Our employees are SO RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
OK get ready b/c I'm going off on another civil service rant here & it has nothing to do w/my drunk secretary.........

We have this receptionist who weighs over 350 lbs. She's seriously so overweight she needs a walker b/c her knees can't support the rest of her body. It's really a very sad story--evidently she was diagnosed w/a malignant brain tumor & given 6 mos. to live, so she just started gorging herself w/food. After gaining 200 lbs they did some exploratory surgery & it turned out they'd mixed up her Xrays w/someone else's! :eek: So her brain's healthy but the rest of her is a mess.

This is where my pity ends b/c she's been out on worker's comp for the most ridiculous reasons. Not to mention she keeps a diary of everyone's comings & goings--we had a disciplinary hearing for her once & she showed up w/a basket full of notebooks that pretty much documented her's & everyone else's activities on a daily basis. I swear, some of our employees really know how to work the system. No lie, she was out on workers comp for a year b/c of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Well, the latest is yesterday after she washed her hands she went to pull a paper towel out of the dispenser, the dispenser evidently hadn't been closed properly, so it came open & hit her on the head.

Would you believe she's now out again on worker's comp? I swear, you just can't make this stuff up............I mean, what do those paper towel things weigh, maybe 3 ounces? And she's claiming a concussion! Her boss made a dr. appt for her & she refused to go to b/c they're "too far." Then all of a sudden she started feeling sick to her stomach (yep, you got it, classic symptom of a concussion). So now we're waiting for an opinion from a different dr. who's close enough for her taste.

I would give anything to abolish unions. I'm a liberal democrat & even I can admit they've completely outlived their usefulness. x(

OK, rant's over, thanks for listening. :)
 
LauraMax...not to burst your bubble but it really isn't about union's and it's all about your employer covering his/her bases in case of a lawsuit. The problem is with the 'workman's comp system' itself, not union's.
 
that is ridiculous! what ever happened to people working for money and not just getting it handed to them?? I would be upset too. Unfortunatly people know how to work the system, its really too bad.
 
Wow Laura, your office could be a 'Movie of the Week' with the cast of characters you describe, I'd watch ;):7. Crazy making stuff to live through but very interesting to 'see' from the outside looking in through your posts. I hear you about some, perhaps most (but not all) unions. Too many have done a 180 over the past decades, unions protected employees from being exploited by management. Now, unions, stewards, grievance and firing protocols all too often exploit management and mercilessly push the envelope of honesty and common sense.

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
LOL at a concussion from the paper towel dispenser. I have a friend who works in the human resource dept of a state government organization. She had an employee who kept "falling" off of his chair, especially when he was scheduled to work a weekend, until he finally ended up on permanent disability. I think the problem is the employee and he/she would find a way to milk the system whether they were union employed or whoever they worked for.
 
Oh I just don't get it. I was nearly crippled last fall & I still came into work every day, even though I could've legitimately taken sick time. WTF does this woman want to do w/her life anyway? Sit home, watch TV, eat bon bons & get even bigger?

40something, it is about the unions. We've not just had w/c issues w/this woman, we've had job performance issues as well (note my reference to a disciplinary hearing). The problem w/the unions is that we cannot, under any circumstances, fire someone without the unions suing us. Same problem w/my substance abusing secretary. She's been talked to about it I don't know how many times but she knows if we do anything she can go to the union, they'll sue the pants off us & she'll never have to work another day in her life.

This case is a perfect example. Say, for instance, we find out she doesn't have a concussion & actually lied about the whole thing. In the private industry she'd at least be suspended w/o pay, at worst fired. Here, we'd do nothing b/c of fear of a lawsuit.

Unions are the prime perpetrators of this kind of thing b/c they're the ones who make sure employees know that the slightest injury--even stubbing a toe!--gives them the right to w/c.

Unions make things impossible for management when an employee knows their job performance is meaningless, that they'll have a job no matter how poorly they perform and, for that matter, will get the same salary increase as the dependable, hard working employee sitting at the desk next to them.
 
Laura,

Before I got down to where you said it as well I thought...geez you just can't make this stuff up. You should keep records too.... of all that goes on, then write a book and make your millions. I don't want to discount your feelings but it almost seems you work in a circus with your work stories. I guess it keeps things interesting. Seriously...write a book...it makes good read. You are right..it is so ridiculous.
 
I hear your pain! I work at the Corporate HQ for a large company with 8 separate divisions. One of those divisions has a union and it is a constant thorn in our side. Practically can't touch those employees no matter what problems we might be having with them. It's a really big issue here and has caused the company a number of headaches. We practically need a separate lawyer just to deal with them. Good luck with the alcoholic secretary and the worker's comp. addicted employee! Sounds like you have your hands full!
 
I used to be a negotiating agent for the local of my union. Management can manage and fire employees but they have to do the paperwork and documentation. It's too easy to see a reactionary person promoted to his/her level of incompetence and the try to ruin subordinates. Unions have their good side.

Unions have their bad side too,I had represent everyone whether the case had merit or not, it's in the charter. We never sued, employees had the right to sue as an individual. To do so they lost the unions involvement.

