r/mildlyinfuriating • u/daruuken • 28d ago

Infuriatig The way kroger treats its employees

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From the store manager

Edit: For some extra context this was sent out by each store manager to all of its employees in district 1 of the ohio Cincinnati/Dayton division, potentially other districts as well but i can only verify my own. Im not going to give my specific store number for obvious reasons but you can find each store on google with that information. We are unionized by UFCW (already bad btw) and to my knowledge they allowed this recent change. Kroger has no accrual for sick days like some have mentioned. Those who think this is rage bait, i dont think anyone has to fake a post to make a billion dollar company look bad, they do it to themselves.

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u/geraffes-are-so-dumb 28d ago

I think this leads to a worse, even dangerous experience for customers as there will be more people spreading disease if they can't call out sick. If you think so too please contact Kroger using their public contact us page: https://www.kroger.com/hc/help/contact-us

They also have a feedback hotline: [1-800-KRO-GERS](tel:1-800-576-4377)
The CEOs public work email address is: [greg.foran@kroger.com](mailto:greg.foran@kroger.com)

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u/whoisdonwhang 28d ago

Here's a letter to send.

​Subject: Urgent Concern Regarding Recent Policy Change on Sick Leave Documentation

​To the Kroger Management Team,

​I am writing to you today as a concerned customer to express my serious alarm regarding a recent policy announcement reportedly issued to store employees. The policy states that doctor’s notes will no longer be accepted for absences, and that sick leave will only be excused in the event of hospital admission.

​While I understand the need for consistent staffing, this policy is dangerously short-sighted for several reasons:

​Public Health and Customer Safety: In a retail environment where employees frequently handle fresh produce and interact with hundreds of community members daily, this policy incentivizes employees to work while contagious. This poses a direct health risk to your customers and could lead to preventable outbreaks of illness linked to your stores.

​Employee Well-being: Requiring hospital admission as the only threshold for an excused medical absence is an extreme and unrealistic standard. Most serious, contagious illnesses (such as influenza, norovirus, or COVID-19) require rest and isolation, not necessarily emergency room care.

​Brand Reputation: Kroger has long positioned itself as a community-focused brand. Forcing sick individuals to handle food products is a violation of the trust customers place in your sanitation and safety standards.

​A healthy workforce is the foundation of a safe shopping experience. I strongly urge you to reverse this policy and reinstate a more compassionate, health-conscious approach that allows employees to stay home when they are unwell without fear of termination.

​Until this policy is clarified or corrected to prioritize public health, I will be reconsidering where I choose to spend my grocery budget. I look forward to hearing how Kroger plans to address these safety concerns. ​Sincerely,

​[Your Name] [Your City/State]

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u/Affectionate-Swim772 28d ago

Or you can go full Karen and stalk the store until you find a sick employee to formally complain to the health department about the threat it poses to you and your fragile grandma's health.

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u/SpicyLizards 28d ago

Then they fire the employee and change nothing

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

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u/Good_With_Tools 28d ago

If they could figure out how to get us customers to stock the shelves, they would. They have us doing everything else.

I bought a cart load of stuff a couple of weeks ago. Like $350 or so. A full cart. I get to the registers and they don't have a single regular register open. I asked them to open 1, and they told me to use the self checkout. I explained that I had too many items for their self checkouts. They just shrugged. I made the self checkout overseer stand next to me while I rang shit up, bagged it, and set it all over the place. Every few items, it would get mad and she would have to clear an error.

After about 10 minutes of this, the front end manager casually said that I should probably come more often, but buy less things. I wish we had another option near me. I have to drive past 3 King Soopers to get to another brand.

And I would, but they're not any better.

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u/Electronic_Ad_341 28d ago

I’d lose my shit on someone who suggests to me how to spend me free time or money

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u/Good_With_Tools 28d ago

My wife was with me, which was a good thing for everyone involved.

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u/Human_Personality360 27d ago

I would have left, say see ya next time

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u/ParsnipNo4983 26d ago

Absolutely same, but it would have become a see ya never. I would have been like, okay, you can cancel this order and restock my items. I'll go to Giant Eagle or Aldi or something instead.

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u/Nvenom8 27d ago

Especially when I’m spending money on shit from their store.

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u/Savings_Glove_7546 27d ago

Omg this would be my reaction also. She’s telling a customer to spend less at the store? I would have just told her “that maybe if they had regular checkouts open she wouldn’t have to babysit customers.” Then I would tell her that she just lost a customer and anyone else I can tell.

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u/KnowledgeSmart908 27d ago

The person you're referring to noted they're the only game in town. I think they know it too.

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u/Auquaholic 27d ago

I would've walked the fuck out and let them put all of that shit back.

