RE: 911:: Work Restrictions

May 17, 2003

Geez Dave talk about IM's lol

Noonan

Acting Senior Public Safety Dispatcher

Communications Division

Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response

392 Creek Road

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 486 - 2495

jnoonan@...

May 17, 2003

No actually this list is ok'd by our administration thanks for asking. Must you

always be so negative Dan - TO much stress?

Noonan

Acting Senior Public Safety Dispatcher

Communications Division

Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response

392 Creek Road

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 486 - 2495

jnoonan@...

May 17, 2003

Yeah I read you were off after I sent it lol - sorry about that - I listen to

the scanner all the time- But i am a buff

Noonan

Acting Senior Public Safety Dispatcher

Communications Division

Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response

392 Creek Road

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 486 - 2495

jnoonan@...

May 17, 2003

I was just told to add that too - We have hired now to bring up to staff. But

with our schedule I have been here for 4 years 8 days and 2 hours and to this

day have never seen ANYONE get MANDATORY OT. No one refused days off or ordered

back to work. Than k God for that but it is the truth, this schedule does work -

All depends on the situation

Noonan

Acting Senior Public Safety Dispatcher

Communications Division

Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response

392 Creek Road

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 486 - 2495

jnoonan@...

May 17, 2003

I think the TV, VCR, this list they are all a great destreeser for this job - I

am thankful all are allowed

Noonan

Acting Senior Public Safety Dispatcher

Communications Division

Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response

392 Creek Road

Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

(845) 486 - 2495

jnoonan@...

May 17, 2003

--- Weintraut wrote:

> I don't wany my employer to have the power to tell

> me I MUST work more

> than a regular eight hour shift, except of course in

> case of a true

> emergency.

> And keep in mind, a shortage of hired, trained

> working personnel is a

> management problem, not an emergency.

>

> I don't beleive that ANYONE should be required to

> work more than 8 hours

> in a large, busy 9-1-1 center, not ANYONE. It's not

> healty, it's not safe

> and

> it's usually a sign that you do not have enough

> trained personnel working

> in the first place.

OK, but now let's jump into the real world. The City

of Tulsa has a budget crisis. Every dept BUT 9-1-1

has already taken a 2.7% pay decrease, every dept is

taking another 2% (this includes us) and every dept

but 9-1-1 is having layoffs, we are in a hiring freeze

(yes, paycuts and hiring freezes are effecting the PD

and FD--it's just not sure how, yet.) SO, since we

are alreayd shorthanded, overtime is a necessity. We

have minimum manning requirements to serve the public

and respond to their emergencies. It's currently not

fast enough (not just because of manning, but manning

is a big factor.) So, I am not going to throw a hissy

and say I can't work more than 8 hours a day when I

clearly can. Fortunately, I only have to do it 2 days

a week at the most.

And, yes, there is a lot of fat that the city

government could cut to allow us to not only have

enough manning to not need OT, but also get raises.

But, you know, it's politics.

=====

Kim

I make a difference

Tulsa, OK

May 18, 2003

THANKS FOR THE LAFFS!!! I like stirring the pot once in a while!!!

I'm having cable internet installed next week so I can put in the tracking

software, site-blockers, etc.....I may have to keep the dial-up for the page

system....

PS. PC at the ofc. died Saturday morning...having some personnel problems,

in the middle of the hiring process...so THANKS AGAIN for making me smile on

a dreary Saturday night at home!!

May 18, 2003

UR in the buff did u say???

May 18, 2003

> As for people that get catered to thats a management issue.

Working in a situation where there are NUMEROUS persons who are catered to every

day, I have to agree. Of course, never forgetting that in many cases it is not

the Public Safety Agency management that is putting this particular monkeywrench

in the works. In our case, our city has a history of doing almost ANYTHING to

avoid even the threat of lawsuits. One of the first words learned by employees

in my city seems to be " discrimination " . Get written up for violating policy,

and yell discrimination; get a verbal reprimand for failure to follow

directions, yell discrimination and on and on. Fire someone? Only if you as the

supervisor are prepared to be dragged over the proverbial coals, and likely

sued. The fact that our city in most cases settles without court only seems to

encourage this behaviour. So, yes, management is the root of this ill, but not

PD management, at least in our case.

>This is not a job however that you can do " Just for a PAYCHECK " . This is a job

you have to love. People in it for the check do not really belong in it at all.

