Working Moms and Dads - what is an acceptable expectation for time away from the job...

I'm not sure about using vacation time for partial days off. I have heard of situations where pay was reduced for partial days off for salaried personnel which resulted in overtime pay being required for all salaried people. This is very possibly a different situation, as taking vacation is not the same as having a reduction in pay, but these kinds of thing are hard to predict. It might be worth looking into.

Believe me, I have been subjected to all the compensation stuff to death. We had some people reporting to me changed to "hourly" employees because of research of everyone's positions. Our company is very concerned about following the law to the T in regard to this.

We regularly use half day vacation time for taking half the day off. I am not unique in using this. They cannot reduce our pay (those salaried) because of just what you state - we are salaried not hourly.

I think I found a solution.

Have you kids take the shuttle to the airport after school, and let them get pat down for a few hours by security.

Awesome - great education for the kiddies too - bonus.

Hey Linkat....

This actually happens as well. We have a girl who has two jobs. She just got out of school and has school loans to pay off. She leaves early every Friday. She works a half day so she can go and do her waitressing job. She makes about $250 in tips a night. One time she brought home $400. That totally blows my mind. I have been thinking about quitting this job and going to work at this place - it is not a strip joint. Just so you know.

Anyway - it has been working fine. As long we we are covering the work and not leaving anyone blowing in the wind, everyone seems to be happy. There will be changes as we grow though.

My husband has been very good about alternating times at home with me. So it is working fine. I told my friend that she was just going to have to learn to be flexible...although...having a baby is totally different - because you will have to have daycare the entire day - all year around. And that is pricey. It was cheaper for me to stay home and take care of the twinks than it was for me to keep working. It did take me out of the job market for 11 years - but I was fortunate to find something along the same lines when I needed to start working again.

Great discussion...Thanks for everyone's help!