A Loss, A Vent and a Few Other Things

It’s been a while. I’ve not been in the mood to write lately. I’m not sure why that is, particularly when writing is supposed to be therapeutic for the soul. I guess I just haven’t felt like facing up to my inner truths when the outer truths have been so hard.

My friend, Christine Coates, passed away on October 4, 2007, exactly three weeks ago, from the advanced stages of breast cancer. Not only was she my friend, she was the Global Director of HR at my company. She was the person who hired me. In fact, during the meeting in which she interviewed me, we spent about 20 minutes talking about HR and another hour talking about everything else. We clicked immediately. And now I have to look at her empty office every day, barely able to comprehend that she’s not coming back. I miss her. The HR world has lost a true professional.

Now onto the vent.

It is amazing to me how difficult it is to contact some HR departments! I needed to contact DHL’s HR department regarding the inappropriate behavior of one of their drivers, so I went to the website to see if there was a number for the corporate office. No such luck. So I called customer service and explained that I needed to contact their HR department. It took them 4 transfers to tell me that they didn’t have a number for HR and that I needed to call the sales office.

I didn’t necessarily understand the logic, but I called the number they gave me. I spoke with a lovely receptionist who gave me the corporate phone number. Great, yes? No, I called the corporate number and the system hung up on me when I was unable to enter a guest code. HUH?

So I called the sales office again and spoke with another receptionist. I again explained the situation. The receptionist told me that she needed my name, my phone number and address. When I questioned why this was necessary when all I wanted was the number for the HR department, she transferred me to a manager.

I once again explained why I was calling. The manager, although extremely sympathetic, took down my information and assured me that someone from HR would call me back as she did not have the phone number for HR. She then gave me her direct line so that I could follow up with her if I didn’t receive a call back within 24 hours. Call me silly, but I have a feeling I’ll be calling her tomorrow.

UNBELIEVABLE!

And now for some California news.

AB 392 – Military Spouse Leave

This bill requires employers with 25 or more employees to give qualified employees as many as 10 unpaid days off when their spouse is on leave from military deployment.

A qualified employee is one who works for more than 20 hours per week whose spouse is a member of the Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves who has been deployed during a period of military conflict. The employee must provide the employer with notice within at least two business days of receiving official notice that their spouse will be on leave from deployment that s/he wishes to take leave. The employee must also provide the employer with written documentation certifying the spouse will be on leave from deployment.

And on the national front. (Thanks for the tip Violet!)

We’re all familiar with ENDA and now Tammy Baldwin, Democratic Representative from Wisconsin, is introducing an amendment to H.R. 3865. If passed, the the Baldwin amendment would add gender identity back into ENDA. More power to her!!! After all, employees should never be judged for anything other than the quality of their work. NOTHING ELSE.

Liberty and justice for all.