Demoted and Stripped of Hours Because of Minor Pain in My Shoulder

[Benr360]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Wisconsin

Hi. My question(s) involve a temporary job. My quick Yahoo! search on if employment laws are even applicable to temporary employees was inconclusive, and pretty much only found legal temporary jobs information.

Ok, maybe "demoted" wasn't the correct term to use. Last week I had to call in on Friday because I woke up with a horrible stiff neck that prevented me from turning my head to the right, and since I drive a forklift in a warehouse/assembly area, it pretty much made doing my job impossible. My supervisor that I called asked if it was related to work, and I told her that since I've had this happen before, and I was fine the night before, that I was sure it was simply a matter of sleeping in a bad position. So, then she asks if I have had any other pains that might have been caused by the workplace. I told her that recently I had some pain in my shoulder of the arm I use to turn the steering wheel of the forklift. Even though I told her that I had figured out how to avoid this pain, by using my right arm to turn the wheel a majority of the time instead of my left arm all of the time, she told me to come to the office the next time I come in to fill out an injury report. Now, this struck me as odd, considering that earlier on in the year, I came to her and told her that my neck was in a lot of pain after beginning to drive the forklift backwards(to transfer loads too tall to see over) because I have to basically turn my head/torso 180 degrees to see all of what is behind me. She never even mentioned the word report, or anything related at that time, and just told me to come back in a week if the pain still persisted. A few days later the pain went away; apparently the muscles in my neck just needed to get used to being stretched for intervals they've never been stretched before.

So, on Monday I came in to work and on my first break I went to the office to talk to her about it. Another supervisor was there, and they both started asking me questions about my pain/the movements that exacerbated it etc. Well after a while, they started asking subversive questions(such as if it hurts while driving my car, and hurts when driving backwards - when I use the other hand to do so etc.), and I was privy to the fact that they were trying to find an inconsistency/discrepancy in my account. I don't know if it's company policy to try and undermine somebody from bleeding the company for disability compensation, or what, but I had the distinct feeling they were asking questions with the belief that I was lying about it. I have no idea why they would do this, and every answer I gave was honest, and I'm pretty sure nothing was contradictory; I told them that it was pain in my anterior deltoid from repetitive motion and that it was only sore while at work, and after turning the steering wheel of the truck in close quarters(it's 5.5 turns from lock to lock, about twice as much as a car and also the angle of the wheel is way different from a car) and that by using my right arm to turn the wheel whenever I could prevented the pain from coming back. Keep in mind that they asked me to divulge any pains that I have recently had. I mentioned nothing about it until she asked me if I've had any pains recently.

Then Tuesday, after a normal day of driving the truck, I check and see that the supervisor left me a message on my phone(she didn't even try to contact me while at work) before I was even scheduled to leave. She states that I would be needed to do assembly work the rest of the week, reason being that there was an "investigation" into the "complaint" I had made, that regarded the "safety administrator" of the company. Wow. Sooo, the supervisor goes from neglecting to take a report of excruciating pain in my neck, to asking me to report minor pain in my shoulder that I stated as having been able to prevent by changing my actions? So, yesterday I show up, and she tells me the work I was supposed to do from Wednesday through Friday has been canceled. This is the second time she has neglected to let me know that the work I was assigned to was canceled without having the courtesy to call me and let me know... but she is willing and able to call me while I'm not even available to answer the phone and let me know that I'm not driving the truck anymore, while giving me an ambiguous and frivolous reason as to why. I asked her yesterday, and again today, to confirm, that I am in fact not driving the forklift this week or next week. She said the same exact thing, that there was an "investigation" into the "complaint"(I thought the definition of a complaint was to come forward with a problem - not divulging something that was immaterial after it was asked of them) and that I was to do assembly work the next week. Somebody in my department came and told me that they "heard I was no longer in their area" and that they "won't say who they heard it from." Isn't this pretty much gossip in it's purest form? So anyway, I talked to the supervisor again since the assembly line I was assigned to is going to be done ahead of schedule, and won't be running tomorrow, and she said I'm not needed. Then she told me about next week, and despite telling her at least three times that my hours of availability are from 7-3:30 because of night classes, she asked if I could work 7-6 M-W and that it was the only thing available. So basically she's knowingly offering me hours that I can't accept, and in doing so ensuring that I won't be able to collect unemployment.

