'Sorry, we need the coverage so you'll need to come in': Sick employee forced to come into work by disorganized manager

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  • 01
    Font - can an employer say 'no' to me calling out sick? i work in a chain retail store (in california, in case that's relevant) and i messaged my manager today about 6 hours before my shift letting her know i wasn't feeling well, and couldn't come in to work. she told me i need to find coverage, or come in. i asked everyone available if they could cover for me, and not a single person responded. i let my manager know about the situation, and her only response was "sorry, we need the coverage so
  • 02
    Font - is this..allowed? i've never had a job do this before, i've always just been able to call out if i need to. this is the second time this exact thing has happened, the last time it happened i had and was still told to come in for the day, again because we "need the coverage".
  • 03
    Font - the whole thing just doesn't sit well with me. i understand lack of coverage can be difficult, but as an employee (meaning not in any manager/supervisory role) that isn't something i should have to feel responsible for.
  • 04
    Font - EDIT: thank yall for ur responses, even the ones calling me stupid. since this was brought up in a comment, i do have various medical conditions that do qualify me as a person with a disability,
  • 05
    Font - but the only "paperwork" i have is some MyChart forms filled out by a previous dr, and accommodation paperwork i had to submit to my college. i don't have any accommodations at work, and dont even quite know how to go about it. EDIT 2: for those concerned, i don't drive. i take public transit. i stopped driving a few months ago because i realized it wasn't safe for me to be doing so, due to the decline in my physical health.
  • 06
    Font - and if u guys are shook by this story, someday i'll tell the story of when i got fired because i was seriously sick (had mono), and my job (again, another corporation) said they "don't accept doctors notes" for absences, after telling me point blank i needed drs notes for missing work.
  • 07
    Font - Mean-Eggplant1008. 20 hr. ago "I am sick and will not be coming in. Coverage? You're the manager, you get paid more than I do, you figure it out. Not my job." If I'm sick enough to be calling in, I'm not going in, end of story. Fire me if you want, too sick to care anyway, and you just proved I was gonna have to quit sooner or later because you and your job. Better sooner. 456 Reply Share
  • 08
    Font - g3shy OP 19 hr. ago this job is incredibly temporary for me. i started in july, and am leaving CA in feb when i graduate college, but that being said if i lost this job id be it took me 6 months to get hired (i have a really good resume, but even with emailing/calling/appl ying to 20+ places a week, not a single person even replied to me until this job)
  • 09
    Font - xdaemonisx 21 hr. ago. edited 21 hr. ago The next time they ask you to cover your own shift, tell them that fixing scheduling issues aren't part of your job description. They can say no to you calling out, but they can't force you to come in. You can be fired for not going in, though, and it would be legal. 427 Reply Share
  • 10
    Font - Deathbed Confessional. 19 hr. ago The line I used to use was "You're a manager, I'm sure you'll manage" until they fired me for insubordination (I was also barred from using the phrase "Sorry, that's above my pay grade"). Still won on the unemployment claim though.
  • 11
    Font - Legion1117 20 hr. ago "Making sure the store has coverage when I am unable to work is not my job responsibilities as I am not a manager. I am not physically capable of working today and will not be doing so." That's your response. This continues to happen because we allow it to happen. If more of us would tell these "managers" this would not to be happening as often as it does.
  • 12
    Font - MatCauthon95 - 21 hr. ago Yes, it's allowed. Your first mistake was agreeing to find coverage. You're sick. End of story. You're not paid to make the schedule. You did the manager's job for them.
  • 13
    Font - krakh3d 19 hr. ago OP, make sure you do a time sheet adjustment when you get in and ask your manager to sign it. You're owed for the time you spent looking for coverage as directed, in text, by your supervisor.
  • 14
    Font - If you texted off and on over an hour then you're owed at a minimum those hours but CA has some weird laws so you may be owed a minimum of 4 hours not counting your scheduled shift.
  • 15
    Font - Please please make sure you ask her to sign off on your time adjustments Note I'm basing it off this, like i said it's kind of weird and hard to follow so I'm not certain how much time you may be entitled to https://www.classlawgro up.com/employment/cali fornia-labor-law/4-hour- minimum-shift
  • 16
    Font - Professor Gray Matter. 20 hr. ago As a person who sometimes goes to chain retail stores in California, it's really great to hear that they're making people with active man the floor.

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