Company’s Sick Pay Policy Seems Unfair
Q. Employees at my company get one sick day per month. Some employees elect to “get sick” every month, while others work every day and let their sick leave accumulate.
Under the company’s policy, employees can convert 20 days of sick leave to 10 days’ pay.
It seems that those of us who show up for work every day are being penalized, losing 50% of the sick days’ value, whereas those who miss one day a month get “rewarded” with 100% of their paid sick days. What’s your opinion?
--M.B., Los Angeles
*
A. Sick leave is like medical insurance--it is made available to employees in case they get sick.
Some employees never make a health insurance claim even though they pay the same premium as others who make claims for themselves and many dependents every month. Similarly, different people need different amounts of sick leave.
A sick-leave plan providing one sick day per month is generous. Your employer also is being generous by permitting employees to cash in sick leave. At most companies, if you are not sick, you are not entitled to cash in your accrued sick leave.
--Deborah C. Saxe
Management attorney
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
How to Handle Clash With New Supervisor?
Q. I am a staff professional who recently accepted a transfer to a new department. Within days, it was obvious that my new supervisor was more interested in giving directions without accepting my input and in treating me like an untrained employee.
I endured six weeks of heavy-handed supervision and several unflattering, unfounded and widely circulated e-mails that demeaned my contributions.
The last straw came when this supervisor told me that my transfer had been necessitated by various rumors about my performance, and that “some people,” implying my former department head, were dissatisfied with my work. My former department head said this was untrue, an assessment that was confirmed by my last performance review.
I believe my current supervisor needs to be reprimanded and removed from my review team as well as from being my supervisor. But I am concerned about the office’s laissez faire attitude on these matters.
Do I have any legal recourse? Do you have other suggestions for persuading the office to remove her as my supervisor?
--E.B., Los Angeles
*
A. It is illegal for someone to make deliberate misrepresentations about another person in the workplace, so you might have a defamation claim.
But you must be careful making these assertions. Often, the information you have about the apparent misrepresentations isn’t clear. For example, the rumor that “some people” were dissatisfied with your capabilities might actually be true if your supervisor has sources other than your former boss.
Managers also have some rights to discuss their employees. However, these comments must be relevant to the workplace situation and conveyed only to other management personnel or employees who have a need to know such information.
If your boss exceeded those limitations and deliberately stated misrepresentations about you to others, you might have a claim.
You have a dilemma, however. If you demand that your supervisor be reprimanded and removed but are not successful, your relations with your supervisor will undoubtedly worsen. On the other hand, if you are successful in having your supervisor reprimanded or removed, other management personnel might perceive you as a whiner and not a team player.
Instead, you might want to consider asking for a transfer. Explain your concerns to your supervisor. She might appreciate your honesty, as well as your discussing your concerns with her first, before going to her bosses. Consider expressing your complaints diplomatically in a letter. Retain a copy.
Try to determine why your supervisor is so critical of you. If it is based on any sort of discrimination or is retaliation against you for being a whistle-blower, you would have even more rights to assert.
--Don D. Sessions
Employee rights attorney
Mission Viejo
No One-Size-Fits-All Rule on Job Resumes
Q. Having been terminated, I am in the market for a job for the first time in a while. I know the basic format for a resume, but have received conflicting information about how many previous employers to list. I also have been told that I only need to list my business experience for the last 10 years. Is there any rule of thumb on these issues?
--G.T., Valley Village
*
A. There are no hard and fast rules for listing your employment history on a resume. The most important thing is to provide prospective employers with a clear picture of your experience and qualifications.
If you held an important and relevant position more than 10 years ago, by all means include it. A good guideline, space permitting, is to give more detail about your most recent positions (the last 10 years), and briefly list earlier, significant positions.
--Ron Riggio, director
Kravis Leadership Institute
Claremont McKenna College
*
If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Include your initials and hometown. The column should not be construed as legal advice.