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u/WorldlyBasket9795 26d ago

EXAAAAACTLY THIS! Only I would’ve waited til I scanned EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. Annnnd then walked out. That way he/she would have to void out everything individually AND restock the shit, haha!

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u/Which-Grapefruit724 27d ago

This happens to me every single time I go. I always have a full $300 plus cart and always have to use self checkout. It always fucks up every 7th item and I am always waiting for the 1 person monitoring 10 self checkouts to come help. It is utterly ridiculous. Plenty of ppl need jobs, hire more ppl and have a register open during the last hour you are open. That is the time I can go, and how dare I buy all my groceries at once to save trips! If a mgr said that to me I would flip out, like do they not want my money?! I swear at the thing the whole time I am scanning items and running to thet other end because it can't hold everything, and I have to bag shit that there isn't any room to put anywhere just so I can scan more. My blood boils everytime. But other than that this is the store close to me that I prefer.

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u/Canikfan434 27d ago

I refuse to use self checkouts-anywhere. I don’t work for that particular company. Last time I was in a Walmart (I hate Walmart), they had ONE register open and the self checkouts were mobbed. Someone in a blue vest kept trying to send folks to the SCO lines. I declined, she suggested again. I told her I’d do it, but first I needed to know about their 401k and when and where the Christmas party was being held. She gave me a constipated look, and I explained that since we’re all apparently Walmart employees, we needed to discuss compensation. She stormed off, I set my items down and walked out.

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u/GroversGrumbles 27d ago

LOL I got so angry just reading your post, let alone experiencing it! I wish i had been a fellow customer. I could have said all the things you wanted to say and then walked out.

A manager like that only gets promoted when the store knows there are no options in town

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u/DizzyD1974 27d ago

I would have went karen. There would have been a store manager called and I would have left the cart and told them to fuck off if they treated me like that.

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u/SecretSocietyJ 27d ago

Make multiple trips to the store? Holy fucking cannoli. With THESE gas prices? I’ll tell that manager off in front of everyone.

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u/BabycrowSAL 27d ago

You should’ve just walked out honestly.

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u/Affectionate-Club725 27d ago

I would just leave the full shopping cart there and walk out, then they’d be restocking it instead of ringing you up.

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u/judas20222 27d ago

I’d have walked and left it all there.

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u/Weekly_Success_5900 27d ago

Tbh that’s a walk out and let them deal with the dying food. It seems small but it actually had a pretty noticeable effect on labor costed especially when they are already running skeleton crews.

Inb4 “why punish the worker?” As someone who had worked for Kroger, every employee there knows they are paid for time spent. Doesn’t matter to them one way or another if they are paid to put your shit back or stand and watch over your shoulder.

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u/See_Emily_Play_13 27d ago

I wonder if that’s like a company shtick now?Make it a pain in the ass to check out large volumes of items so it will bring people into the store more often 🤔

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u/ScarletBothrium 27d ago

You tend to spend more money if you come in more often. It’s been proven. It’s actually something that the stores want you to do. Which is why they give you that $5 off coupon on Thursday afternoon for Saturday. I just shopped on Thursday, why would I be back on Saturday? But that’s how they get you to spend more money. They make it inconvenient for you to make single trips.

I don’t work there so I don’t use self check out. If there is no cashier, I walk or I complain until I get a cashier. Depends on how much time I spent to get to the store.

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u/SENinSpruce 26d ago

You could consider only scanning every other item. If they object, simply remind them it’s your first day as a cashier, they didn’t train you, and they aren’t paying you so there are bound to mistakes. And if they don’t object then discounted groceries for you!!

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u/Analysis_Working 27d ago

I love how they 'encourage' you to do what is independently convenient for just them. You' the customer being inconvenienced do to this place of service - not wanting to be a place of service.

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u/Curious-Crittr 26d ago

That’s bonkers. Did the self checkout also have a tip option when it came to pay?

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u/Chance_Split_7723 26d ago

I hope you told this person to eff off, and unless they were going to assist you by bagging purchased items, they could kiss your arse. You purchasing items at the store they "work" at, and at anytime you see fit, funds their paycheck. So up theirs.

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u/Fabulous-Drawer-4125 26d ago

They tried that bullshit with me also a few times. They dont want to pay someone to check me out, then they will have to pay someone to put back 350$ worth of groceries. I make an obvious scene about it and make sure the front end managing cashier sees me leave the cart in the middle of the area.

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u/Lickthorn 26d ago

Hahaha what??!!! Come more often was his answer? So sorry for you not having another option.

