ASSIGNMENT:

1. if you had reason to believe someone was lying about an absence from work,
do you think it be appropriate to investigate

-I feel it would be reasonable to investigate if I had grounds to believe

someone was lying about an absence from work. I wouldn't go so far as to
hire a private investigator if this is the employee's first time doing
something like this. That approach, in my opinion, should only be utilized
in severe circumstances. However, based on what I've read, the employee
was clearly not sick and is abusing sick time to go on a cruise. And, as
previously said, investigations have been authorized, therefore there are
no issues and it has been established that the employee was guilty of
faking/abusing his/her sick leave.

2. If excessive absenteeism is a real problem in an organization, are there

alternatives to surveillance? If so, what are they, and do they have any
limitations of their own?

- There are obviously alternatives to monitoring if frequent absence is a

serious concern. The first thing a firm should do, in my opinion, is review
its policies. If their absenteeism policy is excessively liberal, they should
implement more transparent processes and standards for obtaining days
off. If an employee has an emergency that requires immediate attention,
make them show documentation when they return to work. Have a
predetermined amount of days off each year that employees are allowed
to take (excluding vacation time). Give employees a heads-up when their
vacation days are coming to an end so they know how much time they
have left.