Raising The Baby, Not The Paycheck

(I have recently returned from a six-month maternity leave and am about to have my performance evaluation.)

Supervisor: “Your work is excellent.”

Me: “Thanks!”

Supervisor: “However, you were only here for part of the year, so I can only rate you 3 out of 5. That means no raise. Sorry.”

Me: “But you just said my work is excellent?”

Supervisor: “Yes, but excellent work for half the year isn’t good enough to rate a raise.”

Me: “You mean that, if I’d done mediocre work for the entire year, I’d have a better chance of getting a raise?”

Supervisor: “That’s right.”

(I was fairly sure that she wasn’t allowed to penalize me for taking the maternity leave I was entitled to, but I wasn’t positive, so I didn’t pursue it. Instead, I quit and got a much better job elsewhere.)