nbc4i.com - Employment Advice - Ask Ella: ADD, Depression Made Me Late
Dear Ella,
I was terminated from a major company in October 2004 for not arriving to work on time. I could understand that and accept that reason, as long as my medical problems were taken into consideration.
I feel I was wrongfully terminated because at the time I was supposed to be on an anti-depressants and medication for ADD. I stopped taking the medications because they made me very sleepy and I felt I was endangering people on the road.
I put off contacting my psychologist for re-evaluation. My manager and the director of the department knew of my issues and seemed supportive. My doctor told me that lack of focus, procrastination and never getting anywhere on time were a result of the depression and the ADD.
When I was written up for tardiness, I was told by the director of the department that if I straightened up within 30 days all would be OK. I must mention that I was always on time for the mandatory 8:45 daily meeting but continued to be between three and eight minutes late for the prescribed 8:30 arrival time.
After I was ultimately terminated, I found out that my position was dissolved and that my boss, the director of the department, was fired the following Monday
That company was my dream company to work for and now I have lost every hope of ever having a great career. Is there anything I can do in order to have this company re-evaluate my situation and possibly hire me back?
Dear Four Steps Back From The Brink,
Organize your thought processes and get back on track by following these four simple steps, listed in the order of their importance.
1. Contact a doctor through a social services program in your area to get the immediate medical attention you need.
2. Determine how your ADD and depression affected your level of culpability surrounding your termination through careful medical evaluation and documentation, and take action to correct the problem.
3. Know that if you were no more than eight minutes late on each count but always arrived before the commencement of the staff meeting then maybe you're not as unstable as you would think, but rather working in an environment, or for a boss, that created instability. Be clear on this point before considering re-employment with your former firm.
4. Consider that, since your boss was fired the Monday following your termination, this might be a good time to make a written appeal to his boss for re-hire. Include in your correspondence that you were always present and on-time for the 8:45 staff meetings, completed projects within budget and on-time, contributed to the success of the organization overall and looked forward to a long and healthy career with a company you respected.
Unless asked about your ADD and depression directly, leave it out of your letter and any subsequent conversations that may take place. As long as you manage your conditions as prescribed, your mental health is none of your employer's business.
It would be wonderful if we could re-write our pasts once we learned from our mistakes, but since this isn't possible, work on fine-tuning your professional offering with an eye toward making a new mark in time.
Written By Ella Kallish
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Manager's Background Check Comes Up Mixed
Manager's Background Check Comes Up Mixed
By Tom Palmer
The Ledger
MULBERRY -- Depending on whose version you believe, new City Manager Ralph Bowers is an energetic city leader who brought economic development and public works projects to the rural north Florida communities he served -- or he is someone who sexually harassed two female employees.
The pros and cons are contained in a background investigation presented to Mulberry city commissioners and the mayor Monday.
Bowers, 66, said the sexual harassment allegations are the work of two disgruntled employees -- one of whom he fired for stealing city funds and the other against whom he filed a complaint -- and political enemies in Jasper, where he served as city manager for 13 years before being fired in late 2004.
He said a $6,000 settlement in one of the cases noted in the report involved a racial discrimination complaint by one of the women that the city settled to avoid the costs of defending itself in federal court.
Mulberry commissioners voted 3-0 Dec. 20 to hire Bowers, subject to completion of a background check.
Bowers started work last month.
The background investigation conducted by Mulberry police includes a Dec. 28 memo from Bowers to Police Chief Larry Cavallaro in which Bowers said the report omitted documents clearing him of the charges for which he was fired in Jasper.
"I was, however, surprised to find your organization was doing the background check, since I specifically agreed to a standard FDLE background check," Bowers wrote in the memo, referring to a check that simply determines whether an applicant has an arrest record. Bowers has no arrest record, according to the report. Bowers met individually with commissioners while the investigation was under way to give his side of story.
"I hope the City Commission will see past the petty local politics and confirm my employment at the next meeting," he said Tuesday.
Commissioners said they support Bowers' version of events and want to keep him.
Commissioner Jim Splaine discounted the sexual harassment allegations. Splaine said, if there had been a serious problem, there would have been a lawsuit and Bowers wouldn't have received severance pay.
Splaine said he was impressed by Bowers' references.
Those references included positive comments from Michael Sittig, executive director of the Florida League of Cities; Elaine Brown, Jacksonville's council president; and North Florida lawyer William Haley.
Sittig described him as "an expert on federal grants that is reliable and gets along with people" and Haley credited Bowers for bringing industry to Jasper.
Splaine said he's impressed with Bowers' performance so far on the job, saying he's getting things done.
Since starting work in his $65,000-a-year position just before Christmas, Bowers has confronted issues ranging from the dispute over the ownership of a downtown alley to the repair and reopening of the Mulberry Civic Center.
"I am really excited," Bowers said. "There are all kinds of challenges facing us."
Commissioner Julian Mullis agreed with Splaine's assessment.
"I'm willing to give the man a shot and see where it goes," he said.
Mullis said it didn't appear the allegations had much of a basis.
"It was more a `he said, she said,' " Mullis said.
Mullis said he was impressed with Bowers' resume and the job he's done so far.
"He's very knowledgeable and I think he'll do a good job," he said.
Commissioner Collins Smith did not respond to a request for comment.
Two other seats on the five-member City Commission are vacant, pending a special election on Jan. 24.
