Employee's absences public knowledge?
kristankat03
14 Posts
I was asked a question I do not have the answer for-please help. I currently work for a manufacturing co. that is implementing LEAN. We have implemented "Cells" out on the production floor which generally consists of 6 to 9 people. The difference with cells is instead of each person assigned to a department (ie. assembly, forming, etc). The cell recieves an order and produces the entire part(s) which includes all the tasks involved in producing the part. With that being said, attendance of the cell members in extremely important b/c if they are short people there a parts that cannot be ran which in turn means we do not meet the customer demand for the product. In an effort to reduce the amount of absences within the cells, would it be legal to post a calendar within the cell that tracks/shows who was out on what day. It will not include the reason for the absence, but will show that they were out. I don't think that it's illegal but leaves a gray area which could potentially put the company at risk. What do you think?
Comments
We have an online vacation/timeoff schedule that all employees can see. ADA does have a confidentiality section, but FMLA and regular timeoff do not. I would suspect that you would be okay as long as you were not putting the reason they were out. Our reasoning for publishing it is for work-related purposes and knowing when others are out, planning meetings, etc.
But I have to wonder if having a calendar will accomplish "an effort to reduce the amount of absences within the cells". Are you hoping that peer pressure within the cell will keep employees more honest? Do you have any system where you pay employees for unused paid timeoff? Is there any financial incentive to NOT take timeoff? Is there a disciplinary process for taking too much (unpaid) timeoff? Is there any incentive for a cell to have 100% attendance over a period of time? I think there may be other ways to accomplish your end goal that would work better than posting a calendar of absences.
My last question...is this manufacturing company unionized? If so, the CBA could come into play.
I would be concerned about someone raising a flag that your practice is coercive in that it has a chilling effect on people using benefits to which they are entitled by law. For example, let's say that you have a woman with breast cancer who goes out on FMLA to fight it with various debillitating treatments. Let's also say that it's a very personal and private matter for her. Now let's say that she has complications from the treatment and, ultimately a mastectomy. I suspect that the public posting of her absences may be seen by her or others as coercive action designed to make people think twice about using FMLA leave. 29CFR 825.220 (b) specifically say that "interfering" with FMLA rights includes actions that discourage employees from taking leave protected under the Act.
Additionally, if the absence is in part related to recovery, it may also be covered by ADA. 29CFR 1630.12(b) specifically proscribes coercion, threats, or harassment that interferes with the enjoyment of rights under the Act.
If you are self-insured, I rather suspect that there may be additional privacy matters under HIPAA.
I think this practice is also more likely to lead to gossip when people see that long streak of absences. Will that help or hinder your overall goals for management of your workforce? What are the consequences for retaliation claims stemming from "joking around" by line supervisors? What about other inappriate questions or comments from co-workers?
Personally, I wouldn't do it. It's the kind of thing that can play well in a management meeting that, on reflection, may not play well on a 3x4 piece of posterboard in front of a jury. Just remember that everyone in the jury had a boss they didn't like and/or a job they didn't like.
We have an online vacation/timeoff schedule that all employees can see. [/quote]
We too have an online schedule, but I only post those absences that are requested vacations. The schedule is suppose to be a tool to help scheduling time off in your department not discourage absences. Any other absences, ie sick or FLMA are not posted. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I too would be concerned about employees pressuring each other about their time off. I run into the same issue with safety bonuses. Those eligible for the safety incentive try to conceal injuries so as not to affect the bonus. You may find that your employees will try to conceal illness for fear of being harassed or loosing their job.
As has already been said, you could be opening yourself up to some trouble by posting a calendar. I work in a Lean plant, and its important for every member of a team to be in. We've recently started an "attendance competition" where the team with the least amount of unexcused absences (not to include sick days, vacation days, approved FMLA time off, etc) gets a personalized Yamaha shirt. We keep a board tallying how many unexcused absences each team has, but not mentioning any individual names or reason. We haven't had a single unexcused absence in 3 weeks now (which is a huge improvement for us).
Basically, what I'm saying is, don't do the calendar. Look for a more creative venue.