution I was already working at. The tasks of the job were very different and I was given the task of supervising one part-time employee. My predecessor in this position was less technologically inclined and took longer to complete certain projects, and so this part-time employee was taken on during her tenure to assist with various office tasks.

I'm sure you can see where this is going: I complete tasks at a much faster pace, and so I am not passing things off to the assistant. I have worked to create new projects for her and to increase her workload. The truth of the matter is that in most, if not all, respects, her position is obsolete despite the tasks I have added. Most of the tasks given to her since I have been here have been at the expense of my own position.

In the past year, I have tried to convey this to my supervisor as well as to the HR office about three times. Each time, the stance has been that the position should be maintained (people are rarely "let go" here, as that is always seen as a last resort -- thankfully). However, the financial state of this institution is not very good. We are facing salary cuts and increases to our health insurance premiums (which are to occur simultaneously).

On the one hand, perhaps it is time to eliminate the position. It is possible that she could move into another office to work, but I am not sure of the likelihood of this. On the other hand, she is a person who relies heavily on the tuition benefit this job affords her (half off tuition for her children, one of which is currently a college freshman).

This is my first time in the role of supervisor, and I am really struggling with what to do. Any advice, MeFites?

I'd really like to like this job

Harry Potter and the Puppet of Sock — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 15:25:49 -0800

I have a job that I like (or at least I like sometimes) with a boss who alternately micromanages and is totally hands-off. Morale at the store is really low, particularly lately, as we've had several big tasks to juggle. I need advice on how to deal with it. Snowflake details inside. The job is one I like; it's a bookselling gig, and I love books and talking to people about them. It's dealing with the boss(es), who are also the store's owner(s), that's hard.

So there's one boss, mostly, and she's the store owner, but her partner is in the store a lot and so we sort of report to both of them. Her teenage son also works at the store; he has made several *major* mistakes recently (including deleting a ton of special orders and leaving the doors open overnight); this is part of my frustration with working there, since I don't feel like any of the rest of us would ever get away with that kind of shit. There is one manager and a couple of shift managers; I'm technically a shift manager sometimes, I think, but there is no formal managerial positions or much of a hierarchy.

The boss/owner suffers from chronic physical illness(es) which have been keeping her away from the store more and more. Communication with her has to be done via phone and email when she's sick. We get task lists occasionally by email, and tone is sort of hard to decypher there but she frequently sounds sort of pissed off at us. Requests (such as for better chairs, since we sit on stools that make all of our backs hurt) go over badly; the better stools request got a response (sent to all the employees) that was a 800+ word tirade about all the stuff we've been doing wrong. I at once point attempted to make a suggestion about stuff to add to a section I know she knows nothing about and got an email back berating me for wasting time on a section where nothing sells (which was upsetting on two levels: the being berated one, and the one where she thinks we should ignore sections where nothing sells, since if they're doing that poorly we probably need to fix something).

We never get positive feedback on what we're doing.

The most recent crisis has been a rearranging of about 1/4 or 1/5 of the store. We were sent instructions on how to do this and have been following them as closely as possible (her emails are often hard to decipher, partially because translating words to physical space is hard and partially because she's long-winded and unclear). This morning we were warned by her partner that she'd been in this morning and was rearranging stuff and was really upset at our failure to follow instructions (we'd been following them, painstakingly, to the letter). Her emails to us didn't have a pissed off tone as expected, but the warning really colored the day, and all of us were pretty miserable. (We have the store open while we're doing this, so we're constantly interrupted from our tasks to man the registers and help customers. No extra employees have been brought in for extra hours while this is going on.)

I know this is a really long list of complaints, so let me just state: I love books, I love getting advanced readers, I love talking to people about books. The bookstore is beautiful; there are a lot of book-related stuff that the boss(es) are great at; it's the managerial stuff that totally sucks.

So I need advice, basically. I'm considering talking to the boss, or writing her (I'd rather write her, since I can control my tone and emotion better that way). I'm looking for other jobs and can probably find something tolerable if I definitely need it (IE if I get fired). How do I do this? What do I say? Should I say anything at all? I'm so stressed out and emotionally messed up that I'm having a hard time thinking about this in a way that's useful.

Don't go readin' my texts!..

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:04:37 -0800

...they couldn't if they tried? Do employers read text messages on employer paid cell phones? How likely is it that employers actively monitor text messages of company paid cell phones?

I can see lots of reasons why it would behoove them to do so, albeit in a creepy way. But they could have all this dirt on people and know who was naughty and nice and who was about to get a new job and who drinks too much and so forth. But...do they?

