Many readers loved the milk carton spoof on Heineman Middle School teacher Mark Stahl and knew exactly where Bongo was going with the graphic, but some others said they were confused by it.
Bongo’s point was this:
Mark Stahl was missing from his classroom for almost the entire month of May. He took 3-4 weeks of FMLA when his wife, who also teaches in District 158, had a baby. Bongo doesn’t know many dads who take FMLA when their wives give birth.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Family Medical Leave Act states that employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for certain health related situations. Notice Bongo said “unpaid.”
Bongo also learned that Stahl was paid his full salary during those weeks. It seems that in District 158, teachers who have available sick days can trade them in as paid time off while taking FMLA.
With summer right around the corner, why did Stahl feel it was okay to take an extended vacation in May when he knew he would have plenty of time off coming in just a few weeks? Why was it okay in his mind to leave his students with a substitute for nearly half of the final grading period of the school year?
Furthermore, Bongo learned that Stahl, a union negotiation team member, has been attending his union meetings. If I’m a parent of a child in his class, I’m wondering why negotiation meetings are worth attending, but classes with my child are not.
Was what Stahl did legal? Yes. Did it show much integrity? No.
1 comment:
Sorry Bongo, but I'll have to disagree with you on this one. A man who shows dedication to his family by taking time off work to help his wife with their newborn child shows great integrity.
My wife had a difficult recovery after the birth of my oldest child. I was fortunate enough to be able to take two weeks vacation at that time, and again for the birth of my second child. This gave me a great opportunity to bond with my children, and to support my wife. Would you deny Mr. Stahl this time, when you admit that he did nothing wrong?
Hypothetical situation: A woman who is a teacher has a baby and decides to extend her maternity leave using sick days and FMLA. Do you berate her? Isn't doing so to Mr. Stahl discriminatory?
Post a Comment