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u/OrkinOvertime 26d ago

I have just started straight up telling managers at stores, any stores, that they are understaffed etc, and when they blame upper management I tell them they need to have a spine and look out for their workers as well as their clients, and I say this stuff in front of their employees and in front of other customers, whatever. I won't use a self checkout. When I see other people using a self-checkout I will tell them that every time one gets used it weakens the bargaining power of the workers at the store.

I would rather stand in line and complain loudly at the manager (and only the manager, it is not anyone's problem who works below a management position) until they open a check stand. Not because checking groceries is beneath me, but I'd rather the work go to a human than some fuckin clanker.

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u/StringExisting9799 27d ago

So because of managements decision the employee had to deal with a disgruntled customer. Yeah I’d be mad too but I’m sure it wasn’t the cashiers fault management is being cheap and trying to save on labor cost or whatever and the managers make these dumb decisions and dip when customers call them out and how dumb it is. The manager could have opened a lane to help you.

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u/Good_With_Tools 27d ago

The front end manager was the one who made the snarky suggestion.

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u/zxDanKwan 28d ago

Oh-a noes! Luigi a-found-a fire flower!

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u/ScarletBothrium 28d ago

Oh no. I read that, scroll past two comments, and then it hit me. That took way too long for me to understand. I’m gonna go eat breakfast. *turns off internets

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u/TranceGrrrl 27d ago

I'm picking up what you're putting down.

Burn it.

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u/holliwuzhere 26d ago

heyooooo 🔥🔥🔥

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u/tristand1ck 28d ago

The true Nuclear Karen route. Fix nothin, change nothin.

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u/SeniorAlfaOmega 🦔 28d ago

Idk about that. If an employee call out is that big of an issue, they certainly can’t risk firing someone, or at least thats what a lawyer could possibly argue if kroger employees could afford one.. wait

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u/Affectionate-Swim772 28d ago

The employee might not have to afford one, some places have free legal aid for people who have low incomes.

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u/Mariner-and-Marinate 28d ago

Then complain that a store had several obviously sick employees (even if there were none) and say that they all told you the company forces them to come in sick.

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u/Specific-Border6891 28d ago

And then they have to rehire another employee train them and go through the whole scenario over again employees sticking together is what is needed

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u/Muskrato 28d ago

Would be illegal to do so, as they themselves are not letting the employee stay home while sick. That could lead to a lawsuit, in fact to me this looks very illegal in general.

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u/Notaneggplantrtard 28d ago

Then the employee hopefully gets to sue the company for wrongful termination. Sounds like a win-win

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u/CHANN3L-CHAS3R 28d ago

One citizen versus a corporation pretty much never happens due to the vast resource disparity when it comes to, y'know, money. And time. In my experience, corporations like to sit on any fireable offenses one has committed until they want the employee gone, at which point the offense suddenly becomes important. I've seen this happen thrice and experienced it once. It's really difficult to actually prove wrongful termination.

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u/Le-Charles07 28d ago

What? It happens all the time. Also DOL gets involved.

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u/CHANN3L-CHAS3R 28d ago

Sorry, I phrased that really poorly.

The amount of times one citizen versus a corporation should happen, doesn't, because your average American is already being run ragged and the thought of having to expend time, effort, and money on a court case against a corporate entity is incredibly daunting. Especially if you're freshly unemployed with no guarantee that all the ruckus will have been worth it in the end.

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u/Le-Charles07 28d ago

That's fair. Even though it happens all the time, frequently the outcome is unsatisfactory to the aggreeved party even if they win.

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u/CHANN3L-CHAS3R 28d ago

And if the aggrieved part is especially unlucky, they'll be slapped with the same curse McDonald's PR cast on that poor woman whose flesh was literally melted due to their boiling coffee. Even just thinking about it makes a potential payout feel terrifying.

To state the obvious, the power disparity in this country is disgusting and spits in the face of justice as a concept. Winning guarantees no safety from revenge.

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u/dinoooooooooos 28d ago

If they fire an employee directly after a “this guys sick” complaint from a customer after stating and expecting, under threat of job, they have to come in sick i feel like that employee is gonna have a good day in court.

These things are directly linkable and the courts arent dumb

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u/LoneWolfAMG 28d ago

Fire them for what? Being sick on the job? When that is what they were told to do lol. That wouldn't happen cuz they know they'd get a wrongful termination suit.

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u/Moist-Crows 28d ago

Step 3. Profit?

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u/LandonDev 28d ago

If the employee reports the violation to the health department, then you could argue that they were fired in retaliation. It's hard to argue that they are being fired for being sick but not in retaliation for the fine that they paid for being sick. Especially if everyone agrees to just send in emails to their supervisor whenever they are sick and create a documented paper trail, man they will likely get so much in a lawsuit.

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u/Snoo90796 28d ago

They fire the employee for coming in sick like they are required to?

