At Work from Creators Syndicate

Employer Violates Several Employment Laws for 07/09/2009

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I moved to a small town outside a big city last October. I searched forever for a job just so I would be able to pay my rent. I applied for a manager's position at an ice-cream shop, and I had more than enough experience for the job. I thought the interview went great, until the owner called me and said he had found someone more qualified. He offered me a minimum-wage job scooping ice cream ...

Updated: Thu Jul 09, 2009

Know Your Options: Idealistic vs. Realistic Employment Choices for 07/16/2009

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: My colleagues and I really enjoy our work but are working under a boss who is abusive. Jobs in our field are hard to find, so we don't want to lose our jobs. Our boss's practices force us to work overtime without pay, dock us if we leave at our assigned times without working overtime, insult and degrade us, and place all of us periodically on probation so that we can't receive the benefits t ...

Updated: Thu Jul 16, 2009

Even Strange Dreams Can Offer Guidance for 07/23/2009

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I am in my 50s and have been feeling anxious about my job. I've been in the same field for many years, and if I were to be laid off, I would not be prepared to reinvent myself or go to school for something else. I keep having an upsetting and confusing dream that haunts me when I awake. In the past, I rarely have experienced this, so dreaming in and of itself is upsetting. Here it is:

Updated: Thu Jul 23, 2009

Workers Pushed Out of Jobs Without Realizing It for 07/30/2009

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I've worked for four years as a field software trainer. I used to receive a base salary and a $100 incentive for each day I trained a client, but that $100 was to cover travel time and expenses. We were told several months ago that the company was realigning our compensation and benefits so all the offices in all states would be operating the same. Once the company settled on things, we were ...

Updated: Thu Jul 30, 2009

Unemployed Husband Breaks Down and Needs Help for 08/06/2009

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: My husband and I are in the same profession. Unfortunately, he lost his job six months ago and is going downhill quickly. We have a little boy, so because my husband was let go, he stays home to take care of our son. My husband has gone into a deep depression with outbursts of anger, but what's worse is that he is becoming odd. He has turned this household into a boot camp. I think it's an e ...

Updated: Thu Aug 06, 2009

Rules for a Successful Family-Owned Business for 08/13/2009

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: My husband and I started a small business years ago. We have been modestly successful and employ several family members, along with a number of non-family employees. Normal family baggage conflicts have become part of our business, and correcting these family members and supervising them is difficult if we don't want it to affect our family relationships outside the business. We also face th ...

Updated: Thu Aug 13, 2009

71-Year-Old Ready and Willing To Work for 08/20/2009

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I am 71 years old and was cut from my company because of the loss of a longtime client. I am a quantitative market researcher specializing in market mix analysis and optimizing marketing funds. I started with the company as a contractor on a two- to three-day-a-week assignment and continued for the next 15 years. Because I was an independent contractor, I didn't share in the company benefits ...

Updated: Thu Aug 20, 2009

Intern Wins Job Over Experienced Teacher for 08/27/2009

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: My wife has 10 years' teaching experience and applied for a job to teach a different grade from the one she currently is teaching, but she previously had taught that grade. The person who was hired for the position had no teaching experience but was an intern at the school the year before. The interview committee that made the hiring decision included both of the intern's supervisors for tha ...

Updated: Thu Aug 27, 2009

Ongoing Lack of Communication Makes Bad Situations Worse for 09/03/2009

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: My husband worked for a mattress company owned by an elderly couple who decided to sell the company. My husband wanted to buy the company and was able to raise enough money to do so. The general manager of the company did not like my husband and wanted to buy it when he discovered my husband wanted it. He never liked my husband because he was not as good at being a salesman as my husband. As ...

Updated: Thu Sep 03, 2009

Student Swayed by Family Friend Makes Wrong Career Move for 09/10/2009

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I was in a bachelor's program for interior design and loved it. Then a close family friend talked me into changing majors, saying that I wasn't going to make enough money in the field. She is a very successful businesswoman, so I listened to her and changed majors and schools. I am a creative person, and I really miss the schoolwork entailed in all the creative projects I used to work on. I' ...

