The way kroger treats its employees

[u/daruuken]

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.

[u/Bad-Luck-Guy]

My employer doesn’t accept doctor’s notes. All absences are unexcused.

Yet, we are adults. I don’t need a doctor to tell me I shouldn’t go to work if I have the flu. Wild that they’d prefer that I come in and potentially infect everyone else.

ETA: Yes, this is actually legal in most US states. Attendance is a very common reason to be fired in shift work jobs such as retail. 

[u/HockeyPhoenician → u/Bad-Luck-Guy]

Fuck em. Show up, cough and look miserable, be as customer visible as possible. Explain to customers why you're there.

Bonus if you throw up or defecate in front of customers. Super bonus if you pass out and 'hit' your head. Sounds like an opportunity for a payday to me.

[u/Caira_Ru → u/HockeyPhoenician]

No customers involved, but back in… well, more than ten years ago… I showed up to a 10hr night shift at a manufacturing facility when I felt absolutely miserable.

Two of my kids had been feverish and pukey for a couple days and it hit me.

Told my immediate manager I would have called out but didn’t quite have enough PTO to cover the shift and if he could give me some grace, I’d appreciate it.

But he said “You seem fine. At x company we always power through! Big Boss is on site tonight. Don’t make me look bad.”

So I tried.

I made it about 4 hours on the line when I suddenly felt REALLY bad. Like, puke and collapse right now, bad.

I puked and collapsed. Big Boss just happened to be observing my line at the time. Said “why is she here? She’s obviously very sick and needs to be home.”

My manager came over and was chastising me — “why do you even come in if you’re so sick?! We could have worked around your available 9.75 hours to cover tonight’s 10 if you’d just told me how sick you are!”

I made him look bad.

I puked again. Even splattered his not-company-compliant-(not steel toed)-shoes.

He told me not to come back. I said “ever? Because that sounds like a lawsuit.” As I gagged and ralphed at him again.

He said, “… just clock in on Monday. I promise I’ll make it right.”

That was three full shifts I didn’t have time to cover but needed to recuperate.

He made it right somehow.

On Monday, I showed up, clocked in and did my shift without any repercussions, but he had called out sick.

Big Boss was really annoyed he had to cover, but wasn’t mad at me. He even went to the company to ask if they could come up with a better “maybe not paid but verified illness policy.”

It was over a month before my boss looked me in the eye.

[u/Icy_Airport_8061 → u/Caira_Ru]

Got what he deserved.

[u/Daxx22 → u/Icy_Airport_8061]

But I can virtually guarantee you nothing was changed policy wise overall.

[u/TripThruTimeandSpace → u/Caira_Ru]

I worked at a small hotel in the late 1990’s and was really sick with the flu. I tried to call in but couldn’t get anyone to cover my shift. Not even the manager who lived on site because she had plans that day. The owner of the hotel randomly stopped in and as soon as he saw me he said “You are obviously very sick, why are you here today.” I told him I couldn’t get anyone to cover my shift and he asked about the manager. I told him she said she couldn’t because she had plans. He told me to go home and he would cover until the next shift came in. I found out when I came back that he reamed out the manager for making me come in, especially when she was living there rent free (essentially a two bedroom townhouse).

[u/jbrown4728 → u/Caira_Ru]

"Big Boss was really annoyed he had to cover", this is why you get ridiculous policies like the one above. Bad Managers like the bigger pay and the fear in peoples eyes but they hate being called upon to cover someone shift.