holidays... sick call...

[imsickagain]

i have already went through the channels and my Christmas vacation request was rejected. oddly enough, i wanted to work Christmas last year, but they denied me.

the turnover rate is high i am #5 on the seniority list with only 1 year of experience. so you have an idea of the environment i am in. not sure why i was denied, either. i don't plan on working at this facility in the near future so it doesn't bother me if i am terminated.

anyway, anybody ever call in on a major holiday like thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.. ? did they reprimand you? what happened?

[Allgood2016, LPN, LVN]

Check your federal employment laws.

Former employers can only give dates worked (start date to last date worked); and, eligible for re-hire .

Anything else may be considered slander; and, grounds for a law suit.

[Wuzzie]

Check your federal employment laws.

Former employers can only give dates worked (start date to last date worked); and, eligible for re-hire .

Anything else may be considered slander; and, grounds for a law suit.

Not if it's true and they have documentation. They most certainly can say "she was fired for not following attendance policy". They cannot say "she was fired because we were afraid she was going to kill someone". Big difference.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Check your federal employment laws.

Former employers can only give dates worked (start date to last date worked); and, eligible for re-hire. Anything else may be considered slander; and, grounds for a law suit.

URBAN MYTH. By definition, slander must be false and malicious. Something true and factual does not meet that definition. There is nothing illegal, slanderous, or libelous about stating facts which are true and documented.

Many HR departments have POLICY that restricts them to dates of hire and eligibility for rehire, but that is not the same thing as federal law.

All that said, even sticking to policy, HR personnel can make very clear that someone has been a jerk. "Is this person eligible for rehire?" HR person, with a tone dripping with disgust, "AB-SO-LUTELY NOT!" That in and of itself tells quite a tale.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I don't drink/party so I volunteered for every New Year'S Eve and usually a single younger nurse would take my Christmas. That way I was home with my kids Christmas Day and they could go out and have fun New Years.

We staffed 3 RNs on Christmas. One of our nurses was Jewish, so she very sweetly always volunteered to work Christmas. That just left 2 nurses to cover on days. I would work almost every other major holiday to assure myself off for Christmas. This all worked out perfectly, and everyone was pretty happy. The young nurses in particular loved to have off for New Year's Day.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Looks my request for Christmas vacation was granted!! Our hospital policy was either to work December 24th 25th or December 31st January 1st. I have priority in scheduling over my coworkers so I choose to work New Years. Maybe, I'll call out then. Ha!

Love the responses. I'll post again when I leave this place on my own will and find another hospital to work at.

I'm glad you are going to get your time. As I said in my earlier post that it is necessary to check with the HR department or if you had a union....look at the negotiated contract and speak to your union rep to see what the holiday work times and disciplinary/corrective action policy are enforced.

It still isn't nice to shaft your nursing co-workers on a holiday but that is something you need to decide for yourself.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Check your federal employment laws.

Former employers can only give dates worked (start date to last date worked); and, eligible for re-hire .

Anything else may be considered slander; and, grounds for a law suit.

I'd like to see a source for this statement.

Internal policy may limit what is said, but if it is factual it's likely fair game legally.

What Can Former Employers Legally Say About Me?

State Laws on References and Statements by Former Employers

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure how to copy paste images through email/threads. So Send me your private email address.

Take care all...

Your e-mail access will activate after 15 posts as per the Terms of Service. It cuts down on spam

[Janetnzrn]

In my hospital, major holiday sick calls require a medical certificate, if you can't produce one you will be reprimanded by HR and possibly terminated if a pattern develops. We also have alternate holidays off. I would ask if someone would be willing to swap, not all of your coworkers are Christian and some might appreciate the holiday pay. On my unit it's hard to work on Christian holidays because of all the requests to work!

