Coworker Dilemma

[donutsmakemegonuts]

I work for my local government.  I am a case manager that works in community services.  I have been here for two years so I'm fairly new to the job.  I have a lot of autonomy and my boss does not micromanage me, which is great.  I do not have a job where my day to day caseload is effected by anyone else, meaning I have a certain territory that I handle and my other counterparts handle their own territory.  If I don't complete my work, it is on me and reflects only on me.  I am paid hourly and I clock in and out on a time clock.  Some employees that do the same job as me do not have to clock in and out for some reason.  They are assumed to be working 8a-5p unless they have asked for time off in and it has been approved by my boss.  Additionally, if I happen to clock in at 8:15 one morning (I am rarely late) my boss will correct it to reflect that I am on time in our time clock system.  I know this is long, but it's an important detail.

We all get an hour lunch break, taken whenever we would like.  There is not a designated "time" for lunch, but we all typically take it during "lunchtime" hours mainly between 12 and 2.  We are free to do whatever we want with that time meaning we can leave the office and go get lunch out, run errands for an hour, whatever.  A new case manager (here less than a year) routinely takes her "lunch" from 4p to 5p.  Like pretty much once a week.  So basically she is leaving work an hour early.  This week she did it twice.  Both times my boss wasn't here.  She seems to do it mostly then.  She is one of the employees that doesn't have to physically clock in and out like me.  So my boss basically has no idea she's doing it.  

On one hand, I don't think it's documented that she can't take her lunch at that time, but I literally no one else does this.  I have "flexed" my hours if I need to leave an hour early for some reason but I have had my boss' permission and I don't do it often.  I don't think that it's very fair.  I would love to have my work day end at 4, but that's not how it works (to me).  Also, there is the pattern of her doing it when my boss isn't here.  I'm conflicted on what to do or say, if anything.  Talk to new employee?  Talk to my boss?  Mind my own business?  It really bothers me but I am not confrontational and I don't want to get into something that would make my boss start micromanaging us.  But I am all about being fair.  What do you all think?

[TR]

Mind your business. You don't know she hasn't asked for permission to do that, right? And even if she hasn't, nobody likes a snitch.

ETA: Also, she IS working the same amount of hours, right? She's not taking a midday lunch and then also leaving at 4pm.

[cville]

The issue isn't your coworker. It's the inflexibility of your schedule. Address that with your boss, leaving your coworker out of it.

[chedifuen]

Definitely MYOB.

[donutsmakemegonuts]

Apr 7, 2023 15:55:40 GMT -5 TR said:

Mind your business. You don't know she hasn't asked for permission to do that, right? And even if she hasn't, nobody likes a snitch.

That thought also occurred to me.  Maybe she does have permission to leave early some days?  You're right, I don't know for sure.  I also don't want to be a snitch.

[TR]

I'd also probably ask, out of curiosity, why some people clock in and out and some don't.

[felicity]

You could ask your boss if you could do this. If they say no, the right answer is probably to MYOB, but I probably wouldn’t be able to resist saying something like oh okay I though maybe we could since I’ve seen some others doing it.

[donutsmakemegonuts]

Apr 7, 2023 15:55:40 GMT -5 TR said:

Mind your business. You don't know she hasn't asked for permission to do that, right? And even if she hasn't, nobody likes a snitch.

ETA: Also, she IS working the same amount of hours, right? She's not taking a midday lunch and then also leaving at 4pm.

Not that I am aware of.  I'm guessing she eats something in her office at some point during actual lunchtime but is not taking the official lunch hour.

[donutsmakemegonuts]

Apr 7, 2023 15:58:44 GMT -5 TR said:

I'd also probably ask, out of curiosity, why some people clock in and out and some don't.

From what I gather, no one really knows lol.  When I was hired, I was told my job classification had to clock in and out.  Some of my other coworkers also clock in and out, some don't.  That's the government for you I guess.

[fivechickens]

This is not your business. There could be lots of reasons she needs to leave at that time, which again, are not your business.

If she is being sneaky she will get caught eventually.

