How do you handle abuse of sick days?
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human-resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world’s largest HR professional society.
(Questions submitted by readers and Taylor’s answers have been edited for length and clarity.) Question: How do you handle people who take a sick day any time they feel like not coming to work? When the timing of these “illnesses” corresponds with projects and deadlines or the excuses are inconsistent, we know the person isn’t really sick. This is not only frustrating to me as a manager but to our co-workers, who have to pitch in to cover for the absence with no notice. I have brought this to the attention of HR, but the issue hasn’t been addressed. – Anonymous Johnny C. Taylor: First, a question for you. How does your company’s written policy address sick leave and excessive unauthorized absences?
I ask because a clear policy that explains paid and unpaid leave and the consequences of unexcused absences will help you deal with absenteeism more effectively.
You also need to consider local and state sick leave laws, along with federal regulations. These laws might limit an employer’s ability to discipline workers for excessive unscheduled absenteeism if the reasons are covered by law.
Employers also have obligations to employees under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. HR could help you figure this out.
Once policy and legal matters have been considered, there are a few options you may want to try.
Have a conversation with the employee to better understand his situation and what may be causing the absenteeism. You could use this time to discuss strategies and solutions that might help resolve the situation.
As a manager, you also can periodically discuss with your entire staff the impact unscheduled or unexcused absences have on the team. Although you don’t want to discourage anyone from using sick time to stay home during an illness, it may be helpful to personalize the situation by pointing out the effect these impromptu missed days have on peers.
Finally, if legal protections don’t apply and there is an unacceptable number of absences with a pattern to them (Mondays or Fridays, for example), then it is a performance issue. Discipline might be appropriate. Having access to sick days does not give employees carte blanche to use them as they wish.
Q: I just graduated from college, and I’m applying for jobs. I’m wondering, do employers have the right to screen my social media accounts? Shouldn’t what I post be considered private? – Anonymous
Taylor: Congratulations to you and all new graduates!
As you search for opportunities in the hope of finding your dream job, social media can be your best friend – but it also can be your worst enemy.
While companies long have used so- cial media to promote job openings and identify candidates, they are increasingly using it to determine whether a candidate’s behavior on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or elsewhere calls into question his or her judgment, decisionmaking and professionalism.
So, let’s be clear. If you want your information to be private, you should either not put it online or you should change your account settings to private.
Given that there are no laws prohibiting potential employers from viewing information that you post publicly to your social media pages (or that someone else publicly posts about you on social media), posts such as pictures from a wild spring break weekend or racist rants certainly will hurt your employment prospects.
Finally, we’ve heard some employers are now requesting candidates turn over their passwords or open their social media accounts during interviews. As unsettling as this sounds, in most states employers are free to do this. You may want to check the law for applicable state and federal privacy laws because there are a few places where this would be illegal.