Can this be justified as a reason to be written up?

Ms. Towzey's response it correct. Also note that seldom if ever are an employee's employment file shared with a prospective employer so it is highly unlikely that the contents of your file will be shared with anyone.

posted by Arthur Schofield  |  Jun 3, 2013 06:21 AM [EST]

Getting written up is unlikely to ruin your future professional career. Understand, however, that Florida is an "employment at will" state, which means you can be fired, demoted, or written up for any reason or for no reason at all (so long as illegal discrimination is not involved - i.e. not treating you differently because of your sex, race, etc.). Also, the HR file belongs to the employer and they can put whatever they want in it. If you are written up and asked to sign the write up, sign you name to acknowledge that you saw the write-up, but also add "I do not agree with this write-up" under your signature. Ask if you can provide a written response to be kept with the write-up in your HR file. (If they say yes, great, if they say no, then just drop it). IF you do write a response, make it calm, reasonable and brief. And stick to the facts.

The write-ups will only really hurt you in one context -- if you are fired and apply for unemployment benefits and they claim you are disqualified because of misconduct. If this happens, contact an attorney who handles unemployment hearings to represent you.

Meanwhile, my best advice to you is do whatever you can to avoid a confrontation with this co-worker. Find a way to get your work done without touching her stuff, or, if necessary, approach her nicely and ask her to move her stuff a few inches. Nicely. Not sarcastically or rolling your eyes. You have to go the extra distance here, because you are dealing with a coworker who is super-sensitive, unreasonable, and likes to cause trouble. You take the high road.

Is this fair? No, of course not. But fair doesn't have anything to do with it. It's like the person who walks across the street into the path of the oncoming car as says "But I was in the right! The light was green!" The person still go hit by the car, so what good did it do them to be right?

Florida has very few laws that protect employees in the workplace (compare to Calif, where an employer must have 'good cause' to fire you). You need to go out of the way to avoid any further confrontations with this co-worker, because if one occurs your employer won't care who was right or wrong -- you will get written up. So stop worrying about what's fair, and just trust karma to catch up with your nemesis one day.

Good luck!

posted by Phyllis Towzey  |  Jun 2, 2013 07:52 AM [EST]