Am I being too sensitive?

[justbeachy]

This is really bothering me.....

I went on maternity leave December of 2002 and was gone one month. I had to use my 3 weeks of vacation and I took one week of unpaid leave. I would have loved to spend at least 6 weeks home w/ my daughter but I could not afford it, I could barely afford the week without pay!!! :D

But now, I was cleaning out the other girl's e-mail and was checking them to make sure that I didn't delete anything important(I had permission from my boss) and found an e-mail she had written to a friend bragging that they are paying her for 6 weeks of maternity leave plus she will be working part time for two weeks!!! :eek: She makes twice what I make, plus gets bonuses.

I am so hurt. I don't know what to think. I am at a loss as to what action to take. Do I bring it up? Do I let it go? What do I do now? I can't even look at them (my bosses, right now) Oh yeah, I have to add, this is not the easiest place in the world to work, however there aren't alot of jobs in this area where I could make this kind of money, if I quit, I would have to drive atleast an hour one way to make an equal salary.

Edited to add that my bosses are always empasizing how they treat all of their employess equal.

[buttrfli]

Could the other girl be "adding" to her story to make her look special?? Perhaps she didn't get that time and shes jsut saying she is.

If you had permission from your boss to clear the e-mail, I'd print it and take it to him/her and ask what the deal is. I wouldn't put up with that for sure... no matter how much more she makes than you. Most companies have a set policy as far as maternity leave and there are also law regarding the subject, although I do not know what thye are... could be worth looking into.


and to answer your question, no, I don't think you are being too sensitive. I would be livid if I were you.

[justbeachy]

Thank you! I am so mad, I left here in tears!!! No, unfortunately she is not making it up, and stupid me I deleted it and then could not retrieve it. There is no paid maternity leave here and that's what makes me the most angry. And even worse, the State of Florida pretty much stays out of these matters. It's just the tip of the iceberg but it's the straw that broke the camel's back! (Sorry for using two cliches in the same sentence) ;)

[buttrfli]

If I were you I'd find out for sure then bring it to your boss and his boss... they paid for her leave, but you had to use your vacation time plus a week with no pay.

I am not a person who thinks that every little thing warrants a lawsuit, but if I were you, I'd do some investigating and possibly contact an attorney. (I said possibly)

Could she have it in her job contract for paid maternity leave and you don't? I know that in some companies the "higher-ups" will have much better perks than their regular workers.

I'd find out whats going on.

[justbeachy]

She doesn't have anything in her contract, I checked her file. What is irritating me is the fact that I was asked not to use my earned vacation time (while my son is out of school) while she is on maternity leave as to not the company in a bind, but they are practically paying her to have this baby. She's not a "higher-up" she makes twice as much because she has a four year degree and in this business, status is everything even though she came with absolutely no experience and her degree is in advertising. And I forgot to mention that I've been with the company for 5 years and she's been here three.

[newwiccan]

I would be mad too. That doesn't seem fair at all! Good luck!

[justbeachy]

I'm too much of a washrag to actually say something to them, but I'm still mad! ;)

[captorquewrench]

I cannot believe that!

[Kelsey1224]

You have two choices...either discuss this situation with your bosses and ask why you weren't offered the same treatment...or get over it and move on. (That sounds harsh...but I don't mean it that way.)

Does Florida have State Disability Insurance? Most women get six weeks leave because they go on State Disability. Pregnancy is considered a disability just like if you had surgery or had a illness which required time off work.

The employer isn't paying for the time off...it is paid by state disability. Because that amount is less than an employee would receive while employed, many employers will prorate earned time off (i.e., vacation and sick leave) and make up the difference. For example, if the disability equals half of what you would normally take home, the employer will pay the difference. But that also extends the time off that you may use. Since the employer is only paying half a day, you only use half-day vacation at a time. (Make sense?)

Did you apply for disability? If not, perhaps this woman did and as a result, she is absolutely entitled to the time she is taking.

[justbeachy]

You have two choices...either discuss this situation with your bosses and ask why you weren't offered the same treatment...or get over it and move on. (That sounds harsh...but I don't mean it that way.)

Does Florida have State Disability Insurance? Most women get six weeks leave because they go on State Disability. Pregnancy is considered a disability just like if you had surgery or had a illness which required time off work.

The employer isn't paying for the time off...it is paid by state disability. Because that amount is less than an employee would receive while employed, many employers will prorate earned time off (i.e., vacation and sick leave) and make up the difference. For example, if the disability equals half of what you would normally take home, the employer will pay the difference. But that also extends the time off that you may use. Since the employer is only paying half a day, you only use half-day vacation at a time. (Make sense?)

Did you apply for disability? If not, perhaps this woman did and as a result, she is absolutely entitled to the time she is taking.

No, Florida does not have disability and as I said before does not get involved in maternity leave unless you work for the state. She is NOT entitled to anything more than I am,however is being favored by the owners. Her little three week vacation is being paid for fully by the owners and is more than the raise I received this year. In addition, I was asked not to take my paid vacation until she comes back.

I will get over it as you put it, but it still does not seem like good work moral to blatantly favor one employee over another especially since she is known to call in at a drop of a hat and complains constantly about everything and makes every detail (graphically and highly unprofessionally known) to anyone who walks through our door (subcontractors, vendors and high-end custom home owners included). I am going to wait until Monday to decide what to do as I want to handle this situation with a cool head.

[LindaL.]

Have you considered that they might have changed the policy since 2002? Perhaps after your pregnancy they thought they should do things differently?

[stresseater]

What you might or might not have found in her file is irrelevvent. Unless you have something in writing stateing that they will give you x amount of maternity leave paid then there isn't much you an do. Just becaues there isn't anything written doesn't mean she doesn't have an agreement verbally. As for her makeing more money than you do, like you said she has a 4 year degree which will increase starting pay almost anywhere even if it is an unrelated degree.

[jedmatters]

Perhaps she is going to be doing some work from home, and will be getting paid for that.
Perhaps she has money saved that she plans to use as if she were getting paid.
Perhaps thinsg have changed since your child was born.
Perhaps she has a contract that you are unaware of.
Perhaps she negotiated this prior to her leave.
There are many options and theories that can explain this.
And, there is no person that gets the exact treatment as others anywhere.
She may have just been more prepared and the company offered her this option.

If you are employed at will, then there is nothing stating they have to offer each person the same thing. If you have contractual work, then they simpky follow the contract you sign, each one may be different.
And, even if you do bring up the email, they can not discuss her employment withyou. That is an invassion of privacy. Even though the boss allowed you to delete files off the computer, you still have no recourse for what you read. And she actually may have some recourse against you for reading her email (boss's permission or not).