Is there such thing as active monitoring of company paid cell phones? To the point where they routinely have and use the option to read texts? Is this complete paranoia and something that is reserved for uber secure jobsites and not something that your average midrange McCorporation would do?

Any data points? I googled a bit and couldn't find any nuts and bolts answers.

Asking anonymously because I don't want to go on record as being worried about my employer reading my naughty texts. Duh. :P

Is my employer compensating coworkers and myself fairly? Need opinions.

Snorlax — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:34:00 -0800

Is my employer compensating coworkers and myself fairly? Need opinions. I work full-time for a lawn care/grounds maintenance company with, at the moment, four coworkers and my employer. At the moment our days go something like this:

7:15 - meet at shop
7:30 - trucks leave shop
7:45/8:00 - arrive at first job site

30 minute unpaid lunch break and one or two paid 15 minute breaks.

4:30- leave last job site
4:45 - arrive at shop, put away and wash equipment
5:00 - Leave shop, go home.

Employees clock in when they arrive at their first job site, and clock out when they leave their last job site. So 8:00 - 4:30, minus the lunch break, is an 8 hour day.

Now, I realize there are several things wrong with this. First of all, employees are not compensated for driving to the job site. I can see where this would make sense in some jobs, but in my company the employees are driving the company trucks and transporting the equipment to the job site, usually without the employer. Simply driving the company trucks and transporting the equipment should entitle the employee to clock in, no?

Secondly, my boss understands that we take time at the end of the day to unload and wash the equipment. In respect, he explained to me that he adds an hour onto our time at the end of the week to compensate for this.

Despite an hour probably not being proportionate to the amount of time we likely spend unloading and washing the equipment, this just feels wrong. Adding hours at the end of the week seems like it would escape any possible overtime (>8 hours) that we might have been entitled to had the time been added on properly to that day.

Recently one of our new employees quit over this. He basically told my boss that he was cheating us out of money, and that none of the
other coworkers had the balls to say anything about it.

Tomorrow morning we are having a meeting about this, and I want to get an idea of what is reasonable to expect, and how to go about telling my boss? Should I be asking to be entitled for driving to and from job sites? Is this very common among other companies? Obviously I already have a good idea if I am asking the question, I would just like some second opinions on this.

This is my first full-time job. Although I don't feel I am being taken advantage of, I would like the time I spend, away from home at work, reflected in the hours I worked.

If an employer requires a training course, shouldn't they also pay for it?

robotnixon — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:20:34 -0800

Is it legal for an employer to force employees to pay for a training course? My wife works in a fairly high-end hair salon and the owners organize a yearly training day. Attendance is mandatory and each employee must pay $700 to attend. The class lasts about 4 hours and there are 30 stylists attending, so this isn't going to be very personal. This is not for any type of certification, and they won't be acquiring any new skills they can market. Since all of the employees are on commission, they will receive no hourly compensation either. Many of them have to take the day off to attend so they're losing money on top of paying. We're in Michigan, and I haven't been able to locate any information on the legality of this. If it isn't legal, any advice on how to handle this?

Laid off with no termination date.

wigsnatcher — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:59:34 -0800

I've recently found out via public notice that the company I work for is closing, but I don't know when. The boss hasn't said anything to my colleagues or me. How do I approach him? My colleagues are too scared and shocked to speak to the boss, and it looks like I, the most junior member of the team, may have to do it.
Obviously I am applying for new jobs like mad and I have some references lined up, but I NEED to know when we are being terminated. The reason why I am hesitant to approach him is because we all work closely with him and he is prone to losing his temper - when he is in a bad mood, everything is awful. Obviously this is all majorly fucked up, but we all need to keep our jobs for now. Can someone please give some advice on how to handle this situation?

Keep my boss from taking credit for my work.

KoiPond — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:15:54 -0800

How do I keep my somewhat petty, probably vindictive boss from taking credit for writing all of the online content that I write for the company website? I want to be sure for the sake of my resume that if he tells fibs or "exaggerates", I still have a sufficient way to show that the work was done by me.

Can a US employer ask what medications I'm on?

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:55:17 -0800

An employer decides to update their employee database and distributes a form with the usual name, address, emergency contact stuff on it. There is also a line for "Any medications you are currently taking." It's not clear or implied that the answer will affect employment, but it's not clear that it won't either. Filling the form is a requirement for getting the employee's paycheck. Some of the employees at this company operate machines. The company has a random drug testing policy in effect. Public safety is not a concern; we're not talking about pilots or bus drivers or anything like that.

Can a company in the US ask what medications their employees are taking?

