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  • Relative needs help regarding looking for a job while on suspension

    A relative of mine needs help looking for a job while on suspension.

    First some background information regarding his current employer:

    He has been disciplined in the past for various reasons.

    Reason for his suspension:

    He is a type 2 diabetic. His blood sugar level was dropping at work this past Friday. He looked for someone to relieve him since he cannot leave his work area without having someone do that. But he could not find anyone to do that. He works in a public facing job. So had to leave his work area to get some food.
    Turns out while he was getting some food, a customer complained to management that he was not at his work area. Management called him and told him that his leaving his work area without having someone to relieve him could be considered job abandonment. He had to go to his Manager's office after work, and he was informed that he was suspended until further notice by Human Resources. His manager decided to e-mail HR about what his leaving his work area, and HR told that manager to suspend him until they decide whether or not he still has a job.
    HR does not know about his disability because he completed a paper job application in 2009 and was not asked about any disabilities.

    His manager has documentation regarding his diabetics.

    He did e-mail HR his side of the story, including the fact that he has type 2 diabetes, and that it falls under the ADA.

    What he would like to know is how should he word the reason why he is currently looking for a job when applying for jobs since he does not know exactly if/when he will be going back to work.

    Should he let prospective employers know that they can contact his current employer?

    How should he answer that question in job interviews?
    Last edited by snugglegirl05; 03-13-2017, 01:27 AM.

  • #2
    If he has not quit and not been fired, then he can check currently employed on any applications. However, if he gets interviews he should be careful not to lie. It is his choice how much of the story to tell but it really depends what questions they ask. Most of the time, they don't have to give you an ADA accomodation unless you make a request one and they agree to it. To know if he actually had any recourse he would need a lawyer. But just like any other currently employed person, I would ask that they not contact my current manager.

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    • #3
      Shyla makes some very good points...

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      • #4
        If the manager knows about his disability then they should have passed that on to HR, but so too should your relative; regardless of being asked, that should have been disclosed by him when he joined the company. They can't very well adhere to regulations if they have no knowledge that they apply, and failure to disclose could be enough to terminate his employment even if he can't be fired for abandonment.
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        • #5
          Quoth RealUnimportant View Post
          If the manager knows about his disability then they should have passed that on to HR, but so too should your relative; regardless of being asked, that should have been disclosed by him when he joined the company. They can't very well adhere to regulations if they have no knowledge that they apply, and failure to disclose could be enough to terminate his employment even if he can't be fired for abandonment.
          The paper application he completed in 2009 did not include a section regarding disclosing disabilities.

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          • #6
            It sounds like he's past the point of trying to make things workable and keep his job? For example, his manager knows about his health condition so is there some reason he can't keep snacks in his work area or on his person? Which he should still give thought to for his next job.
            Other than open dialogue between your relative and his manager, Shyla makes excellent points. He's still employed and he'd prefer potential employers *not* contact his current employer.
            He should give thought to a stock answer to "why do you want to work here?" He can use that answer to "why are you leaving your current job?" He should not lie, but he's not obligated to give every reason he's leaving.

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            • #7
              Quoth bloo View Post
              It sounds like he's past the point of trying to make things workable and keep his job? For example, his manager knows about his health condition so is there some reason he can't keep snacks in his work area or on his person? Which he should still give thought to for his next job.
              Other than open dialogue between your relative and his manager, Shyla makes excellent points. He's still employed and he'd prefer potential employers *not* contact his current employer.
              He should give thought to a stock answer to "why do you want to work here?" He can use that answer to "why are you leaving your current job?" He should not lie, but he's not obligated to give every reason he's leaving.
              He wants to keep his job. He is waiting for the manager to tell him whether or not HR chose to fire him.
              So exactly how should he answer the question "why are you leaving your current job?" when filling out job applications.
              He just wants to have a backup plan since he is not getting paid while on suspension. Just in case he is fired.

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              • #8
                I usually say that I'm looking for a position with more opportunities available to me.

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                • #9
                  This sounds like it might possibly be illegal. Especially if the person who has diabetes got ill from it.

                  I would think that it could be phrased/framed as a "misunderstanding", but it also sounds like HR is skirting some sort of legal line. It sounds like a suspension under those circumstances is rather circumspect, at least to me, from a legal perspective.

                  I don't know how much medical information it would be prudent to disclose (if any), but I would think that saying something about requiring certain accommodations under the ADA would suffice, and since you did not have those accommodations you were suspended due to a "misunderstanding".

                  I don't even know if that would even work...just tossing it out there.
                  Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

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                  • #10
                    My consort has epilepsy. He told me it's illegal to ask about disabilities when you're being hired. It would seem to be the employee's responsibility to mention that to his/her immediate supervisor as soon as you're hired so they could work out reasonable accommodations. It sounds like this could have been avoided easily be asking if he could keep a couple snacks with him or at his work station.

                    A former boss of mine (diabetic) kept snacks at his work station all the time.

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                    • #11
                      I do not work for them and never have, but I know that Kroger will deliberately put people on indefinite suspension instead of firing them so as to avoid having to pay unemployment. I do not personally know of any other companies that skirt paying unemployment that way. When a store closed down in an Indiana city I used to live in, they moved all the employees, then gradually found excuses to put all the younger ones on indefinite suspension so they would go looking for new jobs and they wouldnt have to pay unemployment for firing them (they weren't giving the other stores enough hours to cover the new people they were forced to absorb.)

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                      • #12
                        I believe the phrase that Kroger employees need to look for there is "constructive termination".

                        It's basically "firing you without actually firing you", and it should be a valid reason to file for unemployment. Or possibly bring a lawsuit? In some states at least.
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