Updated: Thu Sep 10, 2009

Employee Must Leave Job To Advance Career for 09/17/2009

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I found out that a co-worker with the same qualifications as I have was making about $10,000 more than I was. I met with my manager and explained all the duties I had taken on in my job over the year and why I deserved a raise, rather than tell him I knew another person was making more. My manager agreed with me and said he would talk to his director about it. When the pay increases came, I ...

Updated: Thu Sep 17, 2009

'Whistle While You Work' Only Works for Disney's 7 Dwarfs for 09/24/2009

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I have an employee — our office receptionist — who will just burst out into whistling, with no tune and for no reason. Our office is in a very old building with 30-foot ceilings. Her whistling travels and echoes down the hallway straight into my office. I don't know how to confront her. She is sensitive and shows her feelings openly. If I say anything, it will be passed throughou ...

Updated: Thu Sep 24, 2009

Given 2-Month Severance Without Reason for Layoff for 10/01/2009

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: My friend was laid off but not given any reason for it. The company gave her a two-month severance, but she has no idea what happened. She never had been written up or talked to about anything that was a problem. She has no clue as to what to do at this point.

A: "At-will employment" states, which most states are, generally do not require employers to give reasons for termin ...

Updated: Thu Oct 01, 2009

Hire Lawyer To Fight Company That Breaches Employment Contract for 10/08/2009

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I had an employment agreement that stated I would receive a severance package if the company should no longer require my services and release me for no cause. I was released, and the company refused to honor the agreement between us. I hired an attorney to deal with the breach of contract, but there is more to it than that. I also discovered that the company provided severance packages to fa ...

Updated: Thu Oct 08, 2009

Company Fires New Employee for 10/15/2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I was hired away from my former employer and required to move to a new city for the new job. After I had just joined the new company, the senior staff resigned, one after the other. Then the company announced it was restructuring the entire department that I was in. As if that wasn't bad enough, my new manager called me into her office to say that I wasn't meeting the company's expectations. ...

Updated: Thu Oct 15, 2009

Lost Job by Using Recruiter in a Tight Economy for 10/22/2009

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I am employed and happy in my job. I was contacted, however, by a recruiter for a job that was closer to my academic background, a more senior position than I am currently in, and located in another part of the country. The job interested me, but the recruiter warned me that the hiring manager has a "bland" personality. I decided to interview anyway. After the phone interview with ...

Updated: Thu Oct 22, 2009

Noncompete Agreement Cannot Take Away Person's Ability To Make a Living for 10/29/2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Q: I worked as a medical biller for six years. Without warning, I was let go and told my accounts would be taken over by a team leader. When I started the job, I signed an agreement stating that I would not go to work for any of the company's clients. The agreement never was updated or renewed in any way. One of the clients who really liked my performance called me and offered me a job when he ...

Updated: Thu Oct 29, 2009

Overly Nervous Employee Scares the Employee Under Him for 11/05/2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Q: I work for a brokerage house that seems to be doing well. I am not yet a broker. I work under someone who is a broker but not in management. He is afraid of everything we do when the compliance officer comes into the room. We are supposed to scan the newspapers for business news as part of our jobs. If I hold the newspaper too high in front of me, he warns me not to hold it so high because & ...

Updated: Thu Nov 05, 2009

Preparing Oneself in a Tight Market for the Future for 11/12/2009

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Q: I keep reading that this is the time to go back to school because of our tight economic situation. An article stated that even if a person doesn't know what to do, it's a good time to go to school. What do you think of that advice?

A: I disagree with that advice. Yes, education is a good thing, but whatever loans you receive — subsidized or private — you must pay them back ...

Updated: Thu Nov 12, 2009

New Graduate Wants To Take Chances at All the Wrong Times for 11/19/2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Q: I will be finishing my bachelor's degree this spring. I have lived all of my life in the city where I am attending school, and I would like to get a job in another city that I have wanted to move to. I only know a couple of people there, so I cannot count on using connections to find job openings or to get interviews. My financial situation will not allow me to move first and then start a jo ...

Updated: Thu Nov 19, 2009