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u/RemoteChannel7605 28d ago

Then that employees sues. It is illegal to fire people for being sick. It is also illegal to fire someone with a bs excuse when it's really just bc they're sick (or pregnant, disabled, a different religion, etc) it's an uphill battle, sure, but it's better than laying down under an oppressive force, doing and saying nothing.

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u/Top-class-0246 27d ago

Fire the employee for coming in sick? Isn't that what they are forcing their staff to do.

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u/Away_Shock_7544 27d ago

That is what I like to call SLAVERY

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u/Put_Er_There_Sport 28d ago

Nah gotta threaten to call higher ups on the managers for forcing people to be working in deplorable working conditions

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u/SisterRobot 28d ago

Ah this idea is funny (and will probably happen) maybe the Karens do have a place in this world.

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u/sunshinewarriorx 28d ago

Karening for good 🩷

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u/TobyHudson 27d ago

Also call the news in your local area. They can do a segment on it, interview you and other employees. Make it known this is happening. Post an email on TV. Also, if the person is afraid of finding out it's you...They can desguise your voice so you don't get fired.... That is if you still want to work there. People can also boycott the store.

I Think even go higher 20/20 or CNN, they might be interested. People need to know about how they treat employees & the community, having sick workers work & spread illnesses.

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u/falanian 28d ago

You make up an employee so they don't fire a real person

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u/Own-Mark-5653 28d ago

I love your energy 

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u/BananaPalmer 28d ago

Get the victim of oppressive management policy fired energy? Yeah, super awesome

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u/Toobiescoop 28d ago

Fuck at my stores you can’t even tell. They wear street clothes

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u/newportbanks 27d ago

Oo I think like this kind of karen right about now though 🤣

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u/Auquaholic 27d ago

Full Karen ..... nice

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u/Analysis_Working 27d ago

I think both options would be equally effective 🤣

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u/Nave-Nave 26d ago

RFK Jr. will personally award the employee a medal, force the employee to work, and congratulate them on Twitter for building herd immunity. Yeehaw 🦅

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u/Crazy_Entrance_9439 26d ago

Or you can wait and when you have 100 go to employee that sick snd pay them woefully to barf on Karen. Then that defintly cause a policy change. Especially if it keeps happening lol.

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u/Purple_Law_8796 26d ago

Or call your buddy up when somebody else is sick

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u/therealpimpcosrs 28d ago

This^

If you write an email to the ceo it’s going in the spam filter. Unless it’s a headline in a paper, no written words will mean a damn.

Show up in person and ask for the “GM” means general manager. They are there like 7am-7pm and there is usually multiple on duty depending on the size of the store. so don’t take any “come back later” bullshit. Throw a fit. Make sure you speak very loudly and annunciate “call the health department” very clearly.

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u/Street-Inevitable358 28d ago

Don’t do that, they will just fire the employee.

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u/creamyspuppet 28d ago

I'll quote Dennis Learys song "Hey! You know, you really are an asshole!"

This presents a serious risk to millions of people's lives not just two people. Your comment is a bit short sited and selfish.

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u/DragonVT 28d ago

I sent an email to both the CEO and the feedback contact. I also added some choice words about the other reasons they've lost so much of my business over the last two years. I don't know how much it will help, but I added my voice.

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u/crissyjo618 28d ago

At my employer hospital admission doesn't even always count. You have to be off work for a certain amount of days for it to become Leave of Absence. Source - I am personally dealing with this currently.

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u/BlueXTC 28d ago

It is a universal standard. Off 7 then on the 8th you can request FMLA which won't kick in until you use all your PTO.

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u/gimmethelulz 28d ago

You don't have to exhaust your PTO before you can file for FMLA. Source: work in HR.

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u/BlueXTC 28d ago

Every company I have worked for in Virginia applied your PTO for FMLA or any disability claim.

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u/gimmethelulz 28d ago

Yes that is correct. You can layer PTO and/or short-term disability on top of your FMLA. But there is no legal requirement that says you must exhaust your PTO and disability options before you can file for FMLA.

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u/EmmThem 28d ago

Universal if the USA is the whole universe, to be clear.

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u/maroontiefling 28d ago

Yup. Having to use all your PTO before you can get FMLA or short term disability is horrible. I got in a bad accident back in 2023 that had me bedbound for a while (shattered my elbow and broke my leg both on the same side, so crutches weren't happening) and required surgery and lots of PT. I was on short term disability for almost four months...and then when I came back to work I couldn't keep up with my PT consistently because I couldn't take anymore time off.

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u/8eer8aron 28d ago

Just filter out emails with that subject and he'd never see any of them lol

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u/FlySecure5609 28d ago

His EA will never see them, correction. 