Again, I agree totally. However, as I have found, it isn't the conviction of

everyone. I've written recently of the former officer who is now assigned as a

dispatcher after being on medical disability for the past 6 months due to stress

related conditions. She was placed in dispatch when her doctor stated she could

return to work on " light duty " , which I later found was actually " low stress "

duty. HR actually told me that they of course figure dispatch is less stressful

than being on patrol with face to face contact with citizens, driving a car and

carrying a gun. After all, as the HR director said, " if your job is so

stressful, why aren't you paid more? " After failing her reentry psych test, this

former officer is not classed by the city as a dispatcher! I just found out that

yesterday she spent the last 2 hours of shift out in the garage (where the

smokers go) because she couldn't handle the noise in dispatch! She has told me,

that she knows she can't do the job, that she is only able to deal with one

thing at a time and that this job stresses her MUCH more than anything she has

ever done. My question, why then do I have to continue the farce of trying to

equip her to be a dispatcher?? Because City Hall has decided that what we do

here is NOT stressful and that basically ANYONE can walk in and fill a chair and

do the job. Oh, I've been told to treat her just like all the other dispatchers

for training and everything; and am in the process of making the adjustments to

her schedule to put her into the actual training process. However, even though

she has been told that she is NO LONGER qualified as an officer and is now

carried as a dispatcher, she insists that she is in dispatch only as an officer

on medical light duty, and for me to not worry about trying to figure out a

training schedule for her! And of course, the world of lawyers and lawsuits is

poking it's ugly head up in just about every conversation. I have officers not

wanting to work when she is here, dispatchers about to pull their hair

out....and I am stuck in the middle, with nowhere to turn.

May 18, 2003

In a message dated 5/17/2003 9:07:06 PM Central Standard Time,

jnoonan@... writes:

> Sorry I have to disagree - If you can't handle the job because of stress you

> shouldn't be doing the job - You may " break " at anytime and then your know

> good to anyone. It is not your " right " to hold a job you can not do - It is

> however " The Citizens of your community to expect a dispatcher who can

> " handle " the job - thats thier rights. The job did not give you the

> headaches - how you deal with stress did - So again I say you should

> probably look else where - First for your health - second for the safety of

> the community and third so the work load on your co-workers is equal. Again

> my thoughts alone. :-)

>

> Noonan

>

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY JEFF!!

jamie in iowa

May 18, 2003

>So, I am not going to throw a hissy and say I can't work more than 8 hours

>a day

when I clearly can.<

Nor would I.... but, what I said is... I don't want my employer to have the

power

to tell me I MUST work more than 8 hours per day. The key word here is MUST.

My argument is against FORCED overtime.

If people want to work it, that is their business.. I still think in large

busy 9-1-1 centers, it's bad practice.. The job is simply too much for

more than eight hours. But as long as it's not FORCED, go for it.

And this employee in question has a medical restriction that she can't

work more than eight hours... Is it a sham? Maybe... but as long

as she has that medical restriction, management better abide by it.

And I STILL don't want my employer to have the power to tell me I MUST

work more than an eight hour shift.... That's wrong...They shouldn't be

able to do that.

>>And, yes, there is a lot of fat that the city

>government could cut to allow us to not only have

>enough manning to not need OT, but also get raises.

>But, you know, it's politics.

Another good reason, I shouldn't be FORCED to work more than 8 hours.

Weintraut

_________________________________________________________________

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May 18, 2003

>, I think that the original posts and the

complaints it spawned were about those who have always

been a problem somehow. There is ALWAYS something

wrong with them. They're the ones who suddenly get

sick when OT comes up.<

Believe me, I know those people are out there.

But my point is, because they do not want to work over the 8 hour

schedule... It is not THEIR fault that others must....

The fault that there is MANDATORY overtime falls with management.

Weintraut

_________________________________________________________________

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May 18, 2003

The post was to get ideas with the problem people the ones that are on a never

ending work restriction because of a back problem but then can go bowling on

three different leauges.

And the other request was for how long does carple tunnel sugery take to heal.

But this post did get a lot of responses.

Jarvis

Washtenaw Central Dispatch

Ann Arbor Michigan

May 18, 2003

<<then can go bowling on three different leauges. >>

What's their average?

May 18, 2003

not a bad bowler

Jarvis

Washtenaw Central Dispatch

Ann Arbor Michigan

May 18, 2003

<<First for your health - second for the safety of

> the community and third so the work load on your co-workers is equal. Again

> my thoughts alone. :-)

>

> Noonan>>

RW...........This is the one that I agreed with....Enjoy your snooze!

May 18, 2003

Randy (and others who had the surgery)

> >>>I had ct surgery on both hands (separate surgeries) and missed around two

>

> weeks work total. >>>

>

When did you have yours, how many tendons were involved and which kind of

surgery was it?

I developed several repetitive strain injuries, including carpal tunnel that

was diagnosed in 1992. Under California law (unless it changed recently) the

" development " is related back one year because it doesn't " suddenly " happen.