Bowers' hiring in December occurred with little discussion -- he was never interviewed for the job -- as commissioners scrambled to fill the post after David Bloome resigned Dec. 15 as interim city manager.
Bloome, the city's public works director, had been serving as interim manager since February when Patricia Jackson left for a new job in Eagle Lake.
Bowers' only previous appearance before the City Commission occurred at a raucous June 8 special commission meeting at which then-Commissioners Sam McLaughlin and Irene Sams resigned and walked out, and another manager candidate was interviewed.
Bowers was not interviewed at that time, but simply submitted his resume and asked to be considered for the job.
He said he contacted city officials again in December after learning through the International City Managers Association that the job was still vacant.
Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.
By Tom Palmer
The Ledger
MULBERRY -- Depending on whose version you believe, new City Manager Ralph Bowers is an energetic city leader who brought economic development and public works projects to the rural north Florida communities he served -- or he is someone who sexually harassed two female employees.
The pros and cons are contained in a background investigation presented to Mulberry city commissioners and the mayor Monday.
Bowers, 66, said the sexual harassment allegations are the work of two disgruntled employees -- one of whom he fired for stealing city funds and the other against whom he filed a complaint -- and political enemies in Jasper, where he served as city manager for 13 years before being fired in late 2004.
He said a $6,000 settlement in one of the cases noted in the report involved a racial discrimination complaint by one of the women that the city settled to avoid the costs of defending itself in federal court.
Mulberry commissioners voted 3-0 Dec. 20 to hire Bowers, subject to completion of a background check.
Bowers started work last month.
The background investigation conducted by Mulberry police includes a Dec. 28 memo from Bowers to Police Chief Larry Cavallaro in which Bowers said the report omitted documents clearing him of the charges for which he was fired in Jasper.
"I was, however, surprised to find your organization was doing the background check, since I specifically agreed to a standard FDLE background check," Bowers wrote in the memo, referring to a check that simply determines whether an applicant has an arrest record. Bowers has no arrest record, according to the report. Bowers met individually with commissioners while the investigation was under way to give his side of story.
"I hope the City Commission will see past the petty local politics and confirm my employment at the next meeting," he said Tuesday.
Commissioners said they support Bowers' version of events and want to keep him.
Commissioner Jim Splaine discounted the sexual harassment allegations. Splaine said, if there had been a serious problem, there would have been a lawsuit and Bowers wouldn't have received severance pay.
Splaine said he was impressed by Bowers' references.
Those references included positive comments from Michael Sittig, executive director of the Florida League of Cities; Elaine Brown, Jacksonville's council president; and North Florida lawyer William Haley.
Sittig described him as "an expert on federal grants that is reliable and gets along with people" and Haley credited Bowers for bringing industry to Jasper.
Splaine said he's impressed with Bowers' performance so far on the job, saying he's getting things done.
Since starting work in his $65,000-a-year position just before Christmas, Bowers has confronted issues ranging from the dispute over the ownership of a downtown alley to the repair and reopening of the Mulberry Civic Center.
"I am really excited," Bowers said. "There are all kinds of challenges facing us."
Commissioner Julian Mullis agreed with Splaine's assessment.
"I'm willing to give the man a shot and see where it goes," he said.
Mullis said it didn't appear the allegations had much of a basis.
"It was more a `he said, she said,' " Mullis said.
Mullis said he was impressed with Bowers' resume and the job he's done so far.
"He's very knowledgeable and I think he'll do a good job," he said.
Commissioner Collins Smith did not respond to a request for comment.
Two other seats on the five-member City Commission are vacant, pending a special election on Jan. 24.
Bowers' hiring in December occurred with little discussion -- he was never interviewed for the job -- as commissioners scrambled to fill the post after David Bloome resigned Dec. 15 as interim city manager.
Bloome, the city's public works director, had been serving as interim manager since February when Patricia Jackson left for a new job in Eagle Lake.
Bowers' only previous appearance before the City Commission occurred at a raucous June 8 special commission meeting at which then-Commissioners Sam McLaughlin and Irene Sams resigned and walked out, and another manager candidate was interviewed.
Bowers was not interviewed at that time, but simply submitted his resume and asked to be considered for the job.
He said he contacted city officials again in December after learning through the International City Managers Association that the job was still vacant.
Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.
Friday, January 06, 2006
MIT: Technology Can't Tame Terror
ISSUE: Air travel screening. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration wants to increase the use of technology to improve airline security. But will it really help?
Personal Point of Impact: Former head of global security for Israel's El Al airline Technology Review: How can technology make security screening for air travel safer?
Isaac Yeffet: Technology works well when used to help qualified and well-trained human beings. Technology can never replace the human being. And in the U.S.A., technology is the only security that we have and rely on for baggage and carry-on screening in our airports. The people we have are not qualified, and the technology we have at the airports around the country-which has a 35 percent false-alarm rate-is the wrong concept.
^^^Read More Here^^^
Personal Point of Impact: Former head of global security for Israel's El Al airline Technology Review: How can technology make security screening for air travel safer?
Isaac Yeffet: Technology works well when used to help qualified and well-trained human beings. Technology can never replace the human being. And in the U.S.A., technology is the only security that we have and rely on for baggage and carry-on screening in our airports. The people we have are not qualified, and the technology we have at the airports around the country-which has a 35 percent false-alarm rate-is the wrong concept.
^^^Read More Here^^^
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