Can a Catholic call out/ call in late to work to fulfill Sunday mass obligation?

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SBushman5278

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Hi again! Just a quick question, as this situation has me in quite the pickle.

I work in retail as a cashier, which is a non-essential position. I do my best to fulfill my Sunday Obligation, but every once in a while, I get scheduled a shift that conflicts with all the local mass times in my area. This problem is even worse when it occurs in the summer, as none of my local parishes provide an evening mass on Sundays in the summer season.

In order to fulfill their Sunday Obligation, can a Catholic call out from / call in late to work, if it is a non essential position? I know that we are supposed to keep Sunday free from servile work as best as we can, but in today’s modern world, consumerism rules the day, and doing so isn’t always possible.

I do understand that those in essential jobs to the helping of others, such as nurses, doctors, etc, can’t do this because of the nature of their work. I am only asking in regards to those jobs that are considered non-essential.

I have already tried arranging my work schedule to keep my Sundays free from work, but that isn’t possible, since I work for Walmart as a cashier, and you need to be available 24/7. I cited religious reasons for my request, and I was still denied, though my boss sympathized with my situation.

Any advice? It would be greatly appreciated.
 
Are there no Saturday evening vigil Masses you could attend? Or can you talk to your employer again or HR and ask for your religious obligation to be accomodated - like maybe starting the shift later?
 
It’s tough…I can understand.

When I was still working…I don’t think I ever had a weekend completely off.

I wasn’t a practicing Catholic then and I never attended Mass.
However, once I finish my degree I will be back working in the medical field and someone who is entry level at a hospital will have to work odd hours and weekends.

When my husband does his overnight work he almost never makes it to Mass. He works most weekends and works 12-15 hour night shifts and is completely exhausted when he gets home.
Mass, most weekends, is just not possible for him. Whether it’s Sunday or Saturday Vigil.

The way I see it…a job is a job. You take the job and are expected to work the shifts that are assigned to you.

It’s to your own detriment that you call in or call in late for a shift. If you do that enough times you’ll be reprimanded by your superiors and that could result in termination…regardless of why you needed the time off.

Can you afford to lose the job? Whether it’s docked pay from being suspended for however many number of days they suspend you for…if you miss enough shifts?
How about permanent termination?

If it were me, I’d be at work…I’d also be in contact with HR to try and secure some weekend time off…such as working Saturday but not Sunday or vice versa and try to make it to whatever Mass I can.

For me…Mass is important but so is paying bills and getting food on the table and keeping roof over my head.
 
“Reasonable accommodation” would pretty much mean that if it is possible for your employer to accommodate your needs, then the effort needs to be made–for example, if you have a coworker who’d be willing to trade your Sunday shift for his Monday shift (presuming you don’t already work Mondays), or trading your lunch hour for leaving early/coming in late, or require you to use sick time/vacation time to cover your late arrival/early departure.

However, this is also dependent upon not causing undue hardship on your employer–if you leaving early means there’s only one person working the register at a peak shopping time, your employer can argue that he can’t let you go. If none of the other employees are willing to trade shifts, I doubt your boss can force them to do so for this.

You did say that this is ‘once in a great while’, with summer being the exception, so I’m guessing your boss may be doing his best to be fair to everybody when he makes up the schedules–there are other people in the workplace to consider, after all. It may be best to speak to your priest about dispensation for the times you can’t make it (presumably you know your schedule well in advance?) I’m certain priests understand the need to earn one’s living.
 
I’ve never worked retail, however, at my job, of you call in on the weekend, you’ll have to make it up on your off weekend or get wrote up.
Do you know your company’s policy? I would talk to HR. It would do me no good, though. 😊
 
I don’t t think you are asking the right question.

CAN you? Sure.

Should you ? No.

Does the Church teach you must? No.
 
1ke said:
I don’t t think you are asking the right question.

CAN you? Sure.

Should you ? No.

Does the Church teach you must? No.
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Good answer! Perhaps you could work out something with your employer, if not, then it would be unethical to repeatedly call in late.
 
First of all, this position is ESSENTIAL. I have NEVER heard of a retailer paying someone to work when they were not needed.

Second, it sounds like you have done your best by talking to your manager and unfortunately accommodations can not be made. I think that calling in late for any reason after promising to work is simply going to get you fired and ruin your references. The Lord understands that

Angie
 
Would it be possible for you to trade shifts with another cashier?

Back when I worked in retail, I did my best to not work Sunday mornings. This was usually possible in the store in which I worked, though every six months or so, a staffing crunch would occur and I’d need to work a Sunday morning. However, by the same token, I made certain I was always available and happy to work Friday and Saturday nights. Believe me, most people would rather have Friday and Saturday evenings off than Sunday mornings off (unfortunately), and will be glad to trade.

