Case Study Question to Answer for Discussion:

1. While there were several possible outcomes, the option the director of business chose was surprising. He struck a compromise. If Amy would agree to take the written warning in her personnel file (and she really had no choice in this matter), he would allow all the days missed up to this point to be considered as one occurrence and the warning letter would cover all those days - even though the first warning letter did not include the three days for the kidney stone. However, the next time she was absent - for whatever reason - before she had earned more sick leave, she would get three days off without pay, the next step in the discipline process. The next violation would result in termination. What do you think of this approach?

Case Narrative Backwater City Schools is a school district in Southwest Ohio just outside of Dayton. There are about 7,000 students enrolled in the district's eight schools. The foodservice department consists of full cooking kitchens in the high school and the two middle schools and finishing kitchens in the five elementary schools. The foodservice is self-operated. The annual budget is about $1.6 million. There are fifty employees in the foodservice department, but half of them work fewer than three hours per day due to the configuration of a modified base-satellite system. At the elementary schools the employees are basically there only to served the meal and clean up afterward. The pay is good -entry- level employees make $11.50 per hour with no specialized training required - but the paychecks are still very small. Some of the servers work only two hours per day, so it is not a lot of money for the commitment of being available each day at lunchtime. Also, a fee of $200 per year is taken out for union dues from these hourly employees. Finding just the right employees for school food service is a constant challenge. There are a lot of good things about never having to work weekends and being off in the summer, but if you really need to work you probably can't afford the luxury of a two-hour-a-day job! And it takes more than five years to work up to a full-time job within the system. However, those full-time positions are still only six hours a day for less than 200 days, including paid holidays, so it never becomes a self-supporting career. The foodservice employees are covered by the agreement negotiated by the Backwater Classified Employees Association (BCEA). The document is fairly comprehensive, going into detail about the types of leave that employees can take. As soon as employees are hired, they receive 3 personal days and begin to accumulate sick leave at the rate of 1.5 days per month. Current Situation Amy was hired in the spring for a 2.25-hour job at one of the middle schools. She was turning into an excellent employee, proficient at the cash register and at serving. Over the summer, she began to have back problems. She tried to return to work, but some days the pain was too bad. She was under a doctor's care, and the doctor said that she needed to take some time off from work so her back could heal. Amy followed the doctor's orders, but soon she had exhausted all the sick leave she had earned during her short tenure with the district. After reading the negotiated agreement, she felt she could apply for five days' medical leave without pay. Her supervisor approved the leave without pay, attaching the doctor's order for time off to the form. Two days later the leave form arrived back on the supervisor's desk marked "DENIED." The director of Her supervisor approved the leave without pay, attaching the doctor's order for time off to the form. Two days later the leave form arrived back on the supervisor's desk marked "DENIED. The director of business had written a note on the form saying that this leave was not intended for short-term illnesses, but for major medical problems that would require an employee to miss work for an extended period of time. He suggested that she filed for family and medical leave. The supervisor knew that Amy did not legally qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. She sent a note back to the director of business explaining that this was not an option for Amy and asked whether he had any suggestions as to how to cover these days, which Amy had already taken per her doctor's orders. The director of business replied with this typed memo: If she has no leave authorization available, then this is an "absence without authority,: a disciplinary matter. You need to give her a letter of warning advising that it is her responsibility to be at work or have some approved authorization to be absent. Furthermore, she needs to understand that is this is repeated, additional discipline will be necessary and that, ultimately, it may lead to losing her job. So, the supervisor started the disciplinary action against the good employee with the following letter: October 18, 2002 To: Amy Smith, 2.25 hours @ AMS From: Joyce Roberts, Supervisor of Food Service It has been brought o my attention that you did not qualify for the medical leave of five days that you requested and I approved. Since you have no leave available and there is no provision in our organization to cover your circumstance of being und a doctor's care and unable to work even without pay - I need to inform you that this absences in considered being absent without authority even though we spoke often during this process. I was incorrect in my thinking that you could write a letter and request permission to be off work as the doctor had ordered. I am sorry that I misled you. It is now my unpleasant duty to inform you that being absent without authority is considered a disciplinary matter, and you need to know that by my writing this letter you have been given a written warning. This warning is to inform you that further days off without a leave will result in disciplinary action. Through due process, the end result could be termination of your employment with Backwater City Schools. I know you have struggled to balance your healing with your available sick leave. Since you are a new employee to our district, perhaps you may want to consider severing your employment with us you're your terms, so there is no termination on your record. After your healing is complete, I would be happy to have you on the sub list if you wish to start over at the bottom again. What I do not want is for you to work with an injury just to keep this job. Your health is worth much more than this part-time job. Just so you understand - if you miss another day's work before you have earned a sick day to cover that absence, I must continue the disciplinary process. understand that is this is repeated, additional discipline will be necessary and that, ultimately, it may lead to losing her job. So, the supervisor started the disciplinary action against the good employee with the following letter: October 18, 2002 To: Amy Smith, 2.25 hours @ AMS From: Joyce Roberts, Supervisor of Food Service It has been brought o my attention that you did not qualify for the medical leave of five days that you requested and I approved. Since you have no leave available and there is no provision in our organization to cover your circumstance of being und a doctor's care and unable to work even without pay - I need to inform you that this absences in considered being absent without authority even though we spoke often during this process. I was incorrect in my thinking that you could write a letter and request permission to be off work as the doctor had ordered. I am sorry that I misled you. It is now my unpleasant duty to inform you that being absent without authority is considered a disciplinary matter, and you need to know that by my writing this letter you have been given a written warning. This warning is to inform you that further days off without a leave will result in disciplinary action. Through due process, the end result could be termination of your employment with Backwater City Schools. I know you have struggled to balance your healing with your available sick leave. Since you are a new employee to our district, perhaps you may want to consider severing your employment with us you're your terms, so there is no termination on your record. After your healing is complete, I would be happy to have you on the sub list if you wish to start over at the bottom again. What I do not want is for you to work with an injury just to keep this job. Your health is worth much more than this part-time job. Just so you understand - if you miss another day's work before you have earned a sick day to cover that absence, I must continue the disciplinary process. I acknowledge receipt of this letter and understand that a copy of it will be placed in my personnel file. X Signature Date Before the employee was able to return the letter, she called from the hospital where she had been admitted for a kidney stone. She had difficulty passing the stone and was hospitalized for three days. She returned to work with a note from her doctor stating she had been in the hospital