I just don't understand it. Everything was going fine until last Friday, now as of right now, I'm apparently relegated from being able to drive the forklift as a 40 hour position, and I have no idea when the next time I will have to work is, and won't be able to collect unemployment for the time missed next week. Is there anything I should or can do? This is pure BS. I've never done anything to aggravate this lady, but for some reason I'm being treated like absolute crap. I mean, I know the actual employees have nothing but abhorrence for temporary employees, but this is ridiculous. I report to work everyday and don't bother anybody, do my job proficiently, and go home. The last time I called in was at least six months ago, so it's not like I am a habitual truant and need punishment.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you told them that you cannot safely drive a forklift due to the condition in your neck, or due to your inability to use one of your arms to steer, it was reasonable for them to be concerned about safety if they put you behind the controls of a forklift. They are apparently offering you other work that doesn't put other workers in danger, and apparently that work is available on a different schedule.

[Benr360]

If you told them that you cannot safely drive a forklift due to the condition in your neck, or due to your inability to use one of your arms to steer, it was reasonable for them to be concerned about safety if they put you behind the controls of a forklift. They are apparently offering you other work that doesn't put other workers in danger, and apparently that work is available on a different schedule.

Is this still possible knowing that I not only told them that my stiff neck was induced by a bad sleeping position the night before, but that this is something that just about everybody goes through at some point? I mean I clearly told them, in response to their direct question, that it was NOT related to my job at all. Even when I called in, I told them I could not turn my head to the right, and that was all that I detailed.

How do they have the right to take away my ability to drive the forklift when they ASKED if I recently had any aches/pains that might have been caused by it, and I then told them about something that had not been felt since several days before they asked? Especially when they refused to report bad neck soreness I came forward with when I first started? I just can't see how any reasonable person would disregard this as basically trying to entrap me by claiming that a very minor soreness that I had disclosed only after being asked, which I stated was avoidable by making the adjustment that I had made prior to the report, would discourage me from driving the truck. And this supervisor knows that I am not available to work this shift, and that this particular line is the only line that does not run from 7-3, so she could have very easily chosen somebody who does not have a particular hours of availability instead of choosing me, and then not getting back to me with other options, when I reminded her that my availability is 7-4. There is obviously something esoteric going on here. I would hope that it doesn't require a genius to discern it, but if there is still absolutely nothing I can do about it, then I guess I'll just have to make due with utilizing the exit interview to it's maximum potential.

[cbg]

If you cannot safely drive a forklift, it doesn't matter whether it occurred because you slept in a wrong position the night before of because you suffered a work related injury. If you can't do it, you can't do it. Or are you suggesting they should sacrifice safety because it wasn't work related?

[Benr360]

If you cannot safely drive a forklift, it doesn't matter whether it occurred because you slept in a wrong position the night before of because you suffered a work related injury. If you can't do it, you can't do it. Or are you suggesting they should sacrifice safety because it wasn't work related?

In the OP I clearly stated that she was going around telling people that I was not going to be doing it anymore, but when I asked her three times, including the day I was told about her saying this to others, she said it was being "investigated." Are you serious? This has nothing to do with the one day several days ago that I had a stiff neck. This is now going on two weeks, and, apparently it's not going to change. What are they discussing in the "investigation?" How impossible it is for me to have figured out that if I change my habits a little bit, the soreness would disappear? Give me a break.

[cbg]

Do you have a bona fide contract or CBA guaranteeing you the position and the hours? If not, this whole conversation is moot because they can change it at any time regardless.