STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

MEMO TO: Superintendent Marta Villacorta
FROM: Sergeant Louis William Rose
DATE: May 6, 1994
SUBJECT: Lateness

Ma’am:

Yesterday, along with about a dozen other officers, I was one minute late for briefing. I received a letter of oral counseling for this infraction. I am not chronically late. In fact, most of the time I am early. It hurt my feelings to receive the letter and so, on the way home it occurred to me, that the next time I thought that I might be late, I could just call in sick for that day. I do get sick occasionally, even less frequently than I am late, and it would seem reasonable that, rather than receive a letter of counseling, I should just call in. But as I thought more about it, I realized that it just wouldn’t be right.

Yesterday, I was one minute late for briefing. I received a letter of oral counseling for this infraction. I am not chronically late. In fact, most of the time I am early. Later that day, I was involved in a use of force in Dormitory Three. It was, I think, well within the guidelines, but I did get a bruise on my elbow. It hurt my feelings to receive the letter of counseling and so, on the way home, it occurred to me that I could file for workman’s compensation and stay out for a few weeks. No one knows, except me, how much my elbow hurts today, and no one knows, including me, how much it will hurt tomorrow. But as I thought more about it, I realized that it just wouldn’t be right.

Yesterday, I was one minute late for briefing. I received a letter of oral counseling for this infraction. I am not chronically late. In fact, most of the time I am early. It hurt my feelings to receive the letter of counseling and caused me some undue stress, and so, on the way home, it occurred to me that I could file for a few months stress leave. My job is a very stressful one, and the psychologist would probably not care as much about how stressed I was, as he would care about the one thousand dollars my insurance would pay him to see me for eight weeks. But as I thought more about it, I realized that it just wouldn’t be right.

Yesterday, along with about a dozen other officer’s, I was one minute late for briefing. I received a letter of oral counseling for this infraction. I am not chronically late. In fact, most of the time I am early. It hurt my feelings to receive the letter of counseling and so, on the way home, it occurred to me that I could probably find other employment. Dozens of other officers have, and I am as qualified as most of them. To believe that the only reason they left was for more money is to believe that if only they were paid enough money, they wouldn’t care how they were treated. But as I thought more about it, I realized that, that just wouldn’t be right.

All of us have options that we can use to function in the workplace, to elicit acceptable responses from our fellow employees, and to motivate them. We need to build esprit de corps, and an environment of fairness and responsibility within the Department of Corrections. I do not feel that the shotgun approach to progressive discipline regarding lateness will be effective in attaining these goals, and I hope that the more you think about it, the more you will realize that it just wouldn’t be right.

Respectfully submitted,

Sergeant Louis William Rose