Was this rude?

[ShinyGreenApple]

Happened at work but doesn't really fit in with any other category. There is a certain department manager at my store that I have a hard time liking, no matter how I try to. A few months ago she was given the position of department manager over my friend's area. Yes, my 'special' friend. He asked me to check with him before me and another person went to lunch today so he could go with us, so when I got to his dept. and couldn't find him, I opened the door to the back and saw his supervisor there and asked if Billy* was there.

She just looked up at me with a sneer and said "Billy's gone."

No explanation, nothing.

" . . . he left?"

"YES."

Back away slowly, close door. I mean seriously WTF. He's just gone? I knew he wasn't supposed to leave until tonight so what was I supposed to think, did he get fired? Family emergency? Is he dead? Alien abduction? I did call him and it turns out he broke out in cold sweats and started puking so he went home. Am I overreacting or was it really rude of this person to just tell me he's gone when a simple "He went home sick" wouldn't have hurt anyone? And it wasn't like I ran in there giggling and asking for pookie-bear or anything, I could have been needing him for a carryout for all she knew, he does those a lot.



*name changed to protect the not-so-innocent, obviously, lol

[MaggieTheCat]

It sounds like she was pretty curt, but she may not have been able to tell you anything due to HIPAA laws. I don't know exactly how much they cover, but it's possible that even saying "he left sick" would have been a HIPAA violation. I know at my last job (I worked scheduling, so I knew if someone was out ill, in the hospital, having surgery, getting chemo, etc.) I wasn't allowed to tell other employees why a person was absent if they asked.

[ShinyGreenApple]

To the best of my knowledge, the only employees trained in HIPAA are those who work in pharmacy or vision center. Most other people don't even know what it is. And I've covered for maintenance before and overheard on the radio that they were trying to find someone to relieve me because "Guy went home sick". It wouldn't be the first time she's been that way with me, either. When I was on remodel she had the habit of acting like you were an idiot for not knowing if you asked a question, and instead of directly telling you what you were doing wrong, she'd stand a distance away and mutter sarcastically to herself or go complain to another employee. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with her much. I just know that if the tables had been turned and Billy were looking for me, any one of the people in my pharm box would have told him where I went and why. He's doing better now and I'll see him Saturday so it's all good, but that just kind of chapped my ass all day.

[crazyofficeclerk]

Yeah, that seems a bit rude to me. She could have just as easily said "he went home". That wouldn't be a HIPPA violation and would have been a bit nicer. She probably is one of those people who feels that when someone goes home sick it is a personal slam against her.