My Boss Will Not Be The Death Of Me!
CONTENT WARNING: Death of a relative
I work at a family-owned pet store.
My family got ‘The Call’ that we had all been dreading; my grandmother was dying, and her doctors informed us that if we wanted to see her, it had to be now.
While I don’t trauma dump at work, everyone, including my boss, knew that I would need time off on short notice. The call came, and I went to my boss to ask for the weekend off.
Boss: *Snapping.* “This is an inconvenient time to suddenly decide to go on vacation, [My Name]. You really need to plan your vacations better.”
Me: “This isn’t a vacation [Boss], it’s a family emergency. My grandmother is dying, and I’ve been clear about this being a possibility for weeks.”
Boss: “So you decide to suddenly go off to granny’s house and we’re supposed to accommodate you? No, that’s not how the real world works. You can miss your little holiday with baked cookies this time. I’m not authorizing your time off.”
Me: *Seeing red.* “F*** this, and f*** you. I quit!”
I spun on my heel and walked out, leaving her staring at me in genuine shock. I had had that job for several years without incident, which made her denial worse. Up until this incident, my boss was really cool and laid back. I gathered up all my things and left.
I went back in the next week to collect my last check and had the misfortune to run into [Boss] again.
Me: “Well [Boss], my grandma passed away this weekend, so boy am I ever glad that I took my ‘vacation’ to go see her.”
Boss: “I guess I should apologize for the misunderstanding last week—”
Me: “—There was no misunderstanding. I had very clearly told you what was happening and why I needed the time off.”
Boss: “Are you sure this is the action you want to take?”
Me: “Yes. I’ve worked here for a few years. I’ve always been dependable. I even thought, foolishly I guess, that I was pretty well respected here, or at least respected enough that ‘she must be lying’ wouldn’t be your default reaction. I suggest you read up on the FMLA labor laws before you find yourself in major legal trouble.”
I took my last paycheck and stormed out.
If this had happened at a professional or corporate-type job, I would’ve gone to HR and made a stink about them preventing me from mourning a family member’s death and denying me bereavement. Unfortunately, this went down at a small family-owned pet store with no HR to speak of.
