Developing an attendance policy that adheres to federal and state laws can make your absenteeism problem disappear. By Phillip M. Perry Absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder. Employee absenteeism is a problem for any type of business, but the fallout from being short-staffed for foodservice operations can be devastating. All the careful schedule planning in the world can be for naught if employees don't show up when they are supposed to.
Unscheduled absences have a devastating impact on business productivity and customer satisfaction.
For example, when the managers of a business in Omaha, Nebraska, fired an employee recently for excessive absenteeism, they figured they had done the right thing. As a result, the employer had to pay a large monetary award to the terminated worker. This story is an example of how a poorly designed attendance policy can spark a costly lawsuit. The increased risk of wrongful-termination lawsuits posed by those laws has come at a time when downsizing has forced employers to do more with fewer employees while fending off new competition. Shoring up workplace attendance has never been more important.