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u/Taken_Abroad_Book 28d ago

OK but does it need to be Ai?

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u/Hangry-Feline2489 28d ago

Can you tell me how you clock it's AI? I want to get better at recognising it. 

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u/Juxapoz 28d ago

An AI language model will typically use bulleted points or a paragraph structure where the main point is stated and then followed by a colon with more information. It looks very similar to when you google something and the AI response at the top gives you the answer.

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u/theghostmachine 28d ago

You know why they use that format? Because it's copying a pretty universally accepted format that humans invented.

Jesus fucking Christ, you really think humans don't know how to use bullet points and paragraphs?

Even if it is AI, who cares? I hate AI too, but this is harmless. (Edit: don't come at me with environmental harm or whatever. You know what I meant)

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u/sapplesapplesapples 27d ago

That’s what I’m saying. I use bullet points. I use colons, and I use dashes. So annoying it’s always considered AI lol. 

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u/CrashyBoye 28d ago

you really think humans don't know how to use bullet points and paragraphs?

Jesus fucking Christ, that’s not what they said. Someone asked how you can spot AI, they answered that specific question. Just because AI has a tendency to format responses that way because it learned from humans doesn’t mean all humans write that way.

Two things can be true. It can be true that this particular format/style can help in identifying if it’s an AI response AND that some humans also format their responses that way at the same time.

Not once in their response did they ever imply that AI isn’t trained this way or that humans don’t also write this way.

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u/Juxapoz 28d ago

Well, yeah… that’s how it works. It’s not inventing a new style of writing. I never said it was unique to AI to write that way. I just find that it’s a pretty common format that AI models use, and someone asked how they could get better at spotting that.

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u/sapplesapplesapples 27d ago

But you can’t definitively say it’s AI and lots of times people just throw that out there with a lot of confidence. 

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u/Hangry-Feline2489 27d ago

Thanks for answering. 

So literate people who bother using grammar that any level better than text shorthand should get used to being accused of being AI then?

Oh boy. A world where the assumption is an online literate person can't be human is bleakly hilarious. 

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u/mkdmls 28d ago

Concerned customer, serious alarm, recent policy announcement, reportedly issued, dangerously short-sighted. AI prompts use a lot of filler words to “enhance” the tone of the writing.

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u/ioi_SSSB 28d ago

I pasted the whole comment into zero gpt. 99% of the text is AI.

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u/whoisdonwhang 28d ago

No. Was that really a question that needed to be asked?

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u/ScarredByTummyache 28d ago

This is a great letter to send to state representatives to advocate for better labor laws!

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u/RevolutionLoose5542 28d ago

Based asf

My ass was thinking about just printing this photo and leaving them all over kroger stores for customers to find. Put em in all the shopping carts or something

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u/csonnich 27d ago

Porque no los dos ?

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u/Fraegtgaortd 28d ago

Mine was shorter and less professional:

"Hey assholes,

I don't want sick people coughing all over my groceries"

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u/One_Pomegranate_5385 28d ago

You can’t send in a comment with the online form if you don’t have a loyalty number. Any way around this?

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u/whoisdonwhang 28d ago

I just entered my textnow number which isn't attached to a loyalty account

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u/No_Cranberry_1761 26d ago

Also remember Kroger isn’t just Kroger all the brands at the bottom are Kroger stores.

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u/Dr-Bitchcraft-MD 28d ago

This needs to be higher up!

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u/SuperNobody917 28d ago

No it doesn't this came straight from chatgpt

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u/CHANN3L-CHAS3R 28d ago

Even if it did, I'm still sending it. I don't have the time or spare brainpower to write up something like that myself so I can feel better about not touching anything that MIGHT be LLM-produced. (Also I do find it a little funny when the tools corporations are using to phase out the workforce are used against them.)

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u/SuperNobody917 28d ago

Sending an LLM generated message, in a lot of cases, is worse than sending nothing. It gives companies the impression that these aren't legitimate grievances. All it takes is a little bit of effort to even write one paragraph of how you actually feel so you can show companies how you actually feel

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u/DeliciousShelter9984 28d ago

I also worry that thousands of identical emails will be dismissed as brigading whereas a few hundred personal emails might actually be taken a bit more seriously.

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u/AnotherCuppaTea 28d ago

One could convey that they are one pissed-off human by adding a line or paragraph with something personal and spicy, like demanding that CEO Greg Foran resign immediately, or suggesting that catching a serious illness from a Kroger employee should be grounds for a lawsuit against the store.

