My name is Daryn Hoover.  Recently, my employer, Choice Hotels International adopted a new perfect attendance policy.  Basically, if I show up to work everyday, don't be late, and do my job, I will receive a $25 bonus in my paycheck.  If I am tardy, sick, or have a doctors appointment, I will lose my bonus.

    This all sounds so good so far.  But along with my job as a reservations agent, I have another obligation.  I am a member of the North Dakota National Guard.  For those of you who are not familiar with this, I am obligated to serve my country one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer.  By law, my employer is obligated to give me the time off.  That is not a problem.  I have been with Choice for 3 years, and they have been more than happy to give me the time off.  But in a memo dated February 16, 1999, it clearly states that any time away from work, with the exception of vacations and trades (more later on trades), will result in a loss of the perfect attendance bonus.

    If I had a Monday through Friday shift and I worked only days.  This would probably not be a problem.  But, in order to spend time with my wife, who has Sundays and Mondays off, I work at Tuesday through Saturday shift.  With this shift I will miss one Saturday a month for my National Guard obligations.

    No there is a solution to this as the policy stands now.  At work, we have the ability to trade our shifts.  I can fill out a form and paste it on a bulletin board as giving away my hours.  If an agent chooses to, he or she will be able to sign the form and turn it it.  If the trade is approved, the agent picking up my trade will work my hours.  This will not affect my perfect attendance, because, to put it bluntly, there are butts in the seats.

     I am doing this web page for a couple of reasons.  The biggest one is:  I CAN!!!!!!  I have my own domain name, I have an idea,  And most importantly, I am not breaking any laws.  What I want to do with this is give a step by step update in what I have done and what I have said and who I have said it to.

    So on with the show............

February 16, 1999

    The Memo was handed out today to us.  Which is probably a good thing. I had wondered how this policy was going to work out.  I was pretty upset.  I had a meeting scheduled with Phyllis Butrckhard, our center director today to discuss the new policy.  She was busy, so she didn't get to me today.  Hopefully tomorrow she will get a chance to talk to me.

    I talked to several agents on the floor with me, and they seemed to think that it was pretty unfair.

    After work, I stopped at the National Guard Armory to talk with somebody who might have an idea of what I can do.  I talked to Sergeant First Class Cjapewski (pronounced Cha PESS key).  He gave me a phone number of a man who works with employers and National Guard members.  It was explained to me that a lot of times employers do not understand the importance of the National Guard in the community.