No more set vacation or sick days at L.A. Times

[Newsjock]

Source: L.A. Observed

... Starting January 1, staffers will no longer be able to bank vacation — because they won't automatically earn or be entitled to any vacation, sick days or floating holidays. To get any time off, a reporter or editor will have to go to a supervisor and make a case "subject to their professional judgment and to the performance expectations of their supervisor that apply to their job."

In one stroke, vacation time and sick days become a management tool to monitor and reward or punish performance — or to favor the yes men that plague the Times' organization — and crucially, a way to get that expensive banked vacation off the books.

... In theory an employee will be able to take more time off than now, since there will be no stated limit. Instead of, say, three weeks a year plus sick days, you could ask for eight weeks next summer to go trekking in Nepal and a supervisor could say cheerfully, "Cool! Take nine!" But I haven't talked to anyone around the Times who believes that's in the cards here.

... Under the new blanket policy, to get any time off — say, to have dental surgery or for a sensitive family issue you don't want to talk about in the office — a staffer will have to sell a supervisor who may have his own performance pressures from above. Or who may not like you. Or who wants to send you or his bosses a message. ... In an environment where just about everybody already half-expects to be laid off at any time, it feels like all the incentive will be to not even ask for time off.

Read more: http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2014/11/tribune_unilaterally_elim.php

[liberal N proud]

1. Remember all those unions that were busted by Raygun?

This is the result. And we will see much more of it in coming years.

[Brickbat]

3. This applies to exempt non-union employees and does not affect the CBAs that still apply to union

employees at the company. This will hit desk supervisors, section editors, and other managers, not the rank-and-file reporters, photogs and copy editors.

[liberal N proud]

4. What people don't realize is that the battles unions won, benefited all

[Brickbat]

5. Agreed.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

17. And the stupid people without union protecrion blame the unions.

This is where we get "stupid". Are those people determined to not fight for their own benefits and rights? Their lack of judgement shows that they only want more to suffer. That's how it appears. And that's how completely brainwashed they are.

[Lars39]

2. It's salary theft.

I'd be guaranteeing that management would get every cold and virus I'd get.

[alarimer]

6. Work until you die.

What the fuck is wrong with this country?

Why do these companies not realize that rested workers are BETTER for productivity than those that are run into the ground?

Fuck bosses, fuck corporations and fuck capitalism. This system sucks. I'm moving to Europe, where they are sane.

[packman]

7. Only logical - work place evolution

The serfs asking permission to leave the land. "Please, M'lord mighten I take a fortnight to see to me sickened boy?"

SERF TRAINING POSTER


[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[kairos12]

8. I guess all the employees become Oliver-please sir may I have some time off.

What a farce.

[Rex]

9. Sounds like the owners of the L.A. Times have their workers right where they want them.

What a shitty way to force downsizing.

[nilesobek]

10. Just quit one of my jobs for this very reason.

[bigwillq]

11. I work at a newspaper or as they like to call it:

a "multi-media" organization.

Reporters and editors do not have a union. I guess they tried to unionize a few times but were unsuccessful. But the employees who drive the trucks to deliver the papers to stores do have a union.

I know for me, I get 3 weeks of paid vacation but they cut the number of paid personal/sick time from 10 days to 5 this year.

[dilby]

12. Sound very similar to what Virgin and Netflix does for their Employees.

There are no vacation days or sick days at either of those companies, you can take off as much time as you want whenever you want. You just need to make sure your work is getting done, if it is management does not care.

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/why-were-letting-virgin-staff-take-as-much-holiday-as-they-want

[moondust]

13. Here's another one.

This one offers beer on the job.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/employees-agree-company-amazing-place-work-n248171

[Brickbat]

18. Those kinds of policies make a lot of sense. The issue in this case is that people have banked up a

lot of time off expecting to either get the time or a check when they retire or resign. "Drawing down" that time off from this point forward doesn't make any sense if the policy is you get time off whenever you want.

[KamaAina]

22. One crucial difference.

To get any time off, a reporter or editor will have to go to a supervisor and make a case "subject to their professional judgment and to the performance expectations of their supervisor that apply to their job."

[dilby]

23. News agencies have deadlines and if the entire sports staff wanted to take

time off during the super bowl that could be a problem. Reading the article they gave the Q/A that was given to the employees and it had the Supervisors expectations which did not seem that out of reach. Even when you get payed vacation time your Employer can always tell you no, you can't take it during that time.

5. As a supervisor, what’s expected of me with regard to this policy?

The success of this policy depends upon our ability as leaders to lead people. In other words, it requires a great deal of trust, responsibility, accountability and communication. Here are some items for supervisors to consider as the policy is rolled out:

Supervisors will need to set and manage clear expectations for themselves and their employees.
Supervisors will have to plan ahead for projects that may be impacted by team members taking time off.
Supervisors may need to have tough conversations and let their employees know when they can’t take time off because it will impede on their teams’ efforts and ability to complete tasks at hand.
Supervisors should monitor their employee’s time off and encourage employees to take time off. Supervisors should limit requiring an employee to “check in” while taking time off in order to let them recharge and renew.
Supervisors will have to monitor outcomes on a regular basis to ensure their teams are performing in line with business expectations.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

24. We sort of have a combination of the two

Most of our positions require a lot of travel, primarily to France and the UK, but depending on what you're doing it can be just about anywhere. If you want to take a few extra days while you're there we won't count it against your holidays and will cover reasonable accommodations and expenses. We consider worldliness something worth investing in.

Yet I find it surprising how many people won't take us up on that. We had a girl who made her first trip to Europe ever a few months ago and when I told her (as she was loading two seasons on Mad Men on her iPad) that she should fly into Saint-Tropez instead and take the train to Toulouse instead of flying straight to Toulouse and she looked at me like that was the stupidest idea she had ever heard.

Shrug. I think she was more excited about the frequent flyer miles than actually going to France.

[Avalux]

14. My company has the same policy.

If your supervisor is reasonable, and you're not backed up with work, it can be a good thing. But if the opposite is true....

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. Inherently discriminatory to some women.

Some women have horribly disabling menstrual cramps 13 times a year. A lunar month is 28 days, not 30 or 31 days.
I was disabled my entire reproductive life and it caused hell when i had to go to work in excruciating pain. Excruciating pain for three or four days. And taking Advil may take away the pain but it won't make you stop feeling like a bedbound wet dishrag. Like being in so much pain I couldn't even cry. I had doctors tell me more than once, "This will cure your cramps" including surgery for endometriosis. Those statements were bullshit.

I wish they'd bring back menstrual huts so we could rest and recuperate during our periods and not have to deal with the world when we feel horrible. And I wish they'd categorize menstrual cramps as a recurring disability. Because that's what they are.

[HoosierCowboy]

16. Keep voting Republican..

....because hell ain't half full yet.

[MohRokTah]

19. The best Vacation Time/Sick Leave program I ever had was similar

I had five weeks of vacation due to time as an employee.

There was no such thing as sick leave. The approach was "We are all adults and we all know when we are too sick to work. Notify the manger you report directly to and excuse yourself from working if you are too sick to work.".

Studies in this organization of twelve thousand employees in the US showed fewer sick days were taken than when there was a specific sick leave number of days.

[KamaAina]

20. This $#*! is legal in California?!

[Retrograde]

21. AFAIK, there's no requirement to provide vacation or sick days

When I worked at companies that provided unlimited sick time, I found that it wasn't abused in general. When one of them went from unlimited sick time and vacation time to "Paid Time Off", people started coming into work sick just so they wouldn't eat into their now more limited time off.