The best handling of this and similar holiday issues is the policy at a large telecomm for which I worked. Their policy was that every employee was entitled to 3 hours off for religious observance per year. The time off could be used for any purpose or holiday, such as MLK day. The time off had to be scheduled in advance and seniority would prevail if more employees wanted the time off than the business could accommodate. This way everyone had the opportunity to select what observance was most meaningful to them and the company did not have to pre-select which observances they would honor. It also allowed for more people to take the time off because it was only 3 hours, thus there could be staggered shifts of time off instead of losing employees for the entire day. This 3 hour time off did not apply to the holidays the company already identified as being observed, such as Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, etc. In other words, these 3 hours were in addition to normal Company holidays. If an employee wanted the entire day off, they could schedule it as they would normally schedule vacation or other time off, with all the rules associated with that being followed. I think this was the best way to handle the situation without invoking emotional responses.
Weigh your decision carefully. Whatever you decide here will establish a precedance for the years to come. You have established policies and procedures for a reason. Could following these policies cause conflict, absolutely. Could not following these policies cause conflict, again...yes! There are very good points made throughout but the one thing you have to think about is how you're going to handle all of the holidays to come throughout the year. In one way or another they are going to effect an employee to some degree. If this is the case and you don't take any action towards those employees who didn't show on Monday, you've just established an excuse for everyone else. Personally, I would follow my current policies/procedures!
I think it's a bad day at black rock (as we learned in the old cowboy movies) when we (employers) ratchet up a bunch of knee jerk, fearful reactions to employee violations of policies, whether individually or as perceived groups. It might be suggested by some lawyers that every time we have two or more employees misbehaving, violating policies or involving themselves in activities that invite discipline, the HR guy or gal better retreat to his/her office and wring their hands over who might slam an NLRA manual down on our desk. To hell with drawing such unneeded, odd conclusions every time two employees join themselves at the hip and exhibit violative behavior. To be protected activity, there must at some point be an assertion that it is or a claim made that it was; it can't merely be an inference or fear. Such response by a company equals management inaction by paralasis. Craft fair policies, treat employees fairly, enforce company procedures and policies accordingly, train your employees and supervisors and move on down the line. If I look out the window this afternoon after shift change and see two employees crossing the street to the gas station/snack store, I'll be damned if I'll consider the fact that it might be protected/concerted activity that they're engaging in. And our lawyer would invite their lawyer to show that it was. Just my opinion. Sorry to be so wishy-washy.
This is an excellent collection of thoughts on an interesting subject. So much law involved, particularly NLRA, as well as cultural sensitivity. I am surprised at what a small role PTO has played. It was mentioned, as I recall, in only a couple of the messages. MLK is a prime example of the wisdom of PTO. As was alluded to in one of the messages, we have become an extremely diverse society which we know creates a clash of cultural perspectives. For the HR professional, it crystallizes in holidays. I, for example, am of Greek heritage so my Easter often does not fall on the same date as for other folks. Clearly the best approach in the presented situation is to either establish or reiterate the PTO policy. If the policy is in place and the employees failed to give notice, action is demanded both to be objective with those employees and fair to the others who did not take MLK because they chose not to or because they prefer some other holiday. Furthermore, if the PTO policy is in place, it may be time to clarify that personal time is not just doing mundane personal business but also includes religious and cultural holidays. If such a policy is not in place, the best course is to establish one now. If it is going to be established, it can have the most positive effect if the introduction includes a clear statement as to its religious and cultural dimensions. This would both deal with the practical problem of people being at work when expected as well as show that the company respects people as individuals. I also believe, as was mentioned above, that this situation could reflect a deeper problem than just a single apparent collaboration in taking a day off. Either someone initiated the idea and other employees were willing to go along (indicating that they were dissatisfied enough with the workplace to be easily swayed) or they got to talking about it and the feeling spread among people who may feel some alienation. Either way, such an occurrence must be examined as more than an isolated incident. It could very well be a statement about a much deeper problem or, for the truly professional HR, a challenge to be met by building something positive in addition to the negative of discipline. This may seem an idealistic approach. However, as an attorney, I find to many law suits begin because the employer thinks sensitivity is out of place in the work place. Such employers, in my experience, also pay guys like me to handle the resulting mess.
As a manufacturer in the south with a large african american population we chose to deal with a MLK Day observance in an upfront manner. Each year employees may choose to take a vacation day, paid personal day or unpaid day to observe MLK/Robert E. Lee Day. Their requests must be made using a company form NLT the end of the previous week. Anyone who asks gets it and we just restructure our workday according to how many choose to work. Anyone who calls out or is a no show/no call suffers according to our attendance policy. We've done this the past 5 years without a single complaint.
I am in agreement with unilateral ignoring policy leading to discipline. And if the NLRB wants to join the fray, fine. Employers must make stands on occasion to eliminate some of the overbearance of government.
Upon interviewing potential new hires, I always go over the recognized Holidays, and other benefits before they even agree to join the company. To me, if they don't like what they hear, or don't like the Company's 'government', they shouldn't take the job. And I can't imagine anyone expecting the company to sway from its long-standing policies. We employ many people from Bosnia. They have never asked for special consideration regarding Ramadan.
Think about the problems you would have if you do not follow the policies when you try to hold a white male to them. Don't forget you cannot treat people differently because of the sex or race. If you do not follow policy on this issue you could end up jammed up when you turn around and treat the white male or female differently than you did the african americans. LOL Wouldn't that be funny, getting in a bind with the EEOC because of this. My $0.02. Don, you are getting soft ;-) DJ The Balloonman
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Good luck!
I am in agreement with unilateral ignoring policy leading to discipline. And if the NLRB wants to join the fray, fine. Employers must make stands on occasion to eliminate some of the overbearance of government.
My $0.02. Don, you are getting soft ;-)
DJ The Balloonman