So I had to go in for emergency dental work on my day off this past week and took the following day off. I gave them almost 24 hours notice. Only took one day off, so I didn't get a doctor's note as our contract says we only need one for multiple days.
So I got my work done at the dentist.. got pain meds to take until my post-op visit about a week later.. and go "well, I can go into work and do as good of a job as I can..Better than leaving them out to dry in an understaffed store"
I go in... set up the case.. I make sure to notify the opening manager as soon as they are doing their first round of the store of my condition so they are aware of the circumstances,...then we do our huddle. Co notices that I am quite medicated and says not to use saw or knives. I go ok.. makes sense.
I go to breaking down the stuck.. another meat cutter coming in shortly anyhow and he can handle it if we kill the truck. Obviously I am not going to be up to full speed, but I work things out to the counter as quick as we can. We're running a little behind when it comes to the lunch meat and we aren't going to finish by one, but it is what it is.
So I'm leaving for the day and get called into the office... and start getting asked about why we have all these holes and do I have a doctor's note... I'm like no.. I'm going off common sense that someone taking a prescription for narcotic level pain killers should not operate machinery and I was instructed not to do so for safety reasons. Anyways.. they end up telling me to just take tomorrow off since I was scheduled to be the cutter in the morning. I'm like that's fine. They seemed just kind of aggro during the conversation.
Now to me, it seems like they are being very ungrateful given the circumstances. I could have just called out and stayed home to heal up and left them to figure things out themselves... Keep in mind there is nobody to call, everyone in the districts in our area is stretched too thin to spare a soul to help. Could they try to write me up for under-performing if they felt like it, or can they just give me a hard time and that is about it since it's for medical reasons? My personal thinking at this point is they reserve the right to send me home or tell me to take the day off if they wanted to, but that is about it.
Part of me says I should go into the dentist on monday for the purpose of getting a doctor's note that strictly prohibits me using knives, using machinery such as saws, limits lifting to 10lbs and under and so on so forth, so I could really drill it to them for a couple days until my next appointment. Do I need to do it to cover my butt?
Keep in mind too... I call out once every 1-2 YEARS, I have zero write ups, I'm a hard working employee, I am never late for work, and I change my schedule without hassle to fit the needs of the business whenever asked to. It's not like I have a habit of calling out or anything.
I think it's more of a case of them (Kroger) prefering to get along without you for a day or two than having you possibly injure yourself at work and having to pay your medical bills.
I wouldn't worry. They're done. They would have said it all in that meeting if there was more. If they ask again for a doctors note show them your script bottle, can't get those kinds of meds without a doctor visit.
They can't really do anything if you're prescribed something for pain after dental work. Blowing hot air is about all they can do. If anything happens again contact your union rep. If I recall correctly there was a pamphlet sent to all reps regarding this exact thing not too long ago so they should know how to handle your situation.
They can't punish you for it, in any case, and they can't send you home. You calling out was in the best interest of you and the store but don't take too long as that will require a note and could lead to actual problems with excessive absences and what-not.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
At least under my contract, they can't fire you for poor performance. They can fire you for refusing to listen to your supervisors or for doing something really stupid (such as letting food go bad because you left it out at room temperature and took too long to stock), but you can't get fired for working slowly. If they try to write you up, refuse to sign it and ask for a union rep.