[bee20]

It sounds like the issue is you'd also like to work this schedule. Just talk to your boss: "Hi Boss, on some days it'd be helpful to take my lunch at the start or end of a day and work straight through. Would you have any concerns with this?"

Boss may say "that's not allowed for non-exempt employees" or maybe it's ok occasionally but we need to ensure office coverage so clear it with me first. Or maybe boss says "sure, just make sure it's accurate on your timecard".

[Patsy Baloney]

We’re required to take a mid-day break of at least 30 minutes. The timekeeper docks the time if it isn’t taken or documented as a working lunch. I’m also a govt worker.

So, the problem takes care of itself.

Any chance that’s going on?

ETA - I’m exempt.

[momof2]

This is literally none of your business.

If you want to change your schedule, talk to your boss. But it has nothing to do with how a coworker manages their schedule.

[shopgirl07]

As a non-exempt employee, you’re mandated to take at least a 30 min break. So working from 8-4 and then leaving wouldn’t work for your position. But I would wonder why some of you are exempt and some or not.

[ECB]

Yup. MYOB. You have no idea if she hasn’t worked something out with your boss. And if you’d like to do this, then ask.

[tacokick]

I worked for the county records office years ago and set this up with my manager. I had a very long bus ride (well over an hour) and 3 days a week the bus did not actually go all the way to my job in the evenings. If I left early and didn’t take lunch, I could catch the earlier bus and not have to walk 2 miles to the next stop at night. It was a strange, horrible situation but luckily my boss understood and allowed it even though it technically wasn’t true to policy.

My coworkers however were really nasty about it and made constant comments despite taking hour lunches every day themselves and knowing I didn’t take any. I’m sure you are not making comments but it really isn’t anyone else’s business. It was some policy in the office to not discuss schedules so there was never some announcement that I had permission to do this. They could have too if they asked and had a good reason!

I would assume there is some reason this woman is leaving early and not taking lunch. If not, she is very bold!

It is a little weird that you clock in and out and they don’t but the government is weird.

[mcmel]

Whew this kind of attitude drives me absolutely bonkers. MYOB.

[sparkythelawyer]

Precisely 0.0000% of this is your business to worry about

[wildrice]

Apr 7, 2023 16:01:45 GMT -5 donutsmakemegonuts said:

Apr 7, 2023 15:58:44 GMT -5 TR said:

I'd also probably ask, out of curiosity, why some people clock in and out and some don't.

From what I gather, no one really knows lol.  When I was hired, I was told my job classification had to clock in and out.  Some of my other coworkers also clock in and out, some don't.  That's the government for you I guess.

I don't work in government, but you are probably hourly (non-exempt) they are probably salary (exempt). Hourly employees generally need to track their time to the minute because organizations are required to pay overtime for anything over 40 hours (and also can pay you less if you work less, of course). Exempt it doesn't affect pay either way so often isn't tracked as closely.

[mysteriouswife]

You are the coworker I do not like working with. It is not your business when and how I work. I would laugh at you and ask if you signed my check

[wildrice]

And I agree not to say anything. If you want to be able to do this yourself, you should ask your boss. But they will probably need to be able to document that as an hourly employee, you were granted your legally allowed lunch break, so I doubt it would be approved as a regular thing.

[ECB]

Apr 7, 2023 17:43:31 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Apr 7, 2023 16:01:45 GMT -5 donutsmakemegonuts said:

From what I gather, no one really knows lol.  When I was hired, I was told my job classification had to clock in and out.  Some of my other coworkers also clock in and out, some don't.  That's the government for you I guess.

I don't work in government, but you are probably hourly (non-exempt) they are probably salary (exempt). Hourly employees generally need to track their time to the minute because organizations are required to pay overtime for anything over 40 hours (and also can pay you less if you work less, of course). Exempt it doesn't affect pay either way so often isn't tracked as closely.

im curious about her job - it sounds like they are all doing the same job. If that’s actually the case, they should all be exempt or non-exempt. Jobs are classified as one or the other. You can’t just choose to make some employees exempt and some not in the same position.

[waverly]

I’m also team MYOB.

