Protect Your Signature

After what transpired between me and my supervisor last week, I remembered another shady business practice of hers. I thought that I ought to take steps to remove the power she has over my times and wages.

There are copious amounts of corporate forms that must be filled out for me since I work interdepartmentally. It is not enough just to clock-in. I must submit a form stating which department will be paying for my wages for specific days and times. I may work in 3 departments in a single day, so you can see what a hassle it might be for my supervisor to collect these forms from me in the various departments spread over a large campus. So, she and I agreed that she could keep a quantity of blank forms with my signature. Then, at her convenience, she would fill in the necessary information from my recorded time card punches and submit them without my involvement.

From the beginning, I was uneasy about the arrangement. And I know of at least one time when she shaved 15 minutes off of my actual punched time without my consent. Well, now that distrust has become a greater issue, I decided that the arrangement was no longer mutually beneficial. So, I removed the signed forms from her desk drawer and shredded them without her knowledge. (The drawer is not locked and the staff have always been welcome to find needed documents within that drawer.)

I wasn't present when she discovered that the pre-signed forms were no longer available, but from office gossip, it sent her into quite a tailspin. To irritate matters worse, another employee refused to sign a document (I think, a misplaced attempt to support me).

I suppose that I should have confronted my supervisor and asked her directly to surrender the pre-signed documents, but I simply wanted it to stop. Besides, I really did not trust her to turn over ALL of the copies she had made because I actually discovered another stash she had created unbeknownst to me.

I hope that all of this will blow over soon, but it seems to be escalating. It is a war she can't win. I want peace, but not at the expense of my principles or my paycheck!