Employers can penalize, fire workers for weather-related absences

“It might not be the best public relations, but there's nothing illegal about it,” said Nathan Whatley, an employment law attorney with McAfee and Taft law firm in Oklahoma City.

It's fairly common, Whatley said, for companies with entry-level jobs or high turnover to have strict “no-fault” attendance policies.

“They don't want to hear about it (reasons for absences) or don't care why,” he said, “especially at call centers where everyone being there is their entire business.”

Whatley's comments came after a worker with a metro-area call center e-mailed NewsOK.com on Monday, complaining that she'd been “written up” for work days she missed last week due to the storm.

The employee, who wanted to remain nameless for fear of retribution, said she worked for an hour clearing her driveway Wednesday only to get stuck on her private road in northeast Oklahoma County.

The worker called her absence into the office Wednesday and again on Thursday. But when she made it in Sunday — her next scheduled work day — she had a message on her computer that she had two points against her record. Workers face termination after 12, she said.