Hi. I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with a very "fuzzy" line I have to deal with at work right now due to sick time.
I'm a truck driver with a large international carrier that delivers food products to local restaurants within a 6 state area. Due to the nature of our business, it is common for most of our drivers to be out on the road in excess of 20-24 hours at a time, running our routes as teams, and making sure we don't exceed DOT regulations. With that said, my sick policy at work is that every driver is granted 3 sick days a year. However, drivers are not granted 3 sick days, but a basic 36 hour rule. Meaning, if you take a sick day, you use up whatever hours it might have taken you to accomplish your run. ie, a 24 hour run would use up 24 hours of sick time. I've had to take 2 days off this week due to serious illness (bronchitis and serious sinus infection...sorry, don't mean to be gross), and have been told that I didn't have enough time to take for sick time and that I would be written up AND loose my safety bonus this year. The safety bonus concerns me, because at the very beginning of this year, my company stated, as a RULE, that sick time, or any time off, WOULD NOT count against our safety bonuses. I went to the doctors office for a visit and received the time off through my doctor. Now, I know dr's offices don't mandate company rules, but as a given, I would have thought that a dr's advice would be taken to heart. Also, as drivers, we have received NUMEROUS documents in our mail boxes and given to us through trans. checkout that if you are sick...then you should STAY home! I don't think I have to reiterate the dangers that go along with driving an 18 wheeler on highways and byways and doing deliveries for 14-18 hours what kind of predicament that might put a driver in. My job is very strenuous also. I lift and transport about 20-30k lbs of product a night while working, up and down a metal ramp and have to drive in and out of parking lots the size of home driveways (im not kidding about that either). So, my question is, do I have a foot to stand on? I'm not an abuser at work, I'm at the top of the drivers list in productivity and am looked upon as a role model for other drivers. I have a perfect work record except for this sick day thing getting me down. Should I seek legal advice? Salaried employees within the company do get a solid 3 day sick leave rule, however as I stated before, as a driver, I do not. Also, to clarify, I only had 11 hours of sick time prior, due to taking a sick day about 3 months ago for a viral infection I got from my children at day care, which was also covered by a dr. excuse. I'm rather concerned about this and would appreciate any help anyone might be able to offer, especially legal. Thanks in advance!
I'm a truck driver with a large international carrier that delivers food products to local restaurants within a 6 state area. Due to the nature of our business, it is common for most of our drivers to be out on the road in excess of 20-24 hours at a time, running our routes as teams, and making sure we don't exceed DOT regulations. With that said, my sick policy at work is that every driver is granted 3 sick days a year. However, drivers are not granted 3 sick days, but a basic 36 hour rule. Meaning, if you take a sick day, you use up whatever hours it might have taken you to accomplish your run. ie, a 24 hour run would use up 24 hours of sick time. I've had to take 2 days off this week due to serious illness (bronchitis and serious sinus infection...sorry, don't mean to be gross), and have been told that I didn't have enough time to take for sick time and that I would be written up AND loose my safety bonus this year. The safety bonus concerns me, because at the very beginning of this year, my company stated, as a RULE, that sick time, or any time off, WOULD NOT count against our safety bonuses. I went to the doctors office for a visit and received the time off through my doctor. Now, I know dr's offices don't mandate company rules, but as a given, I would have thought that a dr's advice would be taken to heart. Also, as drivers, we have received NUMEROUS documents in our mail boxes and given to us through trans. checkout that if you are sick...then you should STAY home! I don't think I have to reiterate the dangers that go along with driving an 18 wheeler on highways and byways and doing deliveries for 14-18 hours what kind of predicament that might put a driver in. My job is very strenuous also. I lift and transport about 20-30k lbs of product a night while working, up and down a metal ramp and have to drive in and out of parking lots the size of home driveways (im not kidding about that either). So, my question is, do I have a foot to stand on? I'm not an abuser at work, I'm at the top of the drivers list in productivity and am looked upon as a role model for other drivers. I have a perfect work record except for this sick day thing getting me down. Should I seek legal advice? Salaried employees within the company do get a solid 3 day sick leave rule, however as I stated before, as a driver, I do not. Also, to clarify, I only had 11 hours of sick time prior, due to taking a sick day about 3 months ago for a viral infection I got from my children at day care, which was also covered by a dr. excuse. I'm rather concerned about this and would appreciate any help anyone might be able to offer, especially legal. Thanks in advance!
