Question regarding sick leave (Shitty retail job)

[Meresgi]

So wife called out sick last week due to anxiety about driving in a bad snowstorm we had. She has PTSD from a bad accident where she almost died and still hasn't gotten over it so she has panic attacks while driving in stressful situations.

Anyways, her job told her she couldn't use one of her sick days (she's full time and had 1 sick day left, which DO NOT roll over past January). They told her that she wasn't sick, because she had called in the day before the snow storm and notified her manager that she might be calling in depending on how bad the storm is. Now her manager has to answer to the store manager, and the store manager is the one saying it's against corporate policy.

So has anyone run into this? In my eyes, a sick day is a sick day, whether you're vomiting your insides out, have the sniffles, or suffering from a panic attack or other mental issue.

Anyone had an issue such as this? I'm guessing they are either going to make her make up a day and work a 6 day work week during the christmas week or something...but then she'll still have a fucking sick day to use. So I don't see the damn point at all in this and feel like they are just making a huge case of nothing.

She's a model employee, never late, never calls in unless she 100% has to and works her ass off, so not sure wtf the deal is.

[Cleverness]

I think letting people know you might be calling out sick is the problem here. Most places differentiate what qualifies as sick leave and what qualifies as personal time off. Idk how her place manages it.

I'm working in retail while I finish up my bachelors and if I want to call out sick, I tell NOONE at work. I just call in the day off before my shift, say i'm sick, and that's that. Even if she was getting some PTSD due to the storm, if she told someone the day before that she is probably calling out due to severity of the storm then it's hard to believe her, they might think she's just making it up to just not come into work. I have good bosses but I wouldn't let them know ahead of time I wouldn't be in for something like this. If alot of people called out that day and it caused an issue they are probably just trying to hold people accountable and your wifes story gives them room to doubt her cause of the foreshadowing she did in regards to her attendance that day.

[Azull]

Do they have any handbook with a definition of a "sick day" so employees can know what is and is not allowed?

[Aragon of Odin]

I was in a similar situation. It's best for her to talk to the man in charge, explain her situation and if he needs verification from a doctor than it shouldn't be a problem, I assume this is something she's been to the dctors about before and that it's not just self-diagnosed.

Look at it from a bosses POV, all he hears is that person X said the day before they might call in, and then they did. Without actually knowing why, it just looks "fishy". Sometimes all it takes is a little understanding which can be attained through speaking to the boss.

[Howie Roary]

just get a sick note, doctor doesn't need to go into detail

worst case scenario should be that she gets an unpaid day without any further consequences

[Aragon of Odin]

Mental illness is no less real than physical illness or being sick, I see no reason why she shouldn't get paid. Like I say, by the sounds of it, it just looks like Store Manager doesn't know that's what's happening, so a little conversation can go a long way.

[TacoTaru]

Employee handbook should clear up what is and isn't a sick day as well as time constraints. Like Aragaon said, mental illness is just as real as anything else.

[Acevalefor]

Am I the only one here that wants to say fuck you to the manager? She took the day off and wants to apply her last paid sick day to it.

[Furionstormrage]

Sounds like a load of crap on the employer's part. I dont know how everyone does it, but at my job if you call in sick, or take a day off for any reason, it comes out of the same pool of paid time. Nobody cares why you use it, it's there to be used.

[Acevalefor]

Sounds like a load of crap on the employer's part. I dont know how everyone does it, but at my job if you call in sick, or take a day off for any reason, it comes out of the same pool of paid time. Nobody cares why you use it, it's there to be used.

This is the legal way it is supposed to work.

Paid time off is paid time off. When you run out of accrued time off, you get unpaid time off. Time is accrued specifically to ensure that attendance is not a problem. If attendance becomes a problem, that is a separate issue. I feel like this manager might be trying to mix attendance policies with PTO policies.

[izembo]

a lot of places have seperate types(vacation, sick, etc)

[Seraph]

If I am planning on taking more than one day off, I give a heads up. Otherwise, screw that. We get 'sick days' which do not carry over to the new year, and vacation time which does carry over. Obviously, I burn through my 'sick days' first. Some people at the company do not. Those people are demonstratively retarded.

