November 20, 2018

Did you know that HR professionals had a hand in dubbing the day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday”?  The reason behind the moniker is that so many people called in “sick” the Friday after the great turkey chow down that it impacted business operations and caused millions of dollars in lost productivity.  This similar phenomena, where an employee calls in “sick” due to being hungover or simply not wanting to come into work, happens other times throughout the year as well – like the Super Bowl for instance.  What is the best way to deal with these days when you know that call-ins and no-call/no-shows are likely to be high?  The best recourse is to enforce your attendance policy consistently and equally.  If the employee is already on shaky ground with a poor attendance record, discipline may be warranted.  However, there is a huge caveat here – be very wary of disciplining an employee who calls in sick in a jurisdiction where that discipline could be considered retaliatory.  Also, many state sick leave laws only allow an employer to request proof that the absence was truly due to illness (or another approved reason under the paid sick leave law) if the employee missed three consecutive work days.  If you need assistance wading through the confusing myriad of paid sick leave laws, reach out to one of the attorneys at myHRcounsel today for assistance!  Happy Thanksgiving!