| Topic Name: |
Is Job Revamp Ethical? |
| Message Name: |
Job revamp |
| Date Posted: |
09/20/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
I don't know if this is the right board to post this to, but I couldn't find anything else that fit.
I work for a major healthcare insurance company that has recently done something I think might be unethical -- or at least rather bone-headed -- to an entire department.
The management team and the company's HR department completely revamped every job description in this particular department to include the requirement of having a 4-year college degree.
Don't get me wrong, I think every company should do what it can to get the best educated, experienced, and talented staff they can. However, in this case, I think they may have gone too far.
You see, they are applying the new standards to the people currently holding those positions, some of them with over 10 years of experience in that very department. Every single one of them, as of last Thursday, has been told they must reapply for the "new" jobs and, in order to qualify, they have to currently have that 4-year degree. They can't even be working towards one; they have to already have it.
Everyone's been told that they will have six months to either reapply (and qualify) for these positions or apply and get other positions in the company. After the six months are up, if they don't have another position, they're history. Also, they've been told that they should "be careful not to do anything that would jeopardize [their] ability to get another job in the company." The employees I've spoken to have taken this as a threat to "be happy, or else."
The reason I posted this in the "office politics" area is because I have good reason to believe that at least one, if not several, member of upper management is covering their own mistakes through this action. The department has been in trouble many times in the past, but almost entirely because of management mistakes, not employee foul-ups. Many of us believe that the particular executive in question has set things up to "clean house" so they can look good.
My bottom line question is: Do you think management should get away with applying new job description requirements to existing employees who have been doing their jobs for so long? They are the experts (most management members have never performed the tasks these employees do) and could probably run the department better if they didn't even have a manager.
There's more to this already long story, but I will stop here to give folks a chance to respond.
Thanks for listening. |
| Message: |
This sounds very unethical to me. Have you or any of the other employees seeked advice from a lawyer experienced in administrative labor practices or gone to the labor board about this? Seek this advice soon, six months is NOT a long time. I wish you good luck.
Joe A.
Texas
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