Case Study #4 - A Dairy Dilemma David has been working at Sunnybrook Holsteins, a dairy cattle operation, for the past five years. It is a family-run farm, but employs six local people to assist with the day-to-day runnings of the farm. David works the morning milking shift, Monday-Friday from 5:00 am to 10:30 am and works the occasional weekend shift when needed. David enjoys working with the dairy herd, and knows every animal by name, Farm owners Ken & Sue hired David when he responded to a local newspaper ad for the job position, and value him as a 'full-time' employee, working five days a week and the occasional weekend shift as needed. A few weeks ago, David was late for his 5:00 am shift on a Monday morning, the first time this has ever happened. Sue realized he was late for his shift when she walked in to the barn around 6:00 am for her usual morning check, and noticed David was not there and the Cows were waiting impatiently to be milked. She immediately phoned David on his cell phone, and he answered, apologizing, saying he slept through his alarm and that he would be on his way to the farm shortly. Sue felt this incident was an honest mistake, as David had never been late before and would always let Sue if for any reason he would have to miss work. David continues showing up for work at his usual time until a few weeks later, when he doesn't show up for his shift at all and doesn't answer his cell phone. Sue is feeling very frustrated as she counts on David to assist with the morning milking and other chores. As most of the employees are either family, or have been working at the farm for quite some time, Sue and Ken have never felt the need to create a 'late/absentee' policy as family members and their long-term employees have always worked together and helped to cover milking shifts when emergencies, vacations, and appointments came up. Sue tries calling David's cell phone all day to see if he is okay, and finally gets a hold of him at 6 pm that evening. David tells Sue that something came up and his cell phone was dead so he was unable to call her to let her know he couldn't come to work, but he will be in for work as scheduled at 5:00 am the next day. David does show up for work and works his usual morning milking shift. Two days later he is late for work again. Sue is able to reach him this time, and again he says that he slept through his alarm. When he turns up for work that day, Sue tries to have a conversation with him and he immediately becomes defensive and tells Sue that it's just a few lates, and not a big deal. Sue tries to get him to understand that it is a big deal, and affects the dairy herd when they are not milked on time. David tells her they are just cows, they will be fine, and that she is lucky he shows up for the morning milking shift at all. Sue is shocked and upset by David's behaviour, but leaves him to do the morning chores. Sue finds out later that day from another employee that David has been leaving work early, and leaving some of his daily tasks unfinished, creating more work for the person on the afternoon milking shift. Sue has never had an issue with any of her employees before and is unsure of what to do in this situation. Case Study Questions: 1. Do you think Sunnybrook Holsteins should have a 'late/absentee policy even though they are a small family run farm? Why or why not? 2. Should Sue have documented David's first late shift at the farm? Why or why not? 3. What kind of disciplinary action do you think Sue could take with David in this situation? 4. Do you think Sue can terminate David's employment based on his absenteeism? 5. Absenteeism is a real problem for employers with farming operations. This has become even more apparent when employers have to deal with Covid 19 and people having to stay home if they exhibit any illness or symptoms, What would you suggest as possible solutions for Sue at her dairy farm when dealing with absenteeism