Rant #652: I'm Back

Yes, I was able to convince the court that I would be under a great financial hardship if I served on the jury for a month, so they let me go.

But really, that is only part of the story.

I vow that I am only going to bore you with this saga for one more Rant--this particular one--and then I will move on to something else.

But I have to say, the way I was treated at work during this episode was heinous at best, borderline illegal at its worst.

I asked for a meeting with the big boss to discuss this problem, and on Friday, I was granted my request.

The meeting ended up being attended by our two vice presidents too.

I outlined a plan where I could be paid while I was away. I offered to work on weekends and come in on days when we did not have a full day at the court. I also offered to do work at home.

Well, this got such a negative reaction and the following questions:

Why were you called to the Brooklyn court if you live on Long Island?

Why didn't you make up an excuse to get out of it?

Why don't you tell them you will be fired if you have to serve for a month?

The other questions were bad, but the final question, as I am sure you know, is not going to hold any water with any court in the land.

You can't fire someone for serving on jury duty. If you do, well, the company will be brought up on charges, and probably sued by the one who is being fired.

But more to the point, I have worked for this company for nearly 16 years, and I also worked for this company briefly on a loan-out basis a few years before being permanently hired.

For them to even bring up firing me ... well, if there was a hole to crawl into, I would have, head first.

I learned a lot about the company I work for.

True, they don't have to pay me for jury duty. They only pay for three days, and that's it.

But it would have been in their best interests if they would have talked this out with me like the caring executives that they think they are.

The ironic thing is that I work on a book that covers the military. We constantly write about service members' rights being abridged. We wear our patriotism on our sleeves here.

But when it comes to an employee who has been called to serve his country as a jury member, somehow, it is a different matter.

They wear phony patriotism on their sleeves. What they actually worship is the all mighty dollar. If it happens to tie into patriotism, that's fine with them.

And this hasn't been the only episode of abuse. We all get it here, and we all have to take it.

The unprofessionalism of the higher ups here is amazing. If they worked for a larger concern, they would have all been fired eons ago for their behavior toward fellow employees.

Well, this particular instance left a real bad taste in my mouth.

I will forever look upon the executives of this company as the phonies that they are. The trump up support for service members and their families, but when a long-time employee is faced with a problem like this, all of a sudden, it is not of their concern.

Believe me, if I could have stuck it out without my paycheck for a month, I would have done so, if for nothing more than to show them that I wouldn't be pushed around like yesterday's garbage.

I don't brown nose anyone, and certainly not in the work place.

But since I couldn't do that, at least I know the true stripes of this company. They are big fishes in a very small pond, they are unprofessional, and quite frankly, if I had another place to go, I would at this point in time.

But since I don't, I am stuck here, and stuck like glue.

I mean, who is going to hire a nearly 55 year old male with my background and experience?

So I just have to grin and bear it.

Again, no more about this. Let's move on.