Missing work

by Christina

(Indiana)

My daughter was really sick so a while back I missed a week of work. I called in everyday gave them updates and so forth. I called on a night that I was going to go to make sure I still had a job they said yes but there going to write me up. I said okay. Well they are supposed to give you three write ups before you get fired. That’s what it says in the handbook and all supervisors say as well. Well they went straight to my final warning and told me if I missed again I was fired. I had to sign the paper or I would have gotten in trouble. Anyway I got really sick with bronchitis and I even tried going to work. I couldn’t make it. I requested the rest of the night and the next night off and my supervisor agreed. I figured I would be okay. I was still in very bad shape so I called the supervisor and asked her for a call in vacation day. I knew they were not doing call in vacation days and I told her that but I said she knew how sick I was and that if she would give me one she didn’t have to bother calling. If she would not then I would come in. I’d probably end up leaving early because I was running a fever and what not. Next day I got a phone call saying I was terminated because I failed to come to work. SHe called me before so I assumed she would again. Also they say that the three warnings is a rule but their are a ton of people I knew who worked their and missed all the time and never got a single warning because the boss liked them. So its basically whose the favorite.

Hi Christina,

I’m just going to focus on your last absences from work because those are the ones that caused the employer to fire you AND they were beyond your control due to illness.

In addition the employer failed to follow their own progressive discipline policy and according to you they do not uniformly enforce their policy.

Everything in your story is “not good” for the employer.

Did you provide medical documentation or offer to get medical documentation for the employer for any of these absences .. a yes would probably be the final nail for the employer.

Chris