Left Brain Advice for the Right Brain Guy

ecorrocio — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:50:52 -0800

Business practicality filter: As a freelance designer, one man shop, what would I have to consider regarding taking on an assistant? Help my underdeveloped left brain... I am a busy freelance designer, and have often considered taking on a design assistant. But, although there's mounds of information on the interwebs about the legal aspects of this, I kind of glaze over when trying to get through it. What are the practical considerations I should make regarding this? Taxes? "Worker's Comp?" Part time vs. full time ramifications... I know zero about these kinds of things. I don't want to add a lot of red tape to my existence... but I'd like to do it right.

Comments as directed to a middle schooler would be appropriate.

Religious advice on divorce ... from my employer

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:50:40 -0800

I went to a counseling session at the employee assistance program at the midwestern U.S. state college that I work at, and the handout that I received is religious. I'm not, and it made me uncomfortable. How do I approach this? I had a counseling session at my state college's employee assistance program to ask about taking sick time or a work adjustment while I'm going through my divorce.

The counselor advised against it, and when I was leaving, gave me a photocopied handout that is an excerpt from the book "How to Survive the Loss of a Love."

In a few short pages it works in a lot of references to God and faith. For instance, part of one of the poems:

In solitude
I do much.
In love
I do more,
but
in doubt
I only transfer
pain to paper
in gigantic Passion Plays
complete with miracles and martyrs
and crucifixions and resurrections.
Come to stay
or
stay away.
This series of passion poems
is becoming a heavy cross to bear.

The handout also quotes the Talmud, "The sun will set without thy assistance."

I am not religious, and it made me uncomfortable.

This would be fine to me if I was getting it from a friend, since it would be coming from a person who cared about me. It would be ok to me in a lot of other contexts. But from my state employer?

I'm at a low point in my life and don't know if I'm overreacting. And I don't know how much I have in me to take this very far. I have another session scheduled, so I'm at least planning on talking about the handout.

But what do I say?

I don't think this handout should be used at a diverse state institution, but do I take this anywhere beyond telling the counselor that it specifically made me uncomfortable?

What's a reasonable expectation for allowable uncompensated work?

garlic — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:55:43 -0800

How common (or uncommon) is it for an employer to ask for employees to work extra, uncompensated time? I work for a defense engineering firm. My workplace pays overtime to it's salary employees. Recently, however, they've moved to asking us to attend some meetings 'on our own time,' meaning uncompensated. This is really irritating me, so I want to get an outside perspective as to how common it is for an employer to do this, (and in what specific fields of employment.)

More training? But what was this Master's degree for then?

garlic — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:17:42 -0800

I have questions about the amount of training a professional should get, and how the training and the time spent on training is compensated. First the general questions:

For a given profession, how much training does it require after any college degree requirements are met? What's the purpose of getting this training? Who pays for the training? Is the time the person gets trained paid for as well?

And my specific reason for asking to help understand some of the why's above:

My Engineering company has a yearly symposium where the employees make presentations about various things we've done and learned, with the intent of spreading that information to our peers. However, while the company encourages attendance, they only pay for 1/2 our time at this symposium, with the other half at our expense. The training itself is paid for, but our time is not. When discussing with my boss low attendance at one of the sessions, I brought this lack of pay as a reason people don't attend. His perspective was that engineers are responsible for being good engineers themselves, and should attend these sessions with or without pay to stay a good engineer. This was completely outside my own understanding of requirements, so I wanted to get a better feel for a) what other professions have to do to stay up to date and who pays for it, and what other engineers see as their responsibility to stay up to date and who pays for it.

Employer HSA Contributions

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:28:45 -0800

Is it discriminatory for an employer to vary HSA contributions based on an employee's health? This question is primarily directed at HR and members of the legal community.

My employer implemented a high deductible health insurance plan. In an effort to mitigate some of the additional costs to the employee, they make quarterly contributions to our HSA account (amount of the contribution is 1400 annually, regardless of single/family status). Recently, they sent a memo that stated in 2012 a portion of the HSA contribution would be predicated on each employee participating in a health screening. The specific details would be anonymous to the company, but they would receive a report regarding the general health of their organization. If an employee decides not to participate in the screening, they would only be eligible for a annual contribution of 900 dollars, hence sacrificing 500 dollars). In addition, they also stated that in 2013, in order for an employee to eligible for the maximum contribution, they must pass 3 of 5 health bench marks. If they failed 3 or more tests, the HSA contribution would be reduced by varying degrees (yet to be stipulated).

My immediate question is whether this is legal? Wouldn't this be covered under anti-discrimination laws?