Read the following case and answer the two questions below:
Maxwell (Max) Shupe is the floor manager of an herbal manufacturing facility in the Midwest. He supervises six employees, all of whom are hardworking and dedicated to their jobs.
One day Max looked at the weekly production numbers and noticed one of his best employees, Shelly Adams, had declined dramatically over the previous five days. It was Friday and Max wanted to talk with Shelly before she left for the weekend. He wanted to know what was happening and what could he do to help.
"Shelly!" Max called from across the bay floor at about ten minutes before quitting time.
Shelly slowly walked, slumped and sullen, into Max's office. She looked frazzled, worn out and exhausted.
"What's going on?" Max asked. "Your productivity has dropped to almost nothing. And look at you. I've known you a long time and I've never seen you this down before. Tell me what's going on?"
"It's Davie." She muttered standing next to the chair Max motioned for her to sit in at least three times. Davie was Shelly's three year old son. He was the youngest of three boys, and the toughest one too.
"Is he ok? What happened?" Max expected the worst. A broken leg, a concussion. The kid was tough and fearless, but not unbreakable.
"Cancer."
Max froze. He did not know what to say. He felt his lips form the words, "I'm so sorry." But he didn't know if his voice pushed the words out his mouth.
Shelly looked at the door a couple times as the clock ticked closer to quitting time.
"What kind? How? When? Wow!" Max rambled quickly. "What can we do? You know Anne makes the best chicken soup this side of the Mississippi."
"I don't think chicken soup will fix this. I need Thursdays off."
"Ok, Thursdays?"
"That's when Davie will be getting his chemo. The doctor said he'll get in in the morning and I will need to stay with him the whole day." She paused. "Will I be able to get Thursdays?"
"Sh-sure. For how long?"
"He will get his chemo once a week for at least six months. After that we'll see if he needs more."
"Yeah. Uh, yeah. Don't worry about Thursdays. I'll make sure that day is covered." Max stammered as the reality of Shelly's pain sunk in. "How are you holding up? What are you and Rick doing to take care of yourselves?"
"We just found out this week. We're not even thinking of ourselves. At least not yet. We haven't even told the other boys."
"Ok. Let Rick I'll call to check on you guys tomorrow. Anne will still bring over some of her soup and we'll be there for you if you need us when you tell your other kids."
"That'll be ok. We plan to tell them tonight. Thanks for the Thursdays." Shelly turned and left the office without another word.
Max had known Shelly for more than six years when he hired her. They had always worked well together. Max sat in his office thinking about her family, about her boys and about Rick her husband and his friend. He thought about his own kids and wondered what he would do if one of them had been diagnosed with cancer. That next Monday Max and Shelly set up a schedule so her Thursday shifts would be covered and he gave her the option to call in sick off the books if she needed to stay with her son. About a week after the first round of chemo Shelly called in sick on Friday. She called in sick again on Monday and Tuesday. She showed up for work on Wednesday.
Shelly was an hourly employee, so she did not get paid for days she did not work. He co-workers supported her and gladly covered her days off so she could take care of her sick child. Paul Miller, in human resources, noticed a discrepancy in Shelly's approved hours and actual hours worked. Paul did not find an approved vacation or sick leave request form. She worked less than full time that week, though he said nothing as he hoped it was just that one week. Paul planned to sit with Max and remind him how important documentation is to keep human resources running smoothly.
In the second week, Shelly called in sick on Tuesday and Wednesday. With her planned day off on Thursday she worked only that Monday and Friday. Paul saw this as a potentially hazardous trend. He went to see Max.
"Max, have a moment?"
"Paul! They let you out of the cave!" Max smiled along. "What brings you down to the floor?"
"Shelly Adams."
"Yeah, tragic isn't it? I know her little boy. I love that kid..."
"What happened to her son?"
"Oh, you didn't hear? He has cancer!"
Paul looked surprised, then nodded his head. "That explains all the missing days. Did you know she was going to be out all these days?"
"Look Paul, I know what you're going to say. I needed to get the paperwork to you first. I'm sorry. In times like these paperwork just slows doesn't the process. That woman is grieving and she needed help, not paperwork." Max realized he no longer smiled.
"For the last two weeks she has worked fewer hours than our part time employees..."
"And? Shelly's kid was just diagnosed with cancer, and you're worried about her showing up for work?!"
"No! I'm worried she will lose her benefits if she doesn't maintain her hours. IF her benefits go away, who pays for her son's medical bills?"
Max looked perplexed. "I'm just trying to help her."
"Then put her on FLMA. She can keep her job and her benefits without needing to show up to work."
"Can you do that?" Max asked, knowing it would mean more paperwork.
Discussion Questions:
1). Does Maxwell's decision to work around policy help or hurt Shelly as a parent and an employee? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
2). How should Paul Miller approach the situation with Shelly's absences? Should special accommodations continue to be made for her? Should Paul enforce policy? What would you do? Why? Explain