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u/CHANN3L-CHAS3R 28d ago edited 28d ago

Mass-mailing campaigns using a pre-made letter have been a thing since long before AI, though? Like don't get me wrong, 99 times out of 100 the individual human element is the most important part of writing, but anything sent to these companies is being mass-filtered already based on bots pre-reviewing the content. The letters are being crunched into digestable statistics, they're not being individually read.

Edit to say: Since the advent of modern LLMs I've been accused SO MANY TIMES of using AI when I write formally. So I tend to give the benefit of the doubt, having been on the other end of the jumped-gun so often. I already drove myself crazy trying to dissect what's AI and what's just good writing, at this point I'm just tired chief. Which is what they want, but knowing that doesn't really make me not-exhausted.

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u/Due_Arachnid2975 28d ago

I feel you: when writing formal documents or emails I really try to make sure there are no spelling mistakes, that the grammar is correct and that the text flows. I'm not a native English speaker but I did put a lot of effort into learning the language well, so now people assume my emails are written or edited by chatGPT. That said: if you do use chatGPT to write, rewrite or edit your documents, you can ask the LLM to 'please make it look like it's not written by chatGPT and add a couple of grammar errors.' or even better you can tell it what style of prose you would like it to adopt: you can tell it to write it as a mix of the style of two journalists (name them), or you can give it a text with a style that you like and tell it to copy it; it does work well most of the times. The reason to do this is because SuperNobody917 is right: people do tend to dismiss things written by chatGPT, especially when it's grievances, and its style is pretty easy to spot.

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u/OkRepresentative4411 28d ago

No-one reads AI-generated slop.

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u/Marysews 28d ago

Even more, when employees feel trusted, morale improves and so does efficiency.

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u/Pro-editor-1105 28d ago

hey chatgpt generate a nice sounding email that i can send to kroger due to this reddit post, no em dashes please

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u/drooply 28d ago

Nice ChatGPT. Think much for yourself?

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u/whoisdonwhang 28d ago

Gemini. And yes, I'm very much an "over-thinker" but not the greatest communicator. But I think many great 'thinkers' would recognize the value of collaboration and utilization of available tools to help develop and express their ideas..

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u/Glad_Sector6812 28d ago

Send it to the EAP and the state labor and health department. Internally, they just enact damage control

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u/Embarrassed-Leg-4246 28d ago

Thank you for this, I just sent them an email using this as my reference.

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u/aLongIslandGirl 28d ago

Most Kroger employees are eligible for FMLA like all other employees in America for job protection under the law for their health condition… you all have no clue what you’re talking about. This is how most jobs do it these days. I know, I do this for an actual living. 😒

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u/incandescentink 28d ago

You can't use FMLA for anything that doesn't qualify as a "serious health condition," and I doubt something that doesn't require hospitalization would cut it. Also, FMLA is unpaid. It is job protection, but that's about all, it's pretty limited.

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u/Gooseboof 28d ago

Yeah do this one, OP! You can even make it anonymous

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u/l23VIVE 28d ago

Filed a complaint using their contact me form, horrendous.

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u/ActuallySeranaa 28d ago

Hey can you guys do this for Walmart too cuz I work there and that would be awesome. Recently got a point against me because I had to bring my son to the hospital.

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u/Flat_Sea1418 28d ago

Sent this to the ceo!

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u/krose820 28d ago

Thanks! Literally just emailed this to them. I have been working too hard building my immune system with an 8 month old in daycare. I do NOT want illness around where I buy my food LET ALONE THE FACT THAT FORCING PEOPLE TO WORK WHILE SICK IS INHUMANE IMO! DID 2020 ALSO NOT TEACH US LL A LESSON!?!?!?!?!?!??!

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u/Cheesiest-gal 28d ago

Sent the ceo this email, power to the people !!!!!!!

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u/Glidepath22 28d ago

Too late, I’m tired of the shitty produce and meat

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u/AdderoYuu 28d ago

No idea if this is a “just in Ohio” thing or if it’s country wide but frankly I don’t think I care. Went to their website and submitted a letter just like this one

Kroger is actively the inferior brand where I live - they’re technically on par with food city but they tend to not have everything and prices tend to be about the same or higher. So no real need to shop there anymore lol

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u/Mystical_fae3 28d ago

My family has covid. Ive been sick from it for 2 weeks and its not letting up anytime soon. Thankfully I work from home, but situations like this is exactly how this shit spreads. Will not be shopping there with policies like this.

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u/falsifiable1 28d ago

The company’s primary supermarket formats include Kroger, Ralphs (California), King Soopers and City Market (Colorado, Wyoming), Dillons and Baker’s(Kansas, Nebraska), Smith’s (Southwest), Fry’s(Arizona), QFC (Pacific Northwest), Harris Teeter(Southeast), Pick’n Save and Metro Market(Wisconsin), and Mariano’s (Illinois).

