TikTok Faces Backlash Over Staff Wildfire Leave Policy
Currently raging wildfires consume over 45 square miles in the greater Los Angeles area, torch 1,300 structures, and almost 180,000 people are under evacuation orders as of Thursday. Yet, in direct response to this, TikTok’s Los Angeles employees have been told to either work from home or burn their personal/sick days if that is not possible, while the company’s LA office is closed because of the power outages.
While Palisades Fire is that close already, windows into TikTok’s office can see the soot from the fire. However, although both offices in Culver City are not evacuated, and both are impacted with windstorm damage and fires from other sources.
According to sources from TikTok employees, they are not only from around the larger LA area but also drive hours to work. Most of their homes don’t have power and Internet. Some could even be under evacuation orders of their own (though we have not directly confirmed this at this time).
No doubt, this will make it even tougher for employees to wrangle through yet another disaster. But according to TikTok, they should rather use their personal sick time to cover off days taken because of the aforementioned conditions.
Earlier this week, in messages sent from its leadership to its staff in LA offices, TikTok has informed them that it will be closing the LA