My wife works in a restaurant, and the power-tripping manager has instituted a new policy where all shift changes must be approved by management. I think that is reasonable enough, but they’re also asking the originally-scheduled employee why they are switching shifts, then approving or denying based on the answer.
For example, her coworker (Tom) wanted Monday afternoon off, and Harry agreed to cover the shift. The manager asked Tom why he wanted Harry to work for him, and Tom said, “I have a softball game.” Manager denied the shift change because it was “unnecessary”.
Is this legal? I feel like if you’re able to find someone to cover your shift, you don’t owe management any explanation why you need the time off. How should my wife approach this situation? Colorado, USA BTW.
I would decline to answer, and if pressed, say something vague, such as, “a medical procedure”. That should be enough for most people, but if it they keep pressing, I would come up with something embarrassing, such as, “I need the time off to get my anal prolapse taken care of.” Then be upset that you had to disclose private medical information and ask to speak to HR.
Despite the fact that, as another user pointed out, restaurants rarely have an HR department, it is important to remember that HR exists solely to protect the company. They are not there to advocate for your rights as an employee. If you think your rights have been violated at work, you should contact your state’s labor department (assuming you are US based). My state even has a nice website that outlines your rights as an employee and a form you can submit if your rights have been violated.
100% this. A former coworker was fired a month ago because he filed an HR complaint about his boss, because the boss was being an asshole to him (according to co worker).
This is the same boss who joked about beating his wife and kicking his dog in a meeting, so I’m fairly certain it’s true.
HR is NEVER your friend.
If that’s the case and they aren’t leaving out pertinent information, that’s a pretty clear case of retaliation, which is illegal in many/most US states, even those without robust worker protection laws.
Sounds like he didn’t have documented proof sufficient to bring a suit against the company. Sucks but save your emails. Forwarding is free
That’s exactly the point. HR is there to protect the company from you suing them for forcing you to provide personal medical information that you weren’t comfortable sharing.
Yes you use HR as a weapon against such a manager for perceived federal protection violations
Ehh, I’ve worked in HR for 20 years and this isn’t even close to true. It’s what angry losers like to shout on reddit and now lemmy bc they’ve been fired. The whole point of hr is to balance between employees and the company. Sorry you got fired, I’m sure you’ll find your talents valued somewhere else
I don’t know if you were addressing the specific case mentioned, but if someone has a softball game they want to go to, and they say they have a medical procedure to take care of, that could easily be grounds for termination.
Best answer I can think of is to unionize and negotiate a CA that includes shift trade rights. Short term, I don’t think there’s much you can do if the company wants to be a dick.
Mental health is a medical issue. Ergo any vacation is medical.
Points for creative thinking, but I would prefer not to get fired and have to seek redress through the courts.
Ok, unemployment.
It’s a restaurant, not the presidency. Get a coworker to be your reference, do well at your interview and move on.
If it’s a softball game, just say “I have to see someone about my balls”.
In my experience most restaurants dont even have HR lmao. My mileage obviously varies but I have worked a few food industry jobs, and exactly 0 had any HR person other than the managers and assistant managers themselves
I believe HR in this instance would be “calling corporate.”
assuming its a chain or franchise. if its a small family run/independant place, good luck
I like this answer.