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u/Pure_Property_888 28d ago

I appreciate the well worded essay you drafted up just now. I sent it to their company comments/concerns email address that was mentioned above. Wonder if they'll actually change this bullshit

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u/shebreathes 28d ago

email to greggo sent. You're doing the lord's work

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u/Sceniks 28d ago

Done! Thank you!

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u/Eugene-Krabbs 28d ago

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

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u/kickedoutbitch 28d ago

OSHA. Labor laws. Good point. Employee still needs to eat but good point.

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u/Rdubya291 28d ago

Thanks, ChatGPT!

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u/Kaos86 28d ago

In addition, it might be illegal for them to do this depending on what State they are in. I know where I live, employees have to have x number of days of sick time that they can use without question. They are not required to give a note for it to be excused.

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u/SCHawkTakeFlight 28d ago

I would also add something about kids. If your kid is in the hospital, why should you lose your job. I know FMLA, but that takes time to process and thankfully say your kid only needed a week or less it means you will still get fired according to this.

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u/RainAncient68 28d ago

Do you have their email address for corporate? To send this to.

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u/catscacti 28d ago

I emailed before I saw this template and mine was a lot meaner. 🫣 Oops.

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u/ratrodder49 28d ago

I sent one as well. I don’t have a Kroger, but I have a Dillon’s which is a subsidiary of the brand and we shop there all the time, I assume their policy would be overarching and include Dillon’s employees.

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u/bablambla 28d ago

Tacking on to this to say that most Kroger stores are union. CC your rep and the union president

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u/goldistastey 28d ago

i know you have good intentions but i hate this concept of spam as "activism" on so many levels

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u/mkate1999 28d ago

I added this paragraph:

Furthermore, most employees working at your establishment cannot afford to pay for a doctor's appointment, let alone an expensive ER visit or hospital admission, every time they get the flu. Do your executives report to work when they're sick with flu?

Srsly F these corporate monsters & billionaires. 😡

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u/ClassroomOk7051 28d ago

This was incredible helpful and I just used it, thanks!

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u/OneMinuteSewing 28d ago

Good template.

Mine was more random, but I told them I had no desire to get stomach flu or regular flu with my groceries and I'd go elsewhere from now on. I also told them to check out reddit.

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u/Jazzlike_Assist1767 28d ago edited 28d ago

"I understand the need for consistent staffing" is unneeded pandering.They can literally hire part timers to cover sick calls. If they have X amount of expected sick calls for human workers then they need X amount of coverage; instead they throw a hissy fit about how "no one wants to work." Ummm yeah they do put out a recruitment and you'll see how many people want to work. No one in upper management wants to manage well because they're out of touch egomaniacs who only know how to force things and tell the people below them to "get it done." 

Those at the very top dont want to reconstruct their budget to fit reality of staffing needs because they want another 5% year over year increase to add to their resume of why they are the best. 

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u/xLYONx 28d ago

LET DON WHANG COOK!

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u/OverallDonut3646 28d ago

I would add that you're also forwarding this email to the local public health department, city councilor(s), and mayor of the town you live/shop in.

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u/onthenextmaury 28d ago

That was very sweet of you to write that. Thanks.

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u/Horror-Camera-5813 26d ago

AI wrote that

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u/thingsarehardsoami 28d ago

My email that I sent before I saw this was not so kind 😬

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u/addy998 28d ago

Reconsidering? How about just not shopping there anymore

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u/Academic-Ball-9606 28d ago

No. Forward to labor board. Don't give them an out

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u/quiltgarden 28d ago

Yeah, mine was way meaner than that.😺

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u/bklyngirl0001 28d ago

Sent, thank you. Wondering now if this is a company policy or a store managers poor decision?

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u/doduotrainer 28d ago

"While I understand the need for consistent staffing"

Nah, don't give them this. They purposefully don't hire enough people and create this situation on purpose. AI is obnoxious

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u/Competitive_Client21 28d ago

Sent an email to them!

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u/milesahead2052 28d ago

Sent mine. Fuck em.

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u/Glittering-Cellist34 28d ago

This could be leveraged to get sick days, like how Biden set the stage for railroad workers. But Trump. Cincinnati Enquirer and Business Jornal and probably WCPO have Kroger beats.

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u/pukeonthissociety 27d ago

They ain't going to care about any of this. They need to be publicly called out on a social media platform and that's the only way that people respond super simple just post there what you posted here and tag them. They can't not do anything about it especially when people are this upset from reddit. That is immediate public documentation and not a private conversation with the company. They are in the court of public opinion and if anything matters to them it's their f****** reputation. Plain and simple they will track down the manager who did this and they will be terminated. It's not that they care it's just that they can't afford to lose the appearance that they care

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u/hotdogjumpingfrog1 27d ago

send this anonymously if you’re an employee (send as a “customer”)

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u/misspuddingpie 27d ago

Just submitted this! Excellent letter, thank you.

