maddyjean08

When she asked you to go home, did you still get paid for that day? If not, she asks you to leave so she doesn't pay you for doing nothing. Solved!

solosater

That was exactly the point. Instead of not having people there so she didn't have to pay them she started with plenty and pared down according to need. There were always at least a couple, me included, who would be pleased to go home even if it did mean loss of pay for those hours.

The reason others don't go this route is that they cannot send you home if they scheduled you to work unless you volunteer. I would guess that there are some people who would just as soon put in the hours at work even if there was NOTHING to do at all. I know that I couldn't stand it as those are the days that drag on forever but some may see it as easy money.

At another job, for Uswest before it became Qwest, I always volunteered to work the holidays as we got double time and a half and the company was required to have so many people on on those days. That generally was easy money as very few people called in; we would all bring our head sets to the center of the aisle and play cards or chit chat for hours and they would generally have treats for us those days too. Only very rarely did they ask for volunteers to go home as they knew they wouldn't get people to come back on the holidays. Occasionally they would have people on call if they didn't have enough volunteers to work the shifts, I don't know how often they had to use them though.

maddyjean08

If I had a job that was fun to do during holidays, I would volunteer holidays, too.

Dragon

I know what you mean about under staffing at store's like Wal-mart. I find if you don't need anyone then they're all over the place but as soon as you have a question thet're no where to be found. My brother had a friend who worked at Wal-mart in his youth and on slow shifts he would climb into one of those boxes you put in the back of pick-up trucks and have a nap. That's some kind of serious lazy.

Robindcr8l

So I want to vent about something with my job. Every year, they have encouraged all of us who work there to get a flu shot and they even offer them for free to us. Every year I decline for many reasons which are my own. But this year, they are MANDATING that we get the fly shot. Apparently, in other parts of the country this has been done as a condition for employment, however, unions have fought it and won. So now the facilities have come up with the diabolical method of coercion by giving us a choice. They say we can either get the flu shot, or wear a mask the entire time we are in the building from now until April. Some choice. For me, it's like saying, "You can either insert this hot poker up your arse or directly into your eyeball!" Once you get your flu shot, they give you a green button to wear that says "I'm vaccinated because I care". (I am changing mine to "because I was coerced"). You are required to wear the button or the mask for every shift. The first time you are caught without either, you will receive a warning. The next time, you will be sent home and could be terminated. I'm not sure who they think will police this on the night shift, but I can assure you it won't be me. Like I will send home staff for not having a button, and leave us short-staffed. That would be great for the patients! "I'm sorry, Mrs. Smith. We don't normally take thirty minutes to answer your call light, but I have had to send 50% of my staff home for not having a flu shot. The hospital wants to protect you from the flu more than they want your immediate needs met!"

The argument is that we are exposing immunocompromised patients to the flu if we are not vaccinated. Well, the vaccine covers only one strain, so that argument pales when you realize I could still expose someone to the flu, DESPITE being vaccinated. I'd like to see the data that proves that healthcare workers are routinely infecting their patients. I'm guessing it's much more common for the patients to be infecting the healthcare workers! I don't understand what makes this year different enough that this is being mandated instead of encouraged. They can't say it's because of the swine flu, because they are not requiring us to get vaccinated for that.

I have never had a flu shot and I have never had the flu. I feel like my civil rights are being violated here. In the end, I caved and got the damn shot. But I am going to whine about it for a long time to come!

And if I get the flu for the first time this year, despite the vaccination, heads will roll!

Robindcr8l

just realized I called it the fly shot somewhere in there! LOL!

solosater

I think you are right to be upset. You have the basic human right to refuse care. They shouldn't be allowed to get around it so easily and I would bet that if you made a big enough stink over it you would win but in the meantime I wouldn't bet on being allowed to work and earn a living.

I got the shot this year because my doctor had them all ready to go and I didn't have to make a special trip or wait in line or anything. I usually don't get it and I often get the flu but I imagine I would get the flu anyway. I'm aware that the shot doesn't protect against many flus but just the "most likely" ones. I'll likely get it this year too.

I don't have a problem with vaccines but I certainly do understand why people won't get them and won't have their children inoculated. I think it's sad that in a "free" society we are forced to do things we find to be wrong for us just so we can live. Some schools require inoculations for attendees. I've always thought that was wrong.

I'm not the expert on these things but it seems to me that if child A is inoculated and child B is not then child B may become sick but should pose no danger to child A so why require it. The children who become sick become sick and I'd be willing to bet they wouldn't all be unvaccinated.

On the other hand if you are sick STAY HOME!!!

If schools and businesses really wanted to keep their students and workers healthy they would not penalize sick people for missing work. Of course we live in a dishonest society so people call in "sick" when they need a day off but if you have a note from a doctor stating that you are sick with a communicable illness you shouldn't even have to question whether it is ok to stay home and there should be no pressure to return until you are cleared.

We would all be healthier if sick people didn't share with the masses.

I guess that wouldn't help you though would it Robin, you must be exposed to all sorts of sick all the time. I couldn't do it, I'm a sick magnet!

solosater

I have a question for you Robin. I had some blood work done at least eight weeks ago and there is still a faint bruise on my arm.

It was terrible for the first four weeks, almost black and about two" X four" though it wasn't really sore. After that it faded mostly but now seems to be done.

Is there any trick to getting it to go entirely? It's not painful and most would probably not notice but I keep thinking it's dirt and trying to wash it off, I might scrub a whole new wound into my arm!

