Delphi asks ill workers for health files (call in sick=give med. records)

Hourly workers who call in sick could lose pay if they won't release medical info.

Hourly employees at Delphi Corp. who refuse to sign waivers releasing their medical records could lose vacation days or pay as part of a new, stricter policy adopted in April to combat absenteeism.

The Troy-based auto parts maker's crackdown on no-shows, which has roiled workers and local union officials, comes as Detroit's struggling automakers and auto parts suppliers redouble efforts to lower operating costs.

Absenteeism among hourly workers in the automotive industry runs about 10 percent annually, about three times higher than in other industries, and costs companies millions of dollars a year in lost productivity, according to a study published last year by the Automotive Supplier Action Committee.

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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=39709

ON EDIT: I want to be sure I have this right. If I call in sick, I have to have signed a waiver releasing all of my medical records, or I'll lose pay?

in management that just maybe something about the working conditions is causing this high absenteeism???

My brother worked on the plant floor at Ford, before he committed suicide. Even though he had worked there for 20+ years, he was never able to get off night shift. The work is monotonous, dehumanizing, and people get hurt alot. He did have good benefits--which he made sure would pay off to his wife and kids.

ACLU will be all over this Delphi issue, I'm sure. I believe it's illegal.

One of the hardest jobs there is. The stress has got to be horrendous.

Think about having to replace air conditioning systems in Florida where most of them are installed in the attic spaces. This time of year it exceeds 130 degrees in there with little to no ventalation.

but those massive machines do produce heat and alot of it. Hubby says they've had air temps of 120..and if you work repairing those machines and have to get inside one of them..it's much hotter than that.

that's dreadful. :-(

I have that t-shirt!

Fuck them ..I wish labor could organize and the citizens who care would help a general strike happen.. Time to starve the beast,starving us and shredding the social safety net,ethics and sanity in this country.taking away our human rights for profit and dominion.We have to leash the greedy pigs and cut off the gravy before they destroy our country and us with thier juggernaught of selfish blind greed.We have to remind the CEo parasite who his meal ticket is and that all corporations depend on labor and labor will not be treated like slaves or be owned or mastered by the likes of corporate greedheads trampling human rights for profit.
Fuck the greedheads make them stand at an empty trough, maker thier gravy train grind to a halt,make them be fair or be poor..

thus exempting CEOs and the like?

-wildflower

the medical records laws are vague on the rights of workers and just how much an employeer can know about the employee`s illness.

They don't need the medical records to determine fitness for duty. A medical note excusing the absence without stating the condition is more than sufficient.

not sure about ADA without knowing the details.

Local GM plant currently requires note that patient is unable to work and a return to work date.

Employers are not entitled to know what medical problem an employee might have as it may cause discrimination. That must be where ADA comes into play.

The doctor only states that the worker can't work, not what the medical problem is.

http://opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?Order=A&txtName=&txtState=MI&txtZip=&txtEmploy=Delphi&txtCand=&txt2004=Y&txt2002=Y&txt2000=Y&txt1998=&txt1996=&txt1994=&txt1992=&txt1990=&txtSoft=N

http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.asp?strId=C00346130

The few Dems they support are all DLC/Conservative Dems.

and puke in the boss's office. Bet you'll get approval for using a sick day . . .

It might be worth sticking your finger down your throat . . .

calls in sick. yeaaa. the company should get SO much more work then. :eyes: if they are so worried about profit margins, perhaps they shouldn't give their CEO's a hundred gazillion dollars a year. errrrrr....

now have to give medical records?

Just wait for the next shoe to drop... dropping certain employees due to health related issues discovered via the records.

This is in the state where you had an employer fire folks for smoking - during their off hours. Thus is the above scenario that unrealistic?

That the employers want to use or just make a judgment on?

Such as doctor's opinions on a person's psychological makeup, or records of elective procedures people have had, or healthy women who haven't had children but "should"...who knows. There are so many possibilities.

-wildflower

medical records indicate high blood pressure and diabetes2.. This worker will be flagged, and gotten rid of at the earliest possible time.. Look for him to start getting "write-ups" for infractions that have been previously overlooked..Hie time card will be scrutinized, his hours may change to a schedule that management KNOWS he hates (so his attitude will be affected)..day off requests may be denied..

After a "decent and documentable period of time" he WILL be terminated, demoted, transferred..his department eliminated, re-named whatever..

Multiply that 45 times n and you have what's ahead..If they get rid of him NOW, the will save money in the long run, and with what a journeyman makes, they can replace him with two cheap people, and they will be under a NEW contract..one that allows the company to weasel out of paying benefits that the "old" employee got.

Companies know how to do this. I used to be told to write a schedule, and there were certain people that were flagged to be watched...(only scheduled at certain times when a certain manager was on duty.. They built dossiers on people they wanted to get rid of, and when the documentation was "legal"..out they went..

These records are designed to be examined by doctors, not human resources employees.

just like those mf god damn sonabitch health insurance companies that determine whether a medical procedure will be paid for and how long a patient will be permitted to stay in the hospital.

what, pray tell, are your medical records going to tell them about your having stayed home with a cold one day? Most folks probably don't run to the doctor every time they have a sniffle. Personally, I visit the doctor about twice a year. I certainly don't go in and waste the doctor's time when I know I have a minor viral infection of some sort - but I do stay home if I feel miserable and certainly if I'm contagious. I appreciate co-workers who don't pass on their pathogens a lot more than the compulsive attendance nazis.

I feel sorry for the HR folks who've just had their workloads doubled by this piece of stupidity.

The best way to reduce unplanned absenteeism is to increase paid time off - vacations, holidays, personal days, other planned absences. Only an idiot tries to simply penalize it without addressing the root causes - either the working conditions suck so much that people don't want to come to work, or people do not have enough time off to conduct their lives. Institute more flexible schedules, and I guarantee absenteeism will drop.

If you have the flu or anything you MUST have a md's note... which means you MUST go to the doctor... which also means you get to spread it around instead of recovering by staying home.