Eric in trouble at work!
The ClubHouse: General Discussion Archives: Archive Three:
Eric in trouble at work!
Tabbyking | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 03:24 pm     i wonder if his 'rookie' status means he was still in his probationary period? he may not have the same 'rights' as someone who has passed their probation. i know some jobs i had, there were 3 to 6 month introductory periods where i could have been terminated for no reason. also, medical benefits, profit sharing, etc. did not kick in until a certain amount of time had elapsed. another thought is that he may have had to be specific about what days he was trading for what days. he can't possibly have known how long he would make it in the BB house, so wouldn't have known whether he needed someone to trade 8 days or 40 days. it would also be almost impossible to find specific people to work each specific day for him. the person he wanted to trade with may already be working his own shift that day, for example. maybe eric just left it 'open' for others to cover for him and they would have to try and figure out when to work his shift among themselves. if they knew they were available to work a certain day for eric, it could be that the captain needed them to cover for someone else with a scheduled vacation on that date. just a thought. anyway, if i were stupid enough to try out for BB, and my boss seemed unhappy about it, i would stick with my job if it was something i really wanted. supposedly eric really wanted to be a firefighter. or maybe he just wants to be known as a firefighter. all the glamour without the hard work... |
Corriecat | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 03:28 pm     Oohhh...I never knew Eric's last name. I may just know someone related to him. I will have to do some snooping at work tomorrow. |
Wcv63 | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 06:28 pm     Hmmm...the way the fire department here works is in three platoon shifts. 24 hours on, 7am to 7am...48 hours off. Even firefighters during their probationary period are allowed to utilize "mutuals" or shift trades, sick days and annual leave. Annual leave is reserved more for emergencies however. Vacation days are picked from a roster of what's available and veterans get first pick. I seriously doubt Eric joined the fire department to appear glamorous. After 9/11, when so many of our brave emergency personnnel were lost, there was a desperate need to fill open positions on the department. I'm not saying that I like Eric (I wanted to but have not been successful in this endeavor). I just don't think he is doing anything wrong by covering his shifts while he is sequestered. |
Cathie | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 07:11 pm     I remember reading in the live feeds Eric saying that he is still getting paid by his job while he is in the house. How does that figure in with the other guys covering his shifts - would he be paid for the shifts that they are working for him? |
Cathie | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 07:21 pm     Here's the post, from 6:30 am on Sat, July 13: "Eric feels he wants to experience new things and he can not do that in his hometown. He wants to go to a big city he like Boston. Eric liked that BB wanted film of him in his uniform doing fireman things and it gave him confidence because he realized he would be the only fireman. He gets paid while he is in the house, not a lot but it covers his bills and big school loans. Lori says he is lucky for that. Eric thinks Tanya quit her job 2 months ago before going in the house." |
Wcv63 | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 07:25 pm     The way "mutuals" work is that Eric either has to repay them by working an equal number of shifts for them in the future or by an agreed upon monetary payout. If the guy loses his job the firemen covering his shifts are pretty much SOL if the agreement was for future a future tour payback. |
Halfunit | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 07:41 pm     Cathie, I know they get a stipend of $107 for each day they spend in the house, so that is some of the income. If the shift coverage works like it does for my husband (police, not fire), here is a fictional example: Joe works Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday and gets paid for three days Mike works Thursday-Friday-Saturday and gets paid for three days Mike wants Friday and Saturday off. Joe offers to work those days for Mike. Joe only gets paid for his three days, and Mike still gets paid his three days, but now Mike has to work two days for Joe (and not get paid for them). Around here, they reduce it as far down as half hours. They also will outright trade shifts for a week (a 2nd shifter needs his evenings free for a week, so he trades with a 1st shifter - this normally doesn't apply to firefighters, as they typically aren't scheduled for eight hour shifts). I hope that isn't confusing... there is more: When hubby is needed for overtime (crew shortage, parades, court testimony), he has the option of taking cash overtime at time and a half, or "compensatory" (comp) time, which is paid time off at straight pay when there is a full crew already on the schedule. Minimum manning for our PD is 1 on the desk at the station and 3 on the road. There are days where 5 or 6 people are scheduled to work a particular day. They all go in to work, and 5 hours into the shift hubby decides to cash out 3 hours of his comp time and come home 3 hours early and still get paid for it. I hope this helps - it can get confusing, and most of it is on the honor system between the workers themselves. What makes it work is that if you jerk someone over, you won't be able to count on them to cover for you again. I can't think of any of the people hubby works with that have done that though, because it comes in handy and they all enjoy the option of trading when they have to. |
Halfunit | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 07:42 pm     LOL, Wcv sums it up in 2 sentences and it takes me paragraphs..... I'm such a ding-a-ling!!! |
Cathie | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 08:00 pm     Thanks, Halfunit and WVC63, that does help to explain his statement. I don't think he was referring to the BB income because Lori wouldn't have referred to him as 'lucky' if it was something everyone was getting. I work at a hospital and if we trade shifts we still have to go through channels and for a three month period would certainly need prior approval per the hospital policies and procedures. I think it would depend on the content of the "rules and regulations of the employment agreement" that the chief has said he has broken, and the union rep says were not broken. Without knowing their rules and regulations and what really happened (what level of approval/support Eric thought he had) I am still sitting on the fence about this one. And, for the record, I do not care for Eric at all and would love to jump on this as a way for him to need to leave the house, but too many unanswered questions in my mind now... |
Pirate | Thursday, July 18, 2002 - 08:41 pm     I don't think BB would have to tell Eric anything. Don't you think that the HGs would have something in the contract that says they are free from any obligations to keep them from participating. And that BB is not responsible for anything if they lose their jobs. I say don't tell him. Eric is ultimately responsible for his own actions. |
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