.
The only real threat to people who believe that their public position confers power for them to abuse and intimidate other people is purity of purpose
The only real threat to people who believe that their public position confers power for them to abuse and intimidate other people is purity of purpose
.
If you don't want anything except information and a policy change from an organization, they can't make you go away! It's interesting just how much power one can obtain from non-attachment to money or ego.
.
I heard a story that seemed unbelievable from someone that I knew so I did the responsible thing and checked into it. I learned quite a bit from that experience.
.
In a nutshell, this city that I live in will refuse to refer "problem" employees to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program that we taxpayers pay for. I wanted to share my opinion by explaining that this could become a liability issue for them (and taxpayers, too) if an employee has a mental health/health issue that could pose a danger to others.
I asked who I needed to write in order to have them consider a change to their HR policy that mandates that they let every single "problem" employee know about EAP and their right to see a medical doctor if the "problem" could possibly be due to a medical or psychiatric disorder. My point was that by letting every person know about their right to see a doctor, potential problems could be solved and no one was being singled out as having any type of disorder.
I was informed that this was impossible: there is no way that city officials will change their policy.
They won't tell current employees about the EAP or ask them to consider visiting a doctor if they exhibit signs of a disorder (i.e. sleeping at work, alcoholism, shaking on the job, rage, or addiction - internet, drugs, and so on). My only guess about this is that they probably don't want to accommodate people with disabilities. I pray I'm wrong.
On some level it looks like a revenue generating scam. Their latest procedure for dealing with "problem" employees involves billing people for 2.5 days of pay (post payroll taxes) for infractions. One should realize that this "solution" doesn't deal with the underlying issues relating to the problem (i.e. interpersonal relations, lack of job training, unclear expectations, hostile work environment, and so on). The person in question paid $500 post tax in fines due to unsubstantiated claims (the lawyer said they had no concrete proof of the alleged wrong doing).
My understanding is that the supervisor who is alleging the wrongdoing gets to pocket the money.
My understanding is that the supervisor who is alleging the wrongdoing gets to pocket the money.
Don't they realize that they are losing productivity by engaging in that process? That is a waste of taxpayer money!
In my conversation with the City Attorney, I learned a few other disturbing things, like the propensity for the local Police to ignore allegations of domestic violence, even if they believe them to be credible. I'm checking into the legality of that one. By the account of the City Attorney, this person was fired because of a rumor that he had thrown his wife into a wall. Due to this rumor and the belief that he had "an anger management disorder" as diagnosed by another tax auditor, he was escorted off City property by a police officer he worked with.
Get this, the police officer actually told this man that he had an "anger management issue".
Does it really make sense to send a purported batterer believed to have an anger management disorder home after being publicly humiliated and fired? No. That's a recipe for disaster, isn't it? Is it smart to send an angry man believed to beat his wife home to a house full of kids? That officer worked side by side with my friend and knew he had several children.
Something doesn't make sense.
If a police officer believes that someone was being physically assaulted in one's own home by someone with an "anger management issue" (and states that as a fact), why wouldn't he have a colleague perform a wellness check on the household?
Maybe Police Officers don't have to act in this situation.
...perhaps that's something that should inspire a new law.
.
Getting back to my main point, I realized that people are afraid of people who don't want anything except the truth. No amount of money will make the truth go away. No threat will make the truth go away. Shame will never make the truth go away, either.
.
Yes, this lawyer even tried to shame me. You can always tell when you have caught someone doing something wrong; when
(1) he or she yells at you,
(2)he or she makes incorrect assumptions about your personal life in order to attack you,
(3)he or she attacks your personality and intelligence,
(4) he or she claims to have knowledge of very private information about you, and
(5) he or she slams the phone in your ear.
Why me?
.
Okay, I always believed that God threw crap at the people who are obnoxious enough to clean it up. Personally, I can't resist using the mop because I hate messes. The problem, though, is that I usually end up rolling around in the fodder with the wrongdoers until they end up hanging themselves.
.
Yes, I like peace
but
I like justice more.
Sometimes it only takes one voice to get the ball rolling. Even if the powers that be at this particular city are successful in silencing my voice, the people around me will hear my words. The seed will be planted. Other people will have similar experiences and they will become vocal as well. Eventually, entire groups of people will be able to harvest the fruit from the trees.
.
It will change. It is only a matter of time.
.
I did thank the lawyer and the other players for the opportunity to give me something new to learn about. She seemed puzzled by that. God brought this issue and these people to me for a reason.
.
Only good will come from this....trust me.
.
Onward and forward.....
Charge!!!!
Edit 8/28/08: I've written to numerous city officials with no response. Through calls to various domestic violence advocacy groups, I have learned that Police Officers must investigate credible accusations of domestic violence if it is known that there are children present. I'll give the powers that be out here a few more days to answer my letters before I turn it over to another level of jurisdiction.
.
As far as billing employees for "lost productivity", it is illegal for private employers to engage in such practice as per state Wage Law. Municipalities and government entities don't have to follow Wage Law. That should change. Luckily, government employees here have the option of joining a union. Perhaps it's about time for the union to come here.
The man who was fired has contacted the union. After my run in with the abusive City Attorney, heck, I'll volunteer a few hours to stand outside the city building and hand out union information. It seems that may be the only way to get through to the arrogant people in charge at the city.
Besides being unfair for workers, the practice of arbitrarily billing employees for "rumors" makes the City look bad. If a municipality is going to rob its employees, what the heck are they going to do to small business owners? The message that I'm getting is loud and clear: stay away.
.
And, also, to the City Attorney who scorned me, I'd like to tell her to never make assumptions about people. She never met me. If she had, she would have known that I am a former victim's advocate and that I'm passionate about laws and public policies that help men and women escape Domestic Violence. She would also know that my children and I used to volunteer countless unpaid hours to the City as well (never again).
On a personal level, I really want to tell this woman that it is inappropriate to assume that two people with the same common last name sleep with each other. That was a cruel and depressing assumption to make about a celibate woman, you know.
Sigh...
Anyhow, my curiosity was piqued by all this Municipal misbehavior. I'm not done yet. We'll see what happens...
No comments:
Post a Comment