Robindcr8l

Solo, I can't imagine why that bruise would linger so long, other than maybe it took extra long for the vein to clot off after the blood draw. Maybe you have had a slow steady leak under the skin since then. Seems weird. Is your platelet count OK? Do you take aspirin or anticoagulants at all? I don't have any advice to get rid of it, sorry.

I totally agree with you about staying home if you're sick. No one wants to be infected by your creeping crud! I am very lucky that I almost NEVER get sick. Can't even remember the last time I had a cold, and I've never had the flu. I think teachers must get sick a lot because kids are walking germ factories. Nurses may be exposed to illnesses, but we generally take precautions to keep from transmitting them.

At my work, along with the coerced flu shots, they have put out a new policy for self-screening for flu symptoms. If you have any of the symptoms (like fever, body aches, respiratory symptoms, etc.) you are directed to call in and cannot return to work for 7 days after the fever ends. This is a mandated policy, mind you. But there is another attendance policy that says you can not call in more than 2 times in a 3 month period or you will face discipline up to and including termination. My unit manager happens to be very strict with this policy. So people are already on attendance probation, and if they get these flu symptoms and call in per policy, they can be terminated, per policy also. So people are just ignoring the symptoms and coming to work anyway because they are afraid of being fired. It's psycho. I think I need a vacation. When all the silly bureaucracy starts to get to me this much, I generally just need a vacation. Maybe I'll call in sick! LOL

Login

That's crazy! The two policies counteract each other. Surely any attempt at dismissal could be legally challenged. We have a state run 'Industrial Tribunal' system, where sackings in these sort of circumstances can be challenged at no cost to the victim.

Dragon

Robin, just a thought. They say either get a flu shot or wear a mask. Did they say you have to wear the mask on your face? Perhaps you could've gotten around the coercion by semantics. Wear it on your knee or on the top of your head and when called on it just say, 'The policy didn't say where I had to wear the mask, just that it must be worn.' Hehehe. I am, of course, being facetious but it could be a way to fight bureaucracy with bureaucracy.

Robindcr8l

OMG, LMAO Dragon! I can't beLIEVE I didn't think of that myself!! Too late for me now, but I will pass this solution on to the other dissenters. Actually, I may just leave my stupid green button home one day so I can test that out!

Login, the flu symptom part of the policy is so new that I don't think anyone has actually been disciplined yet for it. But I'm sure with the first one, there will be hell to pay! Here in the States, some lawyers would take on a case like this under a contingency, where they would get paid by the defendant when if they win in court. This means they don't take a case unless they are quite certain it's winnable (is that a word? Because if it is, I'm giving myself 10pts.!)

solosater

I used to have the creeping crud around my nose! A weird rash would slowly creep from one side to the other never going away completely for, I'm guessing, a solid year. After that it would come and go for a while. I haven't thought of that in years.

I've always said you cannot fix stupid. (Well you can with a baseball bat but you're likely to do some hard time and I don't recommend it.) I like the mask on your knee idea, the idea of fighting stupid with stupid is a valid one, I think. If you have a union I think you could at least get away with it until they rewrote the rules, language is everything in these kinds of things.

I wonder if anyone has ever sued a company they worked for for mental distress over the stupid contradictory policies they were expected to follow?

Robin, yes, as far as I know my blood count is all good, I haven't been feeling even a little anemic. The bruise is just an eyesore, I'll get over it and I'm sure it will eventually fade, I just can't understand why it would last so long in the first place.

marius

You guys are funny! Thanks for the laughs.

Sorry Robin about the forced flu shot. Maybe your hospital is freaked by H1N1 and legal issues that could present. Around here it's the BIG, BIG scare. Funny, think my flu last month was H1N1 as had exposure to friend's daughter, and later found out it's the kind her daugher had. It didn't kill me that I know of. (giggle)

Robindcr8l

I told my friend about Dragon's suggestion of wearing the mask somewhere other than my face. My friend suggested it could be worn as a sort of half-bra! LOL. I won't tell you here vision for the male nurses!

Marius, if the fear stemmed from the H1N1 virus, it seems logical that they would be requiring that vaccine also, but they are only recommending that one, not forcing it. Apparently New Zealand, who, being in the southern hemisphere has already experienced their flu season this year, had a particularly bad one. So now good old USA assumes ours will be the worst ever in all history, and hence the coerced invasion to my body. I'm hoping New Zealand doesn't have a sudden population explosion due to an uncanny number of pregnancies this year. I fear I'd be forced to have my tubes tied. Pregnancies are expensive, and cost the hospital money in terms of non-productive time off. Luckily, though, it's a Catholic institution who doesn't believe in birth control. My fallopian tubes should be safe, unless the Pope changes his stance on things.

Do I detect a note of sarcasm in my writings?

Dragon

LOL at the half bra idea!! Perhaps H1N1 did inspire it but only in-so-much as when you wear your 'I had my flu shot and I'm just so stinking happy about it' badge the general public will assume that it's an H1N1 shot you've had. Perhaps they trying to put people's minds at ease instead of trying to educate them.

solosater

Oh, I think we have a winner!!!!

solosater

I am not sure but I may be going out of town for a few days, I'll check back in as soon as I can.

Robindcr8l

Not creative enough to draw the half-bra version! LOL


http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=65533

maddyjean08

Nice docter, it's really cool! And Robin, you are creative. No matter to whatever anybody says, you are creative, liebling.