'WIBTA if I rescind a job offer that I made to a girl because of her dad's 'rules'?'
"WIBTA if I rescind a job offer that I made to a girl because of her dad's 'rules'?"
Alternative_Visit657
I, 25, am a general manager at a frozen yogurt shop. I am not the owner, but I have been with them since I was a teen and worked my way up to my current position. It’s been the perfect job to pair with my classes. As the general manager, I do the scheduling as well as the hiring. The owners trust my judgment and let me hire/fire at my own discretion.
Last week I hired a girl, 16, from the local highschool. She was extremely sweet and showed a willingness to work. Seems a little on the quiet side but this being her first job I think it’s expected to an extent. There were zero tells/ mentions that she may be special needs.
2 days after hiring her (she’s not supposed to start until this upcoming week) her father came in and introduced himself to me. He was polite, and thanked me for hiring his daughter and left his phone number, telling me to call him after I’m off. I was confused by this as I’ve never dealt with a situation like this. But I did call him.
He thanked me again but then said his daughter has severe anxiety and a “slow learner” and that I need to make special accommodations for her. Here is what they are:
Do not schedule her for more than 3 hours at a time.
please allow her as many as she needs 10 minute breaks when she starts to appear overwhelmed. He said that if it is very busy, it is better to just let her sit in the back room and watch YouTube.
her school comes first (which I understand) but he said when she has “significant” homework she will need to call off.
give her plenty of compliments and let the other staff know to go the extra mile to make her feel welcome.
if she does make a mistake, not to discuss it with her but to call him.
I don’t know much about employment law and not sure if I could be in legal trouble, but like every state we have at-will employment. I called the owner to tell him about this and he said to use my discretion. I want to call the father back and say I cannot make these accommodations, and if she does need these accommodations I will have to rescind the job offer.
I feel for the girl, like I said she was very sweet. But at the same time I do have a business to run, I’m not a special ed teacher. What is the point of hiring her when I will need to be over staffed to accommodate for her? I just can’t do it.
So right now I’m thinking calling her dad tomorrow and letting him know that she will be treated like every other employee and if this won’t work for her than she cannot work here. Would I be an a**hole for that?
Here were the top rated comments from readers:
North_Cantaloupe_470
NTA however I would not call the father, I would call the person you employed and talk to her about it. She wants to join the workforce she needs to understand what that means, it means she needs to speak up for herself if she has needs in the work place. I get the impression father may have done this though without daughter knowing.
The OP responded here:
Alternative_Visit657
I also am getting that impression. You’re right I should say something to her.
notevenwitty
My gut feeling reading this is that dad is stomping her boundaries or doesn't want her working.
The OP responded again:
Alternative_Visit657
He did make a comment about when highschool kids start working is when the grades start slipping.
Altaira9
Honestly it sounds like the guy doesn’t want his daughter working. Maybe she can’t handle work and school, but maybe she can. You would be the AH if you didn’t give her a reasonable chance. Ignore everything her dad said and treat her like a normal employee.
After the OP read the comments, they provided a final edit.
Alternative_Visit657
Edit: Hey y’all thanks for the input. I’ve decided I am going to give her the job and just see how it goes. If she can’t handle it I’ll just let her go.