Wrongful termination filed a grievance

[PAUPSER]

I have been with UPS for 5 years now and I was fired unjustly Wednesday for alleging having excessive tardiness, I missed a total of five days this year due to the flu and had a doctors note to verify this and was presented to work; and you file a grievance with the union, do you still get paid while you grievance is waiting to be settled either by each parties or thru arbitration. I was also told that you don’t get paid; however, UPS has to maintain your health benefits or basically am I screwed without anything until this matter gets resolved in the future. Thank You

 

[705red]

Its possible that you could bet paid that all depends on the outcome of your grievance. How many lates are we talking about? Did they work you when you were late or did they send you home? There are alotof variables that play into it here. WHen it comes to discipline the union can help you out in alot of ways, but attendance you my friend are responsible to come to work everyday on time ready to work. Have you been suspended previously over the last 9 moths?

 

[Anonymous 10]

friend.m.l.a

 

[PAUPSER]

To add information to this post. I have no history of excessive tardiness. I may have had one to two days a year that I used sick days for and I always provided a doctors note and I have never been late for work in all of my five years. Lastly, I have never received a verbal, written warning or been suspended for any matter either.

 

[705red]

What you are telling us does not add up! A dcotors note does not mean its not an attendance infraction unless you have applied for FMLA and called in saying you are using it today. What does your written discipline say exactly?

 

[PAUPSER]

I was told I was fired for attendance that’s it, I never used FMLA and have no idea where anyone got that notion. Lastly I never got a written discipline and was verbally told by the center manager in front the shop steward that I am fired to attendance issues. The shop steward raised the objection that I have no history to tardiness and for the week I missed this year I have a doctors note stating I have the flu. The center manager stated he didn’t care and that I was fired and didn’t to turn in any ups property, keys uniforms and so forth.

 

[bumped]

What is your job title? What keys would you have to turn in?

 

[PAUPSER]

Driver, all drivers at are center keep extra keys with them, whether on them personally or a extra spare in the truck in case the keys kept in the office got lost or if you would happen to lock your keys in your truck, etc.

 

[pemanager]

PAUPSER,

Your situation seems atypical. Did you call in prior to your shift or just show up with a doctor's note after five days of being off?

 

[PAUPSER]

I called in everyday to report off and showed by after the 5th day, which was the first day back with a doctors note signed and stating i was off for the last 5 days'

 

[brownrod]

If what you are saying is true then you should get your job back with back pay. However, you may have to wait a while for the grievance to go to panel.

UPS is supposed to use a progressive discipline. Meaning a warning letter, suspension and then maybe another suspension before they terminate you.

Tardiness means punching in after your start time? Was this part of the reason you were terminated?

 

[JonFrum]

Are you being fired for excessive Tardiness (reporting late for work), or Absenteeism (not reporting for work at all) or both?

Is your Center Manager blissfully unaware of the "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" clause in the National Master???

Article 7 --- Local and Area Grievance Machinery
Except in cases involving cardinal infractions under the applicable Supplement, Rider or Addendum, an employee to be discharged or suspended shall be allowed to remain on the job, without loss of pay unless and until the discharge or suspension is sustained under the grievance procedure. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any superior provisions in Supplements, Riders or Addenda shall prevail. . . .

Sounds like you should be on a "working termination."

FMLA leave is The Law. UPS must grant you the leave if you qualify; they can't legally retaliate against you for invoking it.

You need to notify UPS in advance if you know in advance, but if the Flu sneaks up on you, you only have to notify them as soon as practical.

Even if you have never heard of FMLA or didn't intend on invoking it, UPS has the legal obligation to invoke it for you once you mention to them the medical reason you are not coming to work.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm

FMLA is described in Article 16, Section 6 of the National Master.

Just a thought: Are you being terminated just shy of reaching five years of Vesting, which is the minimum required to qualify for a pension???

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Why would you call in every day? If it was that serious, book off and stay booked off. If you book off every day that counts as an occurance, correct?

 

[trplnkl]

Some people get the Flu and it lasts for a couple of days, some people get the Flu and freaking DIE. This sure sounds like it would fit in the "BS reasons to fire someone" (or something along those lines) thread.
As far as using FMLA for the flu, while it could be useful to use in a case like this I doubt many have even done that. The Flu isn't something you have a two weeks notice it's coming on nor does anyone know how long it will last. Most applications for FMLA wouldn't get processed by the time the employee was well and back to work.
This all smacks of an excuse to get rid of a FT driver for something else other than attendance. One more time UP$ proves how much they care for the employees.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Tex, you don't think that there is more to the story than the OP is telling us? You don't normally fire someone for missing 5 days of work with the flu when that person called in to give daily updates and had a valid doctor's note when he returned.

 

[QKRSTKR]

If what your saying is right and your not leaving anything out, then you should get your job back. I really can't believe they fired you for missing 5 days and you had a doctors note. Are they calling it an unexcused leave of absense? Just doenst make sense. Hope you filed with backpay.

 

[whiskey]

Driver, all drivers at are center keep extra keys with them, whether on them personally or a extra spare in the truck in case the keys kept in the office got lost or if you would happen to lock your keys in your truck, etc.

Everyone has extra sets of keys? To take home with them? Sounds like a security breach. It's not like that in my center. Especially in this terrorist sensitive time in history.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Driver, all drivers at are center keep extra keys with them, whether on them personally or a extra spare in the truck in case the keys kept in the office got lost or if you would happen to lock your keys in your truck, etc.

Our mechanics have a spare set for every vehicle but we are not issued extra keys.

 

[ups79]

Maybe you ought to work on that. We kept ours in the windshield washer container at our left foot.

 

[DS]

I have been with UPS for 5 years now and I was fired unjustly Wednesday for alleging having excessive tardiness, I missed a total of five days this year due to the flu and had a doctors note to verify this and was presented to work; and you file a grievance with the union, do you still get paid while you grievance is waiting to be settled either by each parties or thru arbitration. I was also told that you don’t get paid; however, UPS has to maintain your health benefits or basically am I screwed without anything until this matter gets resolved in the future. Thank You

PAUPSER....from a more human point of view,losing your job and not knowing what your future holds is a horrible feeling.I have been there as many have in here and its usually a fresh center manager trying to shake things up.
If as you say this is a case of him frivolously wanting you fired for 5 sick days then you will proboably be back.I know the hardships being "terminated" can bring and I hope your reinstatement will happen soon.