There are a number of successful companies that have never had unions. Their secret? They treated their employees well. You will never organize a union at a plant/company that has a satisfied workforce.

Workmens comp rules in the US are written and enforced by the government, not the unions. Unions represent only 11 percent of the workforce, hardly a political force. Find another "whipping boy". Maybe it's the management of your company.
 
>
>There are a number of successful companies that have never had
>unions. Their secret? They treated their employees well. You
>will never organize a union at a plant/company that has a
>satisfied workforce.
>
>Workmens comp rules in the US are written and enforced by the
>government, not the unions. Unions represent only 11 percent
>of the workforce, hardly a political force. Find another
>"whipping boy". Maybe it's the management of your company.

I've got to agree with Dave here. If there were not a history of workers being treated so miserably, there would never be any unions today. And now we've got so much outsourcing, because companies can get away with stuff overseas that they can't here.
 
Oh, Laura!

My mom worked for the NJ government for decades and THE STORIES!!! :eek: A lot like yours. Early on we decided that the only people who work in government are those who can't fit into society. :+ Civil service is a magnet for weirdos. Of course not everyone was a weirdo. My Mom is completely normal (by society's standards) and she worked for the "neanderthals in Trenton" as she called them, for decades.

Nancy
 
Laura,

I feel for you. Your work experiences are such a downer for me. You Poor thing. I truly feel sorry for you, working in such a horrid place.
Seems there are no solutions and that's why I think it is so horrid.

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
This is the exact reason why I got out of HR. I worked side by side with the WC division because we did the temporary disability benefits and some ended up being work related. Anyway, we had this one girl who said due to the high stress of her job, she started having physical ailments which led to mental and emotional ailments. She claimed she saw worms crawling out of her belly button and said it was a result of all the work stress that she started hallucinating. Whatever. I hear you Laura on wanting to just smack these people back into reality and stop using the system for their lazy selves.

Lisa
 
Welcome to my world. I deal with all these weirdos when they litigate their cases. As for the brain tumor lady, are you sure she ever even had one? It's a cruel assumption, but I really doubt the xrays were mixed up. Sounds like a sad way to get attention.

As for her carpal tunnel, it's probably from her weight, not her work (but good luck with that argument). In my state, judges have a hard time thinking CTS could ever not be work related.

I'll say this: my job makes me smile everyday because the cases can be so outrageous that they're funny.
 
>I used to be a negotiating agent for the local of my union.
>Management can manage and fire employees but they have to do
>the paperwork and documentation. It's too easy to see a
>reactionary person promoted to his/her level of incompetence
>and the try to ruin subordinates. Unions have their good
>side.
>
>Unions have their bad side too,I had represent everyone
>whether the case had merit or not, it's in the charter. We
>never sued, employees had the right to sue as an individual.
>To do so they lost the unions involvement.
>
>There are a number of successful companies that have never had
>unions. Their secret? They treated their employees well. You
>will never organize a union at a plant/company that has a
>satisfied workforce.
>
>Workmens comp rules in the US are written and enforced by the
>government, not the unions. Unions represent only 11 percent
>of the workforce, hardly a political force. Find another
>"whipping boy". Maybe it's the management of your company.

Sorry but you're just flat out wrong on this. First of all, I work for the government & it's a civil service union. Of all the grievances I've seen I have yet to witness one that actually had merit.

Second, employees here are treated extremely well. In fact, they're actually coddled here like kindergarteners. Not only do they receive excellent health benefits & free pensions as government employees, management is very flexible with all staff in both professional & personal matters.

Third, we CANNOT fire employees, regardless of what you may believe. Since I've been here we've terminated one employee & it was b/c he used the "N" word to an AA, and he is now in the process of suing us for wrongful termination. With a union attorney.

The union is the appropriate "whipping boy," whether you like it or not.

Kristan, no we're not sure she had the tumor. Like I said, we're pretty sure she didn't b/c as it turned out her Xrays were mixed up w/another patient. Funny b/c she didn't sue the dr., yet she's threatened to sue us for all kinds of ridiculous reasons.
 
You wouldn't think she'd need Work Comp if she just sued her medical practitioner for mixing up her x-rays and giving a terminal diagnosis that was not true!! I mean, no wonder this woman ate! I would definitly sue for emotionally reasons (whatever they call that in the legal world). How horrible. When you said Carpal Tunnel I thought maybe it was just another manifestation of depression (I'm sure she has it) but the paper towel dispenser???? Hmmmmm.... I won't go there...}( :eek: ;)
 
My stapler just fell off my desk and hit my foot. It caused me great emotional and physical pain. I think I need six months' leave.

:p
 
Dangit - this stuff makes me angry!

Tell your stupid boss to get some dang balls! Who cares if he gets sued - who cares! That is why there are lawyers to win cases like this - if people are too afraid then they should not be in management positions. I admit I am proud of my own father who runs a business and is not afraid to royally chew someone's butt off or fire them if deserving. Might it cause problems?? Absolutely - but so do lazy butt employees -

I rather tolerate a lawsuit to some employee who milks the system - just on principal alone. I do alot on principal alone and have never regretted a darn thing.
 
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