[tiggerella]

Hi -

I work for a veterinarian who does several things that we, her employees, are questioning. The possible violations range from using expired drugs on animals who are in the clinic for medical emergencies (like Lasix that had gone brown when it's supposed to be clear) to stealing back vacation time (in the form of "garnishing" the office manager's last paycheck without warning the office manager in advance) from employees who have just given notice that they are resigning their posts. Whenever asked about whether this is a violation, the doctor tells us that she can basically do whatever she wants without repercussions because she "isn't an AAHA hospital". (FYI, the vacation time fiasco is because a former office manager somehow decided that 2 weeks vacation accrued over 52 weeks time came to 0.279 hours earned per week, so we technically get 14 days vacation at the end of each year instead of 10. This figure is what is written in the employee handbook that we all signed when getting hired on, but since she doesn't want to honor the written statement, the whole employee handbook seems to have become null & void... )

I can either give further details about the possible violations should anyone wish to email me, or I would like to get in touch with a Maine lawyer, if any happen to monitor this web site.

Thank you!

[excon]

Hello tigger:

Lawsuits are to help people recover from damages they've suffered. It looks like you're not suffering any damages except to your sensibilities. Those aren't recoverable. If someone else who works there got screwed out of vacation pay, THEY can sue, but you can't.

If you want to report your employer, contact the veterinary medical boards, and the licensing agencies in your state. But, you're going to have to find another job.

excon

[tiggerella]

Thanks for the advice, excon. I already knew that I couldn't file the lawsuit for the vacation time thing, but I want to find out if it's illegal for her to withhold a paycheck when there is a written policy contradicting her reason for doing so. Considering that when I hired on, there were 11 employees needed to run the hospital - and we'll be down to 4 as of the end of June - I've already started to search for a new job. I just want to know if she has the right to withhold my paycheck for time I supposedly owe her if I leave before I've built up enough vacation time to cover the difference between what SHOULD have been in the manual and what actually IS in the manual...

In other words, on June 1st, I celebrate my fourth year of hire at this office - meaning I've been working there for 153 weeks. According to the formula used to figure earned time off (which is technically vacation AND sick days), I currently have about 1.8 days available right now - mostly because I got very sick and was out for 8 days last month, but that's neither here nor there...

By the formula put forth in the Employee Handbook, I should have earned 42.68 vacation days by the end of this week. (153 x 0.279, if you want to check my math.)

However, if you take the actual amount that should have been earned per week (10 days off = 2 work weeks and if you take 2 weeks off, you shouldn't really earn that time back, so: 10 divided by 50 equals 0.20) and multiply that by the same number of weeks, 153 x 0.20 = 30.60 days I should have earned for the same time. Instead of having 1.8 days for time off, I would currently owe her 12.08 days...

So, THAT"S what the doctor did to the departing office manager - she negated a whole paycheck because she had allowed the OM to take all her earned vacation time in January when the OM went out to have a baby. And what started the whole ball rolling on this whole vacation thing was when one tech, who has to leave the state to follow a husband who is serving in the armed forces, asked permission to take her two earned weeks of vacation time as severance pay. The doctor went into the computer to see how many days were really owed - then went to the payroll company she uses to confirm that the tech hadn't taken any time off (except when sick) in the whole two years she was here. Since she had been sick so seldom, the doctor then started running some figures - and realized she had figured 2 weeks as 14 days instead of using business days way back when she started the business. (She's been muttering since she figured this out a month ago that she should track down all her former full time employees and make them pay her back for taking too many hours of vacation time... )

Yes, I work for a real winner and am looking for a better job - but I want to be prepared for when she refigures MY earned time! (And if it's illegal for her to change the written word on a signed contract, I WILL take her butt to court!! )

[excon]

And if it's illegal for her to change the written word on a signed contract, I WILL take her butt to court!!!

Hello again, tigger:

It is and you should!

excon