While for many years the California legislature and social security bought

into " only over 40 overweight women get it to avoid working " they (and

others) finally got it that it happens to primarily type A overachiever type

people -- like dispatchers and secretaries and yes, it also happens to men

UNDER 40 as well as women of all ages. (it can happen to anyone).

I had 7 tendons, etc. operated on on my right hand in 1993 including have my

ulnar moved at the elbow joint. Recovery time was originally set for 6 weeks

but I was allergic to the stitching material (latex allergy and who knows

what else was in there) so I got an infection that took another 2 weeks. I

had 5 items operated on on the left including moving the ulnar at the elbow

joint. (No more funny bone for me!) That recovery took 6 weeks.

My employer had 19 employees so they were not bound by the ADA in 1993 but

would be in June 1994 when all employees were covered regardless of company

size. They didn't have to offer restricted duty if they didn't want to. The

alcoholic womanizing attorney who I had worked for told me outright he only

wanted " whole people " working for him and yes, he also told me if he found

out a woman who worked for him had a mastectomy he'd fire her too. Lovely

man. I did go back to work at that firm for two other attorneys but because

they put me on an almost total straight typing desk my work return at that

time was not successful. After having a sort of extended break (going to

school and not having to write or type for the most part) I'm back at work

(different job in different business obviously) and absolutely no recurrence.

I had the traditional surgery that they put you out, spend a day in the

hospital and then don't do much of anything for a week after. When I had my

surgeries in 1993 the doctor I went to was Markison who was, at the

time, the top RSI doctor in Northern California. He tried the laser surgery

and found that within 2 years people were back for another surgery. So my

total off time was about 4 months following surgery, and then some cause I

over did real quick after going back.

Techniques have changed as has our understanding of RSI's. I still think its

going to depend on the type of surgery, the person's natural and normal

healing abilities and how extensive the damage was. The day I went on

disability from my job I could not even pick up a glass and hold it, I could

not cut my food or squeeze a tube of tooth paste. It then STILL took the

insurance company 4-5 months to approve the surgery cause they weren't sure

it would work. (Lovely people there too).

So depending on the type of surgery and extent of damage (i.e., one tendon to

more) it can affect return to work time.

May 18, 2003

I had ct surgery on both hands (separate surgeries) and missed around two

weeks work total.

Randy Mace

May 18, 2003

In a message dated 5/18/2003 7:45:34 AM Eastern Standard Time,

fresca@... writes:

I just found out that yesterday she spent the last 2 hours of shift out in the

garage (where the smokers go) because she couldn't handle the noise in dispatch!

She has told me, that she knows she can't do the job, that she is only able to

deal with one thing at a time and that this job stresses her MUCH more than

anything she has ever done.

<SNIP>

OK.. My time for some comments.

First: Frieda, this chick is bucking for total disability from the department.

I sure hope you write her ass up for the 2 hour smoke break because of the noise

and get her to sign something that says she admits this job is also too

stressful for her. If she refuses to train based upon HER ASSumption that she's

going back on the street, write her up for failure to comply with

training/direct order/policy what ever. If you're supposed to treat her like any

other dispatch trainee, then do it. You wouldn't let ME get away with that

would you? if you would/will, I'll send you my application via fed-ex!

I know you've got it rough - and this is why there are dispatchers and

supervisors going out on mental health leaves - it just gets so overwhelming at

times yet we know things aren't going to go away or get better just because we

take leave for up to 12 weeks.

For the folks with the doctors note.. Guilty - had a surgery (non-work related)

back in 1998 where the doctor initially told me to expect to be off work for 6

weeks. Come 2 weeks post-op she wanted to send me back to work part time

because my recovery was going so smooth. I told her nope! I was going to be off

for the whole 6 weeks. It didn't change things at work. I came back and things

were still a mess and instead of taking MORE time off, I asked for and received

a demotion/transfer (I went from being supervisor back to being a dispatcher).

I have good friends who have been on stress leave because it was do that or die.

I have known people who will take a hang nail and turn it into a major medical

case. Working with a gal right now who is claiming workers comp on pain in her

hand from typing. Funny how this comes on the heels of a motorcycle accident

where same hand was injured... so now it's workers comp? Not my decision to

make.

When I was supervisor, had to make ADA accommodations for 2 employees when a 3rd

one demanded the same accommodations (working day shift) AND weekends off

because she was a single parent!!!!

I guess my point is, there's always going to legitimate reasons for medical

restrictions/leave - and then there's going to be one's who feel they're owed

something, just because someone else got it. Too bad they can't feel the pain

that the legitimate folks go through.

Kathy

May 18, 2003