My wife works in a restaurant, and the power-tripping manager has instituted a new policy where all shift changes must be approved by management. I think that is reasonable enough, but they’re also asking the originally-scheduled employee why they are switching shifts, then approving or denying based on the answer.
For example, her coworker (Tom) wanted Monday afternoon off, and Harry agreed to cover the shift. The manager asked Tom why he wanted Harry to work for him, and Tom said, “I have a softball game.” Manager denied the shift change because it was “unnecessary”.
Is this legal? I feel like if you’re able to find someone to cover your shift, you don’t owe management any explanation why you need the time off. How should my wife approach this situation? Colorado, USA BTW.
It’s legal but insane. Your wife should start looking for a new job.
I’m not sure it would be legal if they were forced to reveal medical information.
That would be a violation, but it is perfectly m legal to ask if someone is going on generic “sick” or “medical” time off or leave. Every company I’ve ever worked for has had be declare my PTO as sick leave or discretionary time off. And the latter is what it means, it’s at the discretion of the manager to approve it.
Sure, but that assumes this manager would be happy with generic “medical stuff” as an answer…
Worst comes to worst, they could ask for a doctor’s note. And doctors notes are always pretty generic and basically say “yup, they can’t work.” But if the manager does ask for Dr’s notes, they need to apply the policy equally to all employees.
It’s usually a HIPAA violation if an employer asks for specifics about a medical issue.
Source: I’m a people manager who has had to go through a bunch of trainings about these laws.
Sorry but most restaurant work doesn’t come with paid time off or sick leave. You either work and get paid or don’t work and don’t get paid.
Correct, non sick leave is usually considered discretionary time off; meaning, it’s at the discretion of the manager to approve it.
That said, this manager sounds like a nut job. It’s legal to be a hard ass, but people don’t have to remain working for you.
I see what you’re saying, but we’re not talking about requesting a paid personal day. We’re talking about having you’re shift covered by another person, and having that denied because management doesn’t like the reason you want the shift covered.