It's going to be a week since I last worked. Two days after
that, the new owner of the hospital took over and I got a call from a coworker telling me I
should pick up whatever belongings I had at the hospital because I didn't have
to report for work anymore, and that Pacific Hospital would be paying us the
rest of our scheduled shifts. Well that was hard to believe, so I sent an email
to one of the human resources representatives asking what the status was of the
personnel not hired by the new company. I never got a response, so I patiently
waited till the next day to call them up, knowing that it must be a very busy
time for them as well while dealing with the transition. The information I received
from the person I talked with was that we won't be getting paid for the
unworked hours the rest of the month, but to feel free to use our accrued Paid
Time Off (PTO) to cover it. So now we have two different messages and that is
where the uncertainty starts. I sent another email to a different HR
representative and the response I got was this:
" Unfortunately
I have no info yet either, we have attorneys working on it. This is pretty much
what we are saying...
"We do not yet have an answer as to what will happen between now and 10/29. You are still an active employee and we are working out how you will be paid, or if you may be asked to report to work in another area helping with the closing of PHLB. You will be contacted when we know more. Do not go to work at College Hospital as you do not work for them. In the meantime, please make sure we have your correct info in ADP self-service so that we can reach you when we have more info."
As to the layoff info, that will be in your packet on 10/29 when you get laid off."
"We do not yet have an answer as to what will happen between now and 10/29. You are still an active employee and we are working out how you will be paid, or if you may be asked to report to work in another area helping with the closing of PHLB. You will be contacted when we know more. Do not go to work at College Hospital as you do not work for them. In the meantime, please make sure we have your correct info in ADP self-service so that we can reach you when we have more info."
As to the layoff info, that will be in your packet on 10/29 when you get laid off."
At least she responded. That was very disconcerting because
now it freezes us in our tracks and makes us uncertain on how to proceed. When
will our health insurance expire? Can we buy COBRA coverage? When can we apply
for unemployment? When can we move our 401K savings to another investment
company? Are we getting paid at all other than what is owed us in accrued PTO? How
much are we exactly getting? I'm sure my other unhired coworkers have their own
similar concerns. One is even considering getting a lawyer and using the WARN
act letter given to us as evidence that we aren't supposed to be laid off until
October 29. Does that mean we have to get paid for not doing anything?
Basically we are not supposed to return to work because we are not employees of
the new owner and we are personae non gratae at the jobsite. The problem was
that the information about not reporting for duty was only by word of mouth
with no official word from the powers that be (whoever that is). You had to individually
call your former supervisors who were hired by the new owner to make sure that
it was true. I wonder how many people actually showed up to work and were
turned away. After all, that would have made them trespassers. In my case, I
managed to empty my small locker and take the contents home along with a file
sorter I bought 10 years ago and was using to make new patient admission chart
packs. I had to foresight to stick some name labels on it 10 years ago to be
able to prove that it belonged to me. At the time I picked up my belongings,
the psych unit was somewhat in a state of chaos because patients were being
moved from one unit to another and there were not enough staff to make an
orderly transition. The day shift was still waiting for the night shift to
relieve them half an hour after they were supposed to clock out. Needless to
say, I didn't stay long to find out what else could go wrong because it ceased
to be my concern since I don't work there anymore. I was only there to retrieve
my personal belongings.
What does the immediate future hold? The immediate future is
about 3 more weeks and the answer is - I
don't know.
It's unfortunate that they didn't rehire highly organized
people who would have been able to ease the chaotic situation they find
themselves in now. I'm not saying it wouldn't have been chaotic anyway but at
least not as much. It may have been better if College Hospital rehired most
employees then incrementally laid some off as the transition became more
stable. Just sayin'...
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