Unexcused Absence

Just an alert, you have five unexcused absences in the past six months, a sixth would place you in disciplinary action resulting in a verbal warning; once you receive a warning, any additional unexcused absence will result in a written warning; warnings take 6 months to go away, in other words, you cannot have an unexcused absence for six months after receiving a warning; if you have any questions let me know.

Thank you.

All I can say to this unwarranted threat is @#%#@&! But I'll say more anyway. The entire office has been sick this cold and flu season, some of us several times. It's gone around and around and even hit the managers (boo-hoo) but of course it's the peons who are punished, the poor slobs working full-time for slave wages. So the above went out as an email to more than a few. One poor shaken woman, clearly concerned (there have been several layoffs already) rushed to explain that she had used her sick days for the absences, so why was she receiving the warning. It didn't matter though, sick days or no, if you didn't go to the doctor and get a note it is considered "unexcused". Excuse me? They pay you for the day, but it's "unexcused"?

And what's all this gotta go to the doctor crap? No wonder medical costs in this country are so high, with idiotic rules like this. Must we go to the doctor every time we're too sick to go to work? I was sick and it cleared up on its own. Dana was sick and she went to the doctor, but the second time she didn't, same recovery time, though, in both cases. Thanks, corporate assholes, for clogging our waiting rooms because of your evil nonsense.

I was too sick to work one day, voice gone, couldn't talk anyway without coughing, was given another job that day by the manager, who could see clearly I couldn't talk that day. And yet, when I called in the next day, barely able to speak, it was reported as an "unexcused absence" because I didn't go to the goddamned doctor! They all knew I was sick, I didn't call out to go to the beach. I was so sick I actually wanted to go to work rather than stay home.

And even if you have doctor's notes for every absence, as a very sick friend of mine did, they'll still fire your ass if you miss too many days. It happened to her, and they had no mercy on her. Being sick was no excuse, they said.

Final word to the little prick who sent the email: Shove your unexcused absence up your rotten smelly capitalist ass, you lying lackey for the man!