The Venting Thread

[Parasaurolophus]

Update:

1.) HR squirreled my 11k away in some secret "banked" account I have to specifically request they pay out (but since I was never informed of it, that wasn't likely to happen). I apparently had some other money "banked" in there, too. So... basically, they secretly gave themselves an interest-free loan on my back.

2.) After a tense standoff with the union, HR will pay back what they stole from our August paycheques. Doing so, however, requires us to fill out a couple of new "professional development" forms backdated to May 2024 (?). It's also come out that even though the stated rationale for the theft is to pay for transitioning the start of the academic year from August 1 to September 1 (Fall classes always began in September; it's just that anything you taught in July/August counted half towards the previous year, half towards the following. Don't ask), they decided to steal from us--but only from "regular part time" employees, not "regular full time," "non-regular," or "sessional" employees. Basically, they paid me based on my commitment level (i.e. how many courses they commit to giving me, provided enrollments warrant it) rather than what I actually worked (which was more than a full-time load). (Note that the contract the administration signed with the union a few months ago explicitly prohibited anything like this.)

I just... I don't even understand. Surely somebody is skimming something somewhere? I hope so, because otherwise...

[Langue_doc]

The CPAP supplier has ramped up its pressure to get me to order supplies, despite the fact that only the doctor's office can do the ordering, and only after I've seen the doctor. Emails and phone messages on the landline and the cell on a daily basis starting last Friday. The old supplier that would harass me and then lie to me and the insurance company about the doctor's office not doing the proper paperwork has now started to call me and follow up the calls with an email from the phone company--subject heading "Call notify from xxx"-- to prove (don't know who needs such proof) that they did indeed call me. I blocked them from the cell, so thankfully no texts or phone calls. I'm getting ready to send a version of the cease and desist email to the current supplier that seems to think that I'm a recalcitrant employee that needs daily monitoring. Aargh!!!

[Parasaurolophus]

2.) After a tense standoff with the union, HR will pay back what they stole from our August paycheques. Doing so, however, requires us to fill out a couple of new "professional development" forms backdated to May 2024 (?). It's also come out that even though the stated rationale for the theft is to pay for transitioning the start of the academic year from August 1 to September 1 (Fall classes always began in September; it's just that anything you taught in July/August counted half towards the previous year, half towards the following. Don't ask), they decided to steal from us--but only from "regular part time" employees, not "regular full time," "non-regular," or "sessional" employees. Basically, they paid me based on my commitment level (i.e. how many courses they commit to giving me, provided enrollments warrant it) rather than what I actually worked (which was more than a full-time load). (Note that the contract the administration signed with the union a few months ago explicitly prohibited anything like this.)

HR just sent out an email saying they hadn't yet agreed to pay us back. And reminding us that when we fill out those forms (which they apparently haven't yet agreed to) we need to be careful to only declare real work done in good faith, otherwise that's time theft, which the university takes very seriously.

No word on how the university "takes" wage theft, however.


(Bizarrely, I have an unexplained payment from the university totalling roughly what was missing from my paycheque. But if they haven't yet agreed to do anything... what the hell?)

[Sea_Ice]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

[Parasaurolophus]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

It looks like something like that. But it's weird of them to disavow what the union told us they agreed to, and super weird that I have an unexplained $1k deposit.

[AmLitHist]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

It looks like something like that. But it's weird of them to disavow what the union told us they agreed to, and super weird that I have an unexplained $1k deposit.

I know you already know this, but don't sign Sh*t unless your union leadership sees and OK's it first.

I've been watching my payroll like a hawk, and was concerned they'd screwed up my OL due tomorrow, since I didn't receive a notice as usual on Tuesday. I checked yesterday, and they did screw up:  put two of my full-semester classes as OL, and one of my late-start classes (which began this week) as regular load. At the end of the semester, it will all work out the same, but in effect, they're paying me in advance for one of the late-start classes (I'll have another second 8-weeks class, too). Nice for me, since that makes the mid-month OL paychecks bigger than if they'd divided them up correctly.

[AmLitHist]

Maybe they realized that they were caught red-handed in failing to perform their legal obligation to pay you, and are now hoping that you'll fill out the newly-required paperwork wrong, so that they can get some of it back??

It looks like something like that. But it's weird of them to disavow what the union told us they agreed to, and super weird that I have an unexplained $1k deposit.

I know you already know this, but don't sign sh*t unless your union leadership sees and OK's it first.

I've been watching my payroll like a hawk, and was concerned they'd screwed up my OL due tomorrow, since I didn't receive a notice as usual on Tuesday. I checked yesterday, and they did screw up:  put two of my full-semester classes as OL, and one of my late-start classes (which began this week) as regular load. At the end of the semester, it will all work out the same, but in effect, they're paying me in advance for one of the late-start classes (I'll have another second 8-weeks class, too). Nice for me, since that makes the mid-month OL paychecks bigger than if they'd divided them up correctly.

ETA today's vent: I've finally given in and made an urgent care appointment for this afternoon. What started as allergies 2+ weeks ago, then went away, now has turned into feeling like I have a bucket of water sloshing around in my head, plus periodic earache and swollen lymph nodes under my jaw. Likely a sinus infection brought on by the lack of rain (thus dust) for the past month, plus a bumper crop of ragweed and goldenrod. Ain't nobody got time for this, as they say.

[waterboy]

Hi,

Sorry to hear bout the sinus infection.  Please don't blame goldenrod as it's insect pollinated and does not cause any of the wind blown allergy issues that ragweed does.