[tyloo]

I call out sick for every major holiday that I am scheduled to work. When I return to work everyone greets me with smiles, cookies, and pastries. My boss gives me an apology card and says how wrong she was to schedule me. My boss says she forgot how I am the unit's most special nurse, and I am not needed on the most important days of the year. My coworkers say that they didn't mind having to pick up an extra patient to cover my shift. My coworkers said running around like crazy on the unit to make up coverage for my patients that I didn't have made them miss their families even less. Of course my coworkers really missed me because I am the unit's best teamplayer nurse- just not on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Labor Day, and 4th of July.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Check your federal employment laws.

Former employers can only give dates worked (start date to last date worked); and, eligible for re-hire .

Anything else may be considered slander; and, grounds for a law suit.

So so incorrect. I really wish people would stop believing this misconception.

While some individual states may have a few restrictions on what may or may not be shared when it comes to references, an employer may say anything they want about the former employee provided that it is factual. Many employers choose to just stick with the basics of dates and rehire status...but they're not obligated to.

So if said employee had a habit of calling out of on major holidays, the employer can state "employee often calls out on holidays they were scheduled to work" and that is perfectly legal. It happened so it's factual.

Now, if the employer starts speculating on whether the employee was really sick when they called out, that's going away from factual and into potential slander-land.

And don't forget: nursing is a small world and you'd be surprised who knows who and where. So while the official reference is one thing, what information is conveyed informally from person to person is another.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

So so incorrect. I really wish people would stop believing this misconception.

While some individual states may have a few restrictions on what may or may not be shared when it comes to references, an employer may say anything they want about the former employee provided that it is factual. Many employers choose to just stick with the basics of dates and rehire status...but they're not obligated to.

So if said employee had a habit of calling out of on major holidays, the employer can state "employee often calls out on holidays they were scheduled to work" and that is perfectly legal. It happened so it's factual.

Now, if the employer starts speculating on whether the employee was really sick when they called out, that's going away from factual and into potential slander-land.

And don't forget: nursing is a small world and you'd be surprised who knows who and where. So while the official reference is one thing, what information is conveyed informally from person to person is another.

And don't forget social media. A nurse who called in sick on Christmas yet posted photos of her happy Christmas with her family may find her manager in possession of the photos. Then it becomes a factual statement that "Millicent called in sick for Christmas, but her FaceBook feed showed her at a party, smiling and toasting."

Your point about nursing being a small world was spot on as well. I moved a thousand miles away from where I went to school, and my first job interview in the new city was on a nursing unit where a woman who had graduated a year ahead of me was working. When we were introduced, she said "Oh, you must be Greg's sister. I dated him my last year of school." (Not his sister. We were married.). I'm assuming that the reason I didn't get that job is that my then-husband's former side chick had something negative to say about me when asked her opinion of whether I should be hired.

I worked with a woman in one state who habitually called in sick on Saturday nights and hour or so after the shift started. Her speech would be slurred and there would be barroom noises in the background. At work, she'd disappear into the bathroom and come back with her eyes unfocused and her behavior bizarre. One night, she asked me to watch her patients and then went into an increasingly agitated rant about how unfair everything in life was, and how God was out to get her. Then she disappeared into the bathroom for so long that one of my co-workers went to look for her. She found a bloody coat hanger, a pool of blood and bloody footsteps leading to the elevators. The nurse was found in the ER, thank God. But she abandoned her patients to abort herself at work after taking something to "take the edge off." A few years later, she wanted to use me for a reference. It turns out she wanted a job at my new place of employment in a new state. All I had to say was "three times while I was in charge she called in sick an hour after her shift started."

If you apply for a job in a unit where someone knows you or has reason to have known you, they will in all likelihood be asked for their opinion of whether you should be hired. If you've made a habit of shafting your co-workers, their opinion will no doubt be negative.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

At this point, this thread has run its course.

To the OP (original poster) I wish you the best but agree that there will be some type of repercussions if you call in on Christmas. Some suggestions:

1. Try to trade with someone.

2. Offer to pay someone to work your shift

3. Quit now and try to find a job where holidays are not required.

4. Resign yourself to the consequences, whatever that may be.