[Kohan]

Considering that a part of our federal government defines sick leave for its own employees by including the following:

An employee is entitled to use sick leave when he or she:
* receives medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment;
* is incapacitated for the performance of duties by physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth; or
* would, as determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care provider, jeopardize the health of others by his or her presence on the job because of exposure to a communicable disease.

Source: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-overs...al-sick-leave/

... I would safely wager that her employer can go blow.

You can also look up similar problems related to your own state, and you should ask for a copy of the company policy related to sick days. You should specify that this is related to a documented mental illness, and that this is more than sufficient for taking a sick day.

[Meresgi]

Sorry had some shit today and didn't get back till now to post. She spoke with the manager in person to explain her situation and he was like "LOL nope, don't count". This is the store manager who oversees everyone. I told her to get a handbook or a print out of their sick leave policy tomorrow when she goes in.

a lot of places have seperate types(vacation, sick, etc)

All the same shit though, I have sick/personal/vaca at my job, I can use w/e for w/e. I mean they say "use sick for sick" but it doesnt matter at all because time off is time off. They can't police it. I used a sick day last week to go test for a certification and my bosses all knew, shit I showed up later that day to do some shit at the office real quick and said hi to everyone lol.

My only thing is it is not documented, she went to a psychiatrist who said she had PTSD but due to us having no money she never went back. So not sure how that works, since she doesn't have a primary doctor or psychiatrist for reference. I mean i've been diagnosed with some shit as well, but wouldn't really know how to "prove" it.

[Kohan]

When you get a copy of the sick leave policy, review it and see what its requirements on supporting paperwork (e.g., a doctor's note) are. If it says that an employee cannot return to work after three days of absence without a note, or something along those lines, and she was only out for one, then they can go fuck themselves. No proof is required. They have to accept her at her word.

I also suggest contacting your local labor board. I've done this in the past whenever I've had disputes like this. Although it's useful if you do your homework before contacting them, you should Google about toll free labor help lines in your area, and then call them. You can then say to the employer, "Well, I talked to so-and-so of the labor board, and they cited article such-and-such..." It's pretty effective, I must say.

[Silenka]

Doesn't help that retail employers get even more batshit insane around the holidays. I swear, holidays are the exact opposite of what they're advertised as being. Instead of a nice quiet time where people can get together with their loved ones and relax, everyone turns on maximum bitchiness mode and stresses over everything. Employer should let her have her sick day regardless, but that's in a world without Christmas. Around Christmas in retail it's just a given that it's going to suck balls if you miss a day.

Maybe get a note from a free clinic about the PTSD? I don't know if they're qualified for that sort of stuff, but if this situation is likely to come up again in the future, might be better to address it asap.

[Brill Weave]

Her main problem is that she has no documentation proving she has PTSD. Even if she has self identified she hasn't provided anything that would be considered legal proof. The other thing is that she preemptively told them that if the roads were bad she would be calling off. If you're calling off, don't tell them in advance if it's any reason other than illness or doctor's appointments. Most companies will force you to use personal or vacation time otherwise. If the same thing happened at my work I wouldn't let them use sick time either unless they were completely out of all other paid time.

The catch with what Kohan posted is that in the case of mental illness it has to be documented. There must be proof in order for the company/store to be legally required to recognize it. She doesn't have that. Because of that the store is under no obligation to even acknowledge it. It's a shit situation but there's not a whole lot you can do about it.

[Mojo]

Jobs where you can get promoted via attrition often come with prick bosses trying to claw their way up the food chain while shitting on everyone below them. They do make huge cases of nothing simply to exercise their authority and prevent people from challenging them. This seems like one of those situations. I don't think much can be done about it, your wife already made the mistake of trying to do something sensible but out of protocol. You can try and fight it but really it's a game of crabs in a bucket. I'd say just move on and learn to play those games better.

[archibaldcrane]

Does she have medically diagnosed PTSD or internet-diagnosed PTSD?

If it's the latter, you got problems.

Is this "sick day" she's trying to take a paid day or an unpaid day? If the only ramification is that she doesn't get paid for her internet-PTSD day off, suck it up.

[Aragon of Odin]

It states she was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, but that she'd only been once and didn't have any follow up appointments due to the cost. Even that 1 appointment is documented however, and if she was referred to the psychiatrist via her physician, than that would be documented as well. One visit is documentation, it's just about getting in contact with said dr again.