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Post Info TOPIC: 12 year employee suspended for having autism
Anonymous

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12 year employee suspended for having autism
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Hi,

I am posting on behalf of my son.  He is 27 years old, has worked for Kroger since he was 16 years old, and has mild Autism/Asperger's syndrome.  A month ago he was accused of pleasuring himself in the Kroger restroom by two junior employees, and suspended til further notice.  The union leader filed a grievance on his behalf, a month has went by and still no meeting.  He has not been allowed an opportunity to express his side.  Because of his special needs, he has behaviors and mannerisms that could be misinterpreted.  i have no idea if the management that made this decision has any understanding whatsoever of his disablility, and what happened to Kroger values of diversity and inclusion?  There is a plethora of non-disabled young folks capable of performing the same work i guess.

This has turned our family's life upside down.  Is this fairly typical for the Kroger union?  This is at a level 3, whatever that means, i have no warm fuzzy there will ever be a meeting, and he's been turned down for unemployment.

 



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5star


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Sometimes the union could take some time to get everything together. I would suggest calling the union them self to see where the process truly is. If you truly think its was a wrongful suspension you could get a lawyer involved.

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Freshandfriendly86


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Steps in a grievance. Level 1:Union Rep meets with Store manager. It doesnt get resolved? Level 2: Union meets with district manager. Still not resolved? Level 3:Union meets with Division HR. Still not resolved? Level 4: You go to court.

Rarely does the employee actually sit in on these meetings. I guess its all pending on if the union rep has the right story from you/and your son. Its at a level 3 grievance Im sure you will hear back fairly soon. If you do win the grievance Im sure back pay will be involved.



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Anonymous

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Since management has no proof besides the statements of the two employees.   I hope it works out for him and he can return to work soon. 



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Anonymous

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Masturbation in a bathroom? That's unheard of! Must be something new the kids are doing these days...



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kroagrr


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Re: 12-Year Employee Suspended for Having Autism
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Steps in a grievance:                                                                                               Level 1: Union Rep meets with Store manager. It doesn't get resolved? Level 2: Union meets with district manager. Still not resolved?  Level 3: Union meets with District or Division HR. Still not resolved?   Level 4: You go to court.

Accurate as I know it, except that "court" is arbitration.  The Level 3 meetings may occur months apart.

It might also be worthwhile to consult an attorney if the grievance process fails. 

 

ASD and the Americans with Disabilities Act

 

 



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Anonymous

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RE: 12 year employee suspended for having autism
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Thank you very much.  I'm surprised in this process that the employee isn't involved, that the union rep only got a very short description of my concerns over the phone.  i have talked to an attorney who advised at this point just to me more assertive with the union.  They have a large number of cases but ours is important to us.



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Anonymous

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Thank you.



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kroagrr


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Re: 12-Year Employee Suspended for Having Autism
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Yes, it's unfortunate about associates almost being reduced to "just an absent number" in the grievance steps above 1 and 2.

Wouldn't hurt to restate your case in writing and submit that to the union local.  I'd recommend that for more reasons than one.



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Anonymous

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RE: 12 year employee suspended for having autism
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i expressed my concerns in an email to the union rep, i think i got under their skin a little, they said they asked for the level three meeting to be held soon.  She told me 7 to 10 days, so clock is ticking.

 



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Anonymous

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Playing devils advocate here....Kroger treats everyone equally, regardless of disability. You have two employees who reported to management that this was going on. Two people saw what was happening. Kroger did the right thing. What if a CUSTOMER had seen this? Just because someone has Autism they should get  a free pass? I don't think so!!! Siding with management on this one.   



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Anonymous

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My son said the stall was shut and locked, so don't know what was seen.  What if two employees worked together to get rid of someone they didn't like?  People with autism don't get a pass, they have behaviors that are easily misunderstood.



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Anonymous

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The problem I have with this is that there are two witnesses to this. Why would two people who went to management report this if they alleged did not see anything? There are too many checks and balances in the complaint reporting system for someone to go to management and "get rid of someone they don't like." It just does not make sense. Two separate reports and what was said coincided. This is exactly the type of reason Kroger should NOT be hiring these people, due to the fact they can be so unpredictable.



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Anonymous

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Anonymous wrote:

The problem I have with this is that there are two witnesses to this. Why would two people who went to management report this if they alleged did not see anything? There are too many checks and balances in the complaint reporting system for someone to go to management and "get rid of someone they don't like." It just does not make sense. Two separate reports and what was said coincided. This is exactly the type of reason Kroger should NOT be hiring these people, due to the fact they can be so unpredictable.

 This particular kid has worse than "mild Asperger's". I have mild Asperger's. I perform my job just fine, granted when I finally go home I pretty much just keep to myself until I go back to work. But I've never had a "desire" to jack off in the bathroom. Don't blame deviancy on Autism. I can assure you people with "mild Autism/Asperger's" are smart enough to know how to act normal long enough to make it through a workday. Her son is a full-blown aspie I'd bet, and if he's been doing this in the bathrooms, he's been doing it a LONG time.

I'd even go as far as betting complaint one happened a while ago and they kept it on record, and then a second employee reported it later and where there is smoke, there is fire as the saying goes.



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EUID_Unknown


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Remember is you tug it more then 2x, its not considered going to the bathroom.....ha
I would have to say this is kind a weird situation, why would someone say this is happening unless they hear the "sounds" or looking between the gaps in the stalls? I'm guessing the people reporting it are male, so they might know a thing about the action. But when with a disability, most guys would have said to someone with a disability "Hey buddy, you cant be doing that at work, that is something you do at home"....unless it was a repeat situation.

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Anonymous

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its been five months and my son is still suspended.  We appealed the suspension but the union never gave us a decision.  He received a check for vacation pay that was uncashable at both Walmart and his bank.

 



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