But in terms of exempt versus non exempt. I don’t have to punch in and out and basically no one cares what I do in terms of taking lunch and arriving and leaving unless I do t get work done.

For those that do punch in and out there are specific laws for lunchtime in my state. They have to take at least 20 minutes prior to the 5th hour of work. So those that punch in and out have to take a lunch and cannot leave early for lunch.

However, you have no idea what is happening. This person very well could have a doctor appointment and are taking PTO. The point is you don’t know and it’s not really appropriate for you to ask because then it gets into asking about potential medical conditions possibly which is a violation if they tell you so it’s best practice not to go there.

You can ask about your own schedule/ PTO/ leaving early. And you can ask why some jobs punch in and some don’t.

[thebreakfastclub]

Everyone would love to not take lunch and leave early, hence that's usually not allowed. I'd ask for permission to flex as needed and not mention the slightly shady behavior of the CW.

[litskispeciality]

Apr 7, 2023 19:03:29 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

Everyone would love to not take lunch and leave early, hence that's usually not allowed. I'd ask for permission to flex as needed and not mention the slightly shady behavior of the CW.

This

[underwaterrhymes]

If her leaving early does not affect you at all, I wouldn’t worry about it. If she’s getting her job done, it shouldn’t matter when she gets it done.

I would definitely clarify why you have to clock in and others don’t, but I suspect it’s a difference between exempt and non-exempt status.

[litskispeciality]

I think the issue is that the co-worker does the same job as OP, so they both should be the same exempt or non-exempt, both with a timecard and a mandated lunch break or no timecard.

I believe in my state you're exempt if you make up to a certain amount, and must be paid OT for more than 40 hours per week. Anything over that number doesn't (have to) earn OT for more than 40 hours. A lot of people at my last job got a raise to just over the exempt status because they tend to have busy seasons with more than 40 hours per week. But my point is this then makes me wonder if OP and the co worker make different salaries for the same job, and then one can be exempt and one isn't? How would that be fair unless maybe one had more experience or education or something?

[ECB]

Apr 7, 2023 19:51:33 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

I think the issue is that the co-worker does the same job as OP, so they both should be the same exempt or non-exempt, both with a timecard and a mandated lunch break or no timecard.

I believe in my state you're exempt if you make up to a certain amount, and must be paid OT for more than 40 hours per week. Anything over that number doesn't (have to) earn OT for more than 40 hours. A lot of people at my last job got a raise to just over the exempt status because they tend to have busy seasons with more than 40 hours per week. But my point is this then makes me wonder if OP and the co worker make different salaries for the same job, and then one can be exempt and one isn't? How would that be fair unless maybe one had more experience or education or something?

it’s also about job duties too. Not just salary. If I recall, the amount of supervision a job requires is a factor (the less oversight needed, the more likely to be exempt). There are a number of items looked at to determine where a job falls (if categorized correctly, of course!)

[donutsmakemegonuts]

Apr 7, 2023 19:03:29 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

Everyone would love to not take lunch and leave early, hence that's usually not allowed. I'd ask for permission to flex as needed and not mention the slightly shady behavior of the CW.

This is kind of how it was working and how it was explained to me when I first started.  We can flex hours if needed so we don't have to always be taking vacation or personal time, especially if it's only for an hour or so.  But this isn't the norm and flexing would have to be approved by my supervisor.  I think I may have only not taken a lunch once or twice to leave early since I started two years ago.  I was under the impression it was not the standard practice to take your lunch break at the end of the day.

All that to say, I hadn't planned on saying anything about it.  Just sort of wondered what other people's perspective were on it or if anyone had experience with this issue.  

[underwaterrhymes]

I will say, as a leader with hourly staff, I trust them to manage their schedules. They let me know when they’re flexing time. In fact, my PT employee was like, it’s gorgeous out today, so I’m going to leave early today and put in hours tomorrow instead. They know there will be times when that flexibility is more limited, but they also know that as long as they’re doing their jobs, I don’t care how they get in those hours. Wanna have lunch with a friend? Work from your family’s place? Skip out early on a nice day because you worked late last week? Sure thing.

It could also be that your coworker has a similar understanding with their boss.