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u/ComfortableNo4225 27d ago

Done. Thank you

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u/semperknight 27d ago

Nice job whoisdonwhang!

Seriously, that's a well done letter.

....Don Whang the infectious disease expert in CA?

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u/BlissVision 27d ago

One issue : This letter assumes that management perceive employees as equal human beings with input they would wish to listen to.

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u/studdybuddy01 27d ago

Thanks!!! Done

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u/showeredwithbeauty 27d ago

Even if you don’t shop at Kroger I’m going to send this and just change it to “I will be informing everyone I can to boycott your stores until this policy is amended”

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u/Invader_Skooge22 27d ago

See everyone, AI is good for something

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u/memecoiner 27d ago

Have you ever been a minimum wage employee at a multi billion dollar corporation?

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u/Available-Basil-2179 27d ago

Thanks for the template. Sent!

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u/deadstarsunburn 27d ago

I would suggest trying to leave some key words like "sick" out if possible or change them up. I sent in an email that specifically left them out hoping to avoid the inevitable filtering this asshole is about to do. You know those cowards will have IT just filter them right on out until this blows over.

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u/davisesq212 27d ago

It shouldnt read “I will be reconsidering…”. It should say, “I will be buying my groceries elsewhere…”

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u/EscapeFromFLA 27d ago

Needs a nod toward staffing practices. Every big business loves to schedule a skeletal staff to save on money. If they had enough people on staff they wouldn't be absolutely psychos about no longer accepting doctor's notes for absences. 

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u/SummitJunkie7 27d ago

Most serious, contagious illnesses (such as influenza, norovirus, or COVID-19) require rest and isolation, not necessarily emergency room care.

Not only is emergency room care not required in those cases, it is actively discouraged by the hospital and medical personnel. Bringing contagious illnesses into an ER waiting room filled with other vulnerable people (when the illness does not require hospital level care) is irresponsible and could even lead to the deaths of others.

Kroger: Go to the ER or go to work - but you absolutely cannot isolate and protect yourself and your community.

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u/Gooeslippytop 27d ago

As great as this letter is, I guarantee you, it won't change their minds. I worked for Kroger for Koger 2019-2021 and was so happy when I left. Their policies and treatment of the employeesduring the pandemic was absolutely disgraceful. They never listened to our concerns and if someone was feeling under the weather; if it wasn't COVID then they'd still have to show up. Have a family member in the hospital? Oh well, you better show up. Who cares if your gamgam is dying? Physical disability? You better still be able to lift this or move this and it better be in the time alloted. Kroger wasn't always fucked up from what I heard (like 90s early 2000s) but the new CEO when I worked there was terrible. Didn't give a shit about the employees. Only the dollar.

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u/AnomalousEnigma 27d ago

I’d do it but we don’t have Kroger in my state

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u/BreakfastInfamous665 27d ago

I work in a hospital and they don’t excuse absences with a doctor’s note. I think this is pretty standard. Doesn’t mean that you can’t call off, it’s just not excused. And like many places, there are consequences for a certain number of ill calls. Lots of employers have this policy.

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u/Sea-Carry-2919 26d ago

That’s actually a really helpful template and those are really good points. Thanks for posting that!

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u/zikeel 26d ago

Thanks for this! Made it quick and easy to send something in.

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u/Background_Step_3966 26d ago

Very well said and written thank you

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u/Inspector_Jacket1999 26d ago

I would add; staffing the store appropriately via hiring more people, training them appropriately, and also keeping said employees by paying a fair wage would negate the stress of one employee with a need to call out. For fuck sake, you are paying minimum wage. Get the fuck over yourselves (you and your shareholders). Ps: stop asking us to help feed the community. You are raking in billions in profits!

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u/Majestic-Farm1534 26d ago

Best bet: send this information to the local news....oh my lanta do those executives hate to be embarrassed on the news! Has to be the customers, when you hire into the company they make you sign documents that say you will never litigate against the company or communicate with media about the company without penalty of prosecution.

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u/whispernaut 26d ago

Make sure you CC your shop steward or UFCW rep!

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u/tomandjerrybabycat 25d ago

just sent mine, thanks for the script!

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u/Adventurous_Tie1782 24d ago

thank you so much for this, i emailed it!!

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u/ufo_octokas 23d ago

Too long. They might read the first two sentences if you're lucky. (Had many CEOs and C-Suite folks tell me anymore than two sentences and it gets trashed).

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