Sunday, December 26, 2010
Lady Tee
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Oh Thank Heaven For 7-Eleven
The Friday before Thanksgiving I was called into the office of the head of HR for the company I work for. I was told in an effort to cut costs the company had created a plan to furlough certain employees 3 days a week beginning with the coming Monday. My immediate reaction was, WHAT THE HELL??? And if you know me, you know I immediately copped an attitude. I told the HR person if the company expected me to cut back to 2 days a week she could consider this my notice and I would find employment elsewhere (under my breath she was told to kiss my ass). I mean who can afford to lose 3 days of pay a week? “No silly”, she replied laughing this is just for next week and you can use your vacation or personal time if you like…if I like? Of course I like you dumb bitch didn’t I just tell your ass I can’t afford to cut back to 2 days a week? And I don’t know what she found so damn funny, the thought of me losing my home out on the streets and begging for change from strangers at the local 7-Eleven? Or maybe she was amused at the arrogance of this Black man daring her with ultimatums and threatening to walk. At any rate as I was the first person she spoke with I suggested she change the way she broached the conversation or at least start off by saying it would only be for one week.
As it turns out it didn’t matter as she was full of shit anyway. This week when I returned to work I found they had furloughed more employees with plans to do so going forward. What I couldn’t understand is why they would force people to take time off and then tell them they could use their personal or vacation time. By doing this the company would not be saving any money as the cash required for payroll would not change. Now I’ve been an accountant for almost 30 years and I’m ashamed to admit that it took me awhile to figure out their game plan. You see in the state of California when you fire a person you are legally obliged to pay them for any vacation or personal time they may have accrued….I’ll let that sink in for a moment. By accruing this time it sits on the company’s books as a liability due the employee. The real plan these heartless bastards have concocted is to force people to use all of their vacation and personal time so that when they fire them, without notice, they won’t have to pay them for the time they have accrued...so this means that you fire me with no warning and no severance and all I’m left with is whatever I may have earned for that week…look out 7-Eleven I may be headed your way.
So I find myself 54 years old, pissed off, with minimal savings and faced with the prospect of finding a new job. Now don’t get me wrong being college educated and with 30 years of work experience helps but I earn a fairly decent salary to which I’ve grown accustomed and call me stupid but I’ve also adapted to living in a house and not my car. The fact is there are plenty of fresh faced college graduates who are willing to do my job for far less money and the scarcity of jobs in the current market leaves me wondering how quickly I’ll be able to find employment and at what rate. Of course there’s the additional pressure of trying to secure a job before these assholes deplete my vacation and personal time which, at this point is my only chance of any type of severance. So wish me luck as I begin this week to contact recruiters and refashion my resume. Maybe I should get caught up on the current youth lingo and fashions or at least find out who the hell Nicki Minaj is and why she’s pissed off Lil’ Kim. And by the way, the next time you see someone begging for cash at 7-Eleven pay close attention it may be someone you know.
As it turns out it didn’t matter as she was full of shit anyway. This week when I returned to work I found they had furloughed more employees with plans to do so going forward. What I couldn’t understand is why they would force people to take time off and then tell them they could use their personal or vacation time. By doing this the company would not be saving any money as the cash required for payroll would not change. Now I’ve been an accountant for almost 30 years and I’m ashamed to admit that it took me awhile to figure out their game plan. You see in the state of California when you fire a person you are legally obliged to pay them for any vacation or personal time they may have accrued….I’ll let that sink in for a moment. By accruing this time it sits on the company’s books as a liability due the employee. The real plan these heartless bastards have concocted is to force people to use all of their vacation and personal time so that when they fire them, without notice, they won’t have to pay them for the time they have accrued...so this means that you fire me with no warning and no severance and all I’m left with is whatever I may have earned for that week…look out 7-Eleven I may be headed your way.
So I find myself 54 years old, pissed off, with minimal savings and faced with the prospect of finding a new job. Now don’t get me wrong being college educated and with 30 years of work experience helps but I earn a fairly decent salary to which I’ve grown accustomed and call me stupid but I’ve also adapted to living in a house and not my car. The fact is there are plenty of fresh faced college graduates who are willing to do my job for far less money and the scarcity of jobs in the current market leaves me wondering how quickly I’ll be able to find employment and at what rate. Of course there’s the additional pressure of trying to secure a job before these assholes deplete my vacation and personal time which, at this point is my only chance of any type of severance. So wish me luck as I begin this week to contact recruiters and refashion my resume. Maybe I should get caught up on the current youth lingo and fashions or at least find out who the hell Nicki Minaj is and why she’s pissed off Lil’ Kim. And by the way, the next time you see someone begging for cash at 7-Eleven pay close attention it may be someone you know.
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