Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. What are the next steps with an employee who’s chronically late to work?

My employee has had an attendance issue off and on for the past six months. I called her attention to it and it improved marginally, but then she told me that she gets a ride to work from her mom and her family is large and there is only one bathroom so she gets delayed. I changed her start time to 9:15 am from 9 am, although she already has the latest start time of anyone on the team. Our department is quite small (two people) so coverage is essential, and plus she is an hourly employee and gets paid to be here on time. She also stays late every evening (til 6 pm), but I found out from her that she does not work past 5 pm and only stays late to wait for her ride.

Is it time for disciplinary action, i.e., docking of pay or writing her up? What sort of conversation needs to happen now?

You can’t dock her pay for work she’s already performed (that’s illegal), but you can and should talk to her about what you expect of her going forward and what the consequences will be for not meeting it. For instance: “We’ve talked in the past about the need for you to be here no later than 9:15, but you’re continuing to arrive late, which leaves us short-staffed. Going forward, I need you to be here on time every day; I can’t continue to allow exceptions. Can you commit to doing that?”

If she says that she can’t commit to it because of her ride situation, then you need to decide whether that’s a deal-breaker or not. Depending on the role, it’s possible that it might not be — but if it is, then you should be up-front about it, by saying something like, “I’m sympathetic to your situation, but this role does require reliably arriving on time. Given that, would you like a few weeks to make other arrangements to get to work, with the understanding that I can’t be flexible after that, or should we face the fact that this won’t work with your schedule?”

2. A temporary change in my job responsibilities seems to be becoming permanent

Six months ago, I started what I believed to be a project management job at a big company. Two months in, a junior team member resigned and my boss gave that person’s laboratory tasks to me. My new assignment is most similar to what I did in graduate school 6+ years ago, and not a good match for my current skill set, professional experience, or career goals.

I brought on a new hire to replace the person who left, but my boss has not re-shifted the responsibilities. In fact, she specifically told me that that my role includes both the project management and lab work. I’m worried my early attempts to explain my lack of current lab skills have led my boss to think I feel “too good” for this type of work, and she’s now trying to teach me a lesson.

Should I just accept and do whatever needs to be done, or is there a professional way to negotiate back to the job I wanted? I’m not in a position to look for a different job so soon, and I also suspect my boss can’t afford to lose another person.

It’s reasonable to point out that you’re spending a lot of time doing work that you didn’t sign up for and that it’s not in line with what you want to be doing. I’d say something like this: “I’ve been happy to help by handling X and Y while Jane’s position has been open, but now that we’ve hired Fergus to replace her, I’m hoping that we can move those responsibilities back to that role. I was happy to help out when we were in a pinch, but long-term it’s important to me to be able to focus on the work I came here to do.”

If she is indeed trying to “teach you a lesson,” that’s a pretty big deal. That says that you’re on dramatically different pages about expectations for your role, and that she’s not willing to discuss it directly and openly.

3. Does this employer really mean it when they “strongly urged” me to apply again in the future?

I had two rounds of interviews and just got a rejection, which says they will add an additional position (exact same title) in six months and they “strongly urge” me to apply again, even though they went with another candidate this time. What does that even mean? This was a long process of multiple interviews, tests, etc. Am I really expected to do all that again in six months? It isn’t like my qualifications will change. They know who I am and what I can do. Or are they just being polite? I see the people I interviewed with occasionally through my current job, so maybe they are just being nice.

I doubt they’re just being nice; no sane employer “strongly urges” people to reapply for a job if they know the person isn’t a strong candidate — after all, that would just put them in the awkward position of having to reject you a second time. So I’d take them at their word that they do want you to reapply in the future.

That doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed the job at that point, of course, and it may or may not mean that you have to go through their process again — that just depends on the manager.

4. I was fired and my employer is threatening me with arrest for trespass if I return

I recently resigned “involuntarily” due to a hostile workplace that the manager would not acknowledge. I went to the director and HR and the director of HR, the CEO, and the legal department. I just found out today that my former coworker was threatened if she has anything to do with me, that I will be arrested if I come onto the hospital property and she will be fired! Is this legal?

Generally, yes. Your employer can prohibit you from returning to their premises, and they can require current employers not to associate with you.

Two caveats: If you happen to live in California, it’s possible that the state’s privacy laws would prevent the latter part of that. And because your former workplace is a hospital, it’s possible that the trespassing thing might be a little different in this context — after all, if it’s the only hospital in your area, I’m skeptical that they can prohibit you from using it as a patient, but that’s beyond my knowledge.

