Restaurant Owner Tells Workers That Calling Out When Their Kids Are Sick Is 'No Longer A Valid Excuse'
At least they ended the message with, "Go team!"
ORION PRODUCTION | Shutterstock When you become a parent, you’re no longer responsible for just yourself. Most employers respect this and allow workers to take time off when needed to help their kids, especially when they’re sick.
However, one business owner felt that they could no longer allow this.
The restaurant owner told workers that calling out when their kids are sick is 'no longer a valid excuse.'
TikTok creator Linda Lowrey, known on the app as @crazylindafromtampabay, shared an image of a paper notice that was posted at a restaurant called Maxine’s Family Kitchen.
It’s unclear where the restaurant is located, as it does not appear to have any presence online.
The notice read, “Calling out because your child is sick is no longer a valid excuse to miss work and will now result in a write-up.”
“We do not employ your children and as such their sickness is not an excuse for you to miss work,” it continued.
The message ended with an exclamation, “Go team!”
Commenters were understandably upset and offended by the notice.
“Maxine needs to change their name from ‘Maxine’s Family Kitchen’ to ‘Maxine’s Sweat Shop,’” one person wrote. “Family comes first,” someone else added. “Job is replaceable, kids aren’t.”
There are options to take time off of work when your child is sick.
You can time off of work when your kid is sick. One way to do this is through The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows employees to take time off when a “serious health condition” is present for you or a family member, according to the Department of Labor.
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“Incapacity means an individual is unable to work, attend school or perform other regular daily activities because of the serious health condition due to treatment of it, or for recovery from the condition,” they clarified.
Another resource from the Department of Labor said that in this case, a “serious health condition” means an illness that is ongoing for at least three days. Because of this stipulation, some simple, common illnesses, like colds or stomach viruses, may not meet the necessary criteria.
Sick days and PTO may also be used for sick children in some cases.
Depending on where you work, you may be able to use your sick leave to care for sick children. It all depends on your employer’s rules.
You can also use PTO for this purpose. Sometimes, employers will deny a worker the right to use their PTO, but it can get messy when this is related to illness.
Axcet HR Solutions said, “While legally, employers can deny vacation requests, compliance with laws like the FMLA is non-negotiable. These scenarios require careful navigation to ensure legal obligations are met.”
So, just what is and isn’t allowed outside of FMLA is a bit murky. Because of this, there is a chance that your child’s sickness could fall through the cracks and not actually be covered by anything.
This is, in all honesty, incredibly unfair. It’s not your fault if your child gets sick, and it’s not their fault either. Childcare is hard enough to come by and afford when your child is well. Finding a babysitter to help out when your kid is sick can be very difficult.
Really, as long as you are staying within your company’s rules for PTO or sick leave, does it matter if it’s you who is sick or your child?
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.