That having been said, if you frequently call out, your job, unless you were hired on the understand that you didn’t have to works Saturdays, will be within their rights to cut your hours, write you up for excessive callouts, or in various other ways make it sufficiently tiresome for you that you’ll leave, rather than get fired, lest they have to pay unemployment. I’ve seen it happen many, MANY times, albeit not over Sunday. You are not required to skip work in order to go to Mass; do what you can to make other arrangements, but know that God does not expect the impossible.

(One could even argue that it might be a sin against charity to call out unnecessarily and force someone else, who was looking forward to a peaceful weekend morning with the family, go into work with no notice to cover for you.)
 
SBushman5278 said:
Hi again! Just a quick question, as this situation has me in quite the pickle.

I work in retail as a cashier, which is a non-essential position. I do my best to fulfill my Sunday Obligation, but every once in a while, I get scheduled a shift that conflicts with all the local mass times in my area. This problem is even worse when it occurs in the summer, as none of my local parishes provide an evening mass on Sundays in the summer season.

In order to fulfill their Sunday Obligation, can a Catholic call out from / call in late to work, if it is a non essential position? I know that we are supposed to keep Sunday free from servile work as best as we can, but in today’s modern world, consumerism rules the day, and doing so isn’t always possible.

I do understand that those in essential jobs to the helping of others, such as nurses, doctors, etc, can’t do this because of the nature of their work. I am only asking in regards to those jobs that are considered non-essential.

I have already tried arranging my work schedule to keep my Sundays free from work, but that isn’t possible, since I work for Walmart as a cashier, and you need to be available 24/7. I cited religious reasons for my request, and I was still denied, though my boss sympathized with my situation.

Any advice? It would be greatly appreciated.
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This post makes me glad I am Lutheran. While weekly church attendance is highly encourages and certainly a good thing to do, missing a Sunday for work or another situation is not going to require a special dispensation or put you in a state of sin.

However if you read your post you should be able to figure out the answer to your own question. You are asking is it OK if I lie to my employer in order to attend mass…and I think you know what the answer to that is…No it’s not.

Your company has tried to make reasonable arrangements and occasionally, but not often, they have to schedule you in a way that causes you to miss mass. Ask your priest for a dispensation.

Another answer is to look for a job that is more able to accommodate your mass schedule.

Calling in on your employer every Sunday your are scheduled to work is going to get noticed by your boss and your co workers, and will not serve you well with either.
 
Sunbreak said:
Are there no Saturday evening vigil Masses you could attend? Or can you talk to your employer again or HR and ask for your religious obligation to be accomodated - like maybe starting the shift later?
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We always went to the Saturday mass just out of preference. Is it possible to go then or are you working or too tired?
 
Alix1912 said:
This post makes me glad I am Lutheran. While weekly church attendance is highly encourages and certainly a good thing to do, missing a Sunday for work or another situation is not going to require a special dispensation or put you in a state of sin.
Click to expand...
This is not the case for Catholics, either. If you can be there, be there. If you can’t, the obligation is lifted.
 
I would think if you approached your manager (or whomever makes the schedule) and politely and professionally explain your situation, they will do their best to accommodate. There might be the occasion where it won’t work, but for the most part I think that employers will work with their team’s schedule. If they get downright rude and belligerent about it, I’d certainly think about not working there anymore and start looking for other employment. But I think most people will orchestrate things where you can either attend Saturday evening or an early morning Sunday Mass.
 
I work Sundays as well and know it’s sometimes hard to make it but always try. I figure if GOD doesn’t want me to work on Sundays he’ll make it possible for me to switch hours or not have to work a second job. But right now a second job is a necessity and they won’t let me work Saturdays unless they have extra hours.
 
Calling out at Walmart is not a good idea. A certain number of call outs within a certain time frame means disciplinary action, up to and including termination, depending on the reason. I’m a 17-year “veteran” at Walmart and too many absences don’t look good on your annual eval.

I’ve never had trouble arranging my schedule to either attend a Saturday evening Mass or a Sunday Mass. It might not be the Mass time I prefer, but I always make it. Also, it’s possible to try to arrange your lunch hour to attend Mass then and simply ask your supervisor if you can take a slightly longer lunch to allow travel time.
 
bluerose said:
Calling out at Walmart is not a good idea. A certain number of call outs within a certain time frame means disciplinary action, up to and including termination, depending on the reason. I’m a 17-year “veteran” at Walmart and too many absences don’t look good on your annual eval.

I’ve never had trouble arranging my schedule to either attend a Saturday evening Mass or a Sunday Mass. It might not be the Mass time I prefer, but I always make it. Also, it’s possible to try to arrange your lunch hour to attend Mass then and simply ask your supervisor if you can take a slightly longer lunch to allow travel time.
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I know what you mean. I work for your competitor and I have no problem getting off at 3:30 p.m so that I can make Saturday evening mass even if it means going to cathedral downtown, which is not a bad thing as I have gotten to know many of the parishioners and the office staff and the priest who is the rector greets me with a hug
 
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