5. Company is closing between Christmas and New Year’s and won’t pay us for those days

If a company decides to close for the week around Christmas and New Year’s, how does this affect full-time employee… or should I ask, how should it affect us, legally? As a full-time employee, aren’t we guaranteed paid time off, even if the company decides to close for a week?

Basically, my company sent out a memo telling us that from Christmas to New Year’s, the company will be closed, but we will be paid for Christmas and New Year’s only; all other days will not be paid. We do have the option to come in to work, but only if our clients require us to. If not, then we can either take our vacation days for the remaining five days to be paid, or just not come in and not be paid. How legal is this?

Perfectly legal. Companies that do this risk causing a morale problem, but it’s legal.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. My boss gives us fake performance reviews

I have a boss who states that I’m a superior employee. He goes over my yearly review in a meeting but never shows me the review. He only has me sign the last page. He gave me a copy of it and didn’t expect me to read it and he put me as a satisfactory employee. I spoke to other employees and they all say the same thing, that he never shows them the review and only has them sign the last page. He never gives them a copy either. I have one employee who he gave 2.06 on his review but changed the review copy of the one that was sent to HR to a 1.66. Is this legal and what can I do about it?

It’s not illegal, but I doubt your HR department would be happy to hear that he’s doing it since it’s openly deceptive and totally contrary to the point of performance evaluations, which is to give accurate feedback. Go talk to HR (which is a sentence you rarely hear from me).

2. My boss asked us to donate money for gifts for our warehouse workers

I just got an email from my boss asking five of us to donate money so he can buy gift cards for the warehouse workers. He only asked the inside sales reps; the outside reps were not included. There are only five people who got this email, plus one of the other bosses. He said that since the company is not yet in the black, he wants us to donate money so he can buy these gift cards as a thank-you for the warehouse workers. He then asked for $40 from each of us or what we can give.

Personally, I think this is in very poor taste, and due to some medical issues I am going through, I really cannot afford it. However, two people have already responded saying they are sending the money, so I feel pressured to give money I cannot afford. How does one respond to such requests, especially when they cannot afford to donate? I was shocked to get this request.

“Unfortunately this isn’t in my budget this year, but I’d be glad to sign a card for the warehouse workers, who I think do a great job.”

3. Job is changing to full-time but staying at a part-time salary

My mom has a part-time salaried job and has just been told that the part-time position will be eliminated in favor of a full-time position. Everything, including the salaried pay, will remain the same. This would effectively be a $3 an hour pay decrease for her. Her boss won’t discuss any salary changes; the attitude is that if my mom doesn’t accept this, they will let her go. I know this isn’t illegal, but are there any options she has if she doesn’t want to accept this?

It doesn’t sound like it. Unless it brings her below minimum wage, it’s not illegal. If it brings her salary below $23,600, she’s no longer exempt and would need to be paid overtime in weeks where she works over 40 hours in a week, but that hardly gets at the larger issue. Ultimately, it sounds like she needs to decide if she wants the job under these new terms or not.

4. Do I have to do something I feel is morally wrong if it’s my employer’s policy?

If your organization has a policy that you feel is 100% morally wrong, do you have the right to say you won’t support it with clients and that they should follow up with their clients when it comes to this issue? I feel it’s wrong to tell employees they MUST do something that is wrong because it is their job to support a policy even if it is a corrupt one.

Is the policy itself legal? If so, your employee can legally require you to carry it out. You can certainly speak up about your concerns and say that you’d prefer not to be involved in it, but ultimately your employer can require you to administer it if they choose to.

There are a few exceptions to this, such as if you hold a bona fide religious belief that conflicts with the policy (and if the policy isn’t a key element of your job).

5. Can I say I didn’t get the message telling me not to show up to work?

I work at the Olive Garden and I have worked 35 hours already this week. I am scheduled one more day to work 4 to 11, but my job left me a message at 1 pm saying I don’t have to come to work because I might go into overtime. Is that right or should I just go to work and say I never got the message?

Don’t go into work when they told you not to come in. They’re likely to just send you home, and then you’ll have showed up for nothing. (Unless you’re in one of the few states that reporting time pay, in which case they might have to pay you for a few hours for showing up — but regardless, it’s dishonest to say you didn’t get the message when you did, and not the kind of thing that endears you to managers.)