I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!
We encourage you to attack the problems before the conditions get so
intolerable that you are forced to quit. Later we will address the
many tools you have available to you which you can use to make your work
conditions better, but we first want to address the crisis situation.
If you find yourself in the position where you just cannot go on any further
we urge you not to quit. Get out of the workplace. Tell your boss that
you don't feel good and have to go home. Usually this is the absolute truth.
I know from personal experience that an intolerable work place will cause a
lot of physical and mental symptoms.
In most cases there is no reason why you should have to quit. It is your job
which provides your family with its income. Your years of service and
seniority are at stake as are your vacation pay, holidays, group insurance,
pension and other fringe benefits. There is usually no reason why you have to
give all of this up.
At this point you have several options depending on your immediate situation.
You may want to start some of the corrective steps before you go back to work.
If you find that you just cannot go back into the offensive workplace you
should be sure to follow the employer's requirements about calling in to
report your absence. Go to your family doctor and report the stress you are
under and get an excuse from work. It is real important that you do everything
you can to keep from being discharged for absences. In several states,
including Iowa, unusual stress from the workplace is an injury covered by
worker's compensation. If you are unable to work as a result of unusual
stress from the workplace you should ask to make out an injury or incidence
report. In most states you only have a few days in which to report an
injury. In Iowa a worker has less than 90 days but should report the condition
immediately. Some states such as South Dakota require a worker to report an
injury within 3 days.
So many times it seems that the problems we face in the workplace are so
overwhelming that we can't deal with them. We urge you to sit down and make
a list of everything you feel is going wrong on the job. Don't worry
about prioritizing the list, you can do that later.
Making such a list is certainly therapeutic. The problems that have caused
you to lay awake at night are now on paper in front of you. Now you can
attack the most serious of the problems. At this point you may want to
prioritize your list. You will find that many of the problems will fit
together in one category. Several problems may flow from one cause. One good
example would be sexual discrimination which may cause several job problems
such as unfair work load, discriminatory wages, unfavorable review or unjust
treatment from a supervisor.
If you are still on the job or plan to go back to work and have made a
complete list of the workplace problems there are a few things you should do
before you begin to correct the problems:
There are only a few examples where a worker acting alone is protected
by federal or state laws. In most cases where a worker is trying to correct
intolerable working conditions he or she needs to have at least one co-worker
involved in the effort. When two or more workers are involved in the effort
to correct problems in the workplace they are protected by the National Labor
Relations Act. There are some exceptions: Employees of city, county, and state governments, supervisors, confidential employees and
casual employees are not covered by the National Labor Relations Act.
However, in most states public employees are covered by similar state laws.
Employees of real small firms may not be covered by the federal
law. There are few other exceptions. Most workers are covered by the
National Labor Relations Act. If you are covered by this law an employer
cannot punish you as a result of your efforts to improve your
workplace if two or more employees are involved in the effort.
Those that have worked with me know my strong belief that workers should keep
a notebook for documentation of events. If the boss asks you to use the
unsafe dock plate write down what was said, including the date, time, the
load number and the names of any persons who heard the boss's orders. Be sure
not to leave your notebook laying around because it is sure to disappear.
There may be times that you will want the boss to know you are
taking notes. Most employers are worried sick about being sued. All of the
management publications are full of scare stories about workers who have sued
and collected large sums of money. If the boss notices that you are keeping a
record, he or she will likely go pick on someone else.
You should remember that every action creates a reaction. Not
all reactions are bad nor are all reactions good. You will have to decide
what is best for your situation.
Be sure to tell someone about the work problems. Tell a co-worker, your
spouse or another family member, your minister or priest, or your doctor.
Ask that person to make a note of your conversation.
In most states a worker has the right to see or to get copies of his
or her personnel file. In Iowa a worker can only be charged $5 for a copy of
the personnel file. Once you receive your file, sit down and make an
inventory of the items contained in the file. In most cases the employer is
prohibited from taking any documents out of the file. Write down each
item such as: "a one-page employment application dated 12/22/95". Once you
have the inventory complete you should send the list to the employer with a
letter stating:
"Enclosed you will find a list of documents that were contained in
my personnel file which I received (date)/ / / . If you have any other
documents which pertain to my employment with you please send them to me
within ten days or it will be assumed that I have all of the documents which
concern my employment with your firm."
We are amazed at the things we find in personnel files, such as:
confidential memos and hand-written notes from a foreman and/or co-workers.
In one case we found a letter from the employer's attorney answering the
employer's question as to whether it could discharge a worker because she was
too obese. The employer used a phony reason to discharge the worker.
A law suit was filed and the worker received a good-sized settlement.
The value of having your file is that the employer cannot add something
to the file after you have done the inventory and sent the letter to
the employer as outlined above. If something were added, it would be looked
upon with great suspicion by any court or government agency.