Little ticked off at work

[LTE]

My wife asked off for the first friday at work. Put the request in 90 days ago (earliest that it can bedone), was immediately waitlisted.

Tried to get an update every so often and they kept blowing her off.

In the meantime, she got drafted to work on her day off, has voluntered overtime, worked a comp day all to earn money for a trip we were going to take.

She asks for another status last week and was told to check back later. She asks again the other day and they start asking why she wants this day off, if I was also off that day (we work at the same place), then the supervisor makes a remark that this is a problem when you have a married couple in the same department.

Went and talked to another supervisor to vent (they are long time friends), and found out that they already made an exception for someone else. (Now I want to know how long they had that request in for)

She appealed to the manager of the department and was denied the day off.

I'm seriously considering going to HR about this and the remarks about us being married. When we work, we stay at opposite ends of the department, we don't mingle during work, and when we ask off we don't put in as to the specifics and try to keep our personal lives separate. But the supervisors keep trying to make it an issue.

OK, venting over and done.

Thanks

[Dr. Jimmy]

I'd be in HR in a heartbeat due to the married comment. Supervisor could lose his job for that.....

[paulrocker]

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of job do you have that you need to ask for a day off 90 days in advance?

[amigo30]

It really sounds like a crappy place to be employed at.

[LTE]

Really don't want to reveal the name of the place, but I will tell you that it's a fortune 500 company that everyone has heard of. We have commericals nationwide and we sponser numerous events.

At our location alone, we have about 6000 employees.

I'm looking for something else, just not having any luck.

[Dr. Tweedbucket]

Sound like a big hassle. Just call off sick. ... make up the time later if you have to.

[v-verb]

Originally Posted by The Tone Doctor

Sound like a big hassle. Just call off sick. ... make up the time later if you have to.

With all due respect don't do that

[LTE]

Originally Posted by v-verb

With all due respect don't do that

I agree totally. My wife did have a moment of doing that, but I told her not to.

She she appealed to the manager, she told him point blank why she wanted the day off, and that we paid for a hotel because she felt that with a 90 day notice, her getting off would not be an issue.

And yet she is still denied.

[whitehall]

Where I work they wait to see how many people put in for PTO before a holiday. If it's a lot , they close early- thereby screwing the people that took the PTO. If it's a few they close an hour or two early.

[Jon Silberman]

In today's tight economic times when money for promotions and bonuses is so limited, smart companies understand and maximize the value of their available "soft currency" to respect, reward, motivate, and keep their staff. One of the least expensive but most effective "soft currrencies" is leave time, especially its use to support marriages and social needs.

Your company sounds to me like a collection of ignoramuses.

[telecopter]

Believe me, companies (for the most part) are really taking advantage of employees right now. The attitude of "well, if you don't like it here, take a hike...there are five other people wanting your job" prevails more than I've ever seen it.

[amigo30]

Right now, people can't just quit a bad job, as jobs are tough to find. People are grateful to have a job.

Unfortunately, many companies are taking the stance of "Put up with our crap. You should be grateful you have a job."

People will remember though, when jobs are plentiful again. Things always swing around.

[usc96]

I know nothing about employment law or your state's laws, so this isn't legal advice.

Under a federal civil rights law known as Title VII, employers must ban actions that would have a "disparate impact" on a protected class, such as a specified race or gender. You may want to talk to an employment lawyer to see if marital status is a protected class. I've heard that asking a female candidate about her marital status in an interview, even if it is just small talk, is a big no no. Vacation decisions at a fortune 500 company based on marital status may be an issue you want your attorney to review?

[Dave Shoop]

OMG, it sounds like a situation where two people who are married and work in the same department are unhappy because they can't both have the same day off. Is that the case? Did you both want the same day off? Or is that not the situation? Maybe it was interjected into the argument by her that you both had plans and paid for a hotel room? Who knows?

[John Hurtt]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jimmy

I'd be in HR in a heartbeat due to the married comment. Supervisor could lose his job for that.....

The supervisor will get no static for that....Many companies have a policy that couples (married or not) cannot work in the same department or even in the same facility as the risk of perceived favortism exists.

There are likely many more factors involved in this decision than are known here. Any vacation time that revolves around any holliday usually leaves many employees denied that time the feeling that they were treated unfairly. For example, I have one department in my facility that has 14 employees. Nine of them asked for Christmas week off. The operation cannot run for the week staffed at that level so many of them had their time denied. Each of the people that had the time denied came to me and told me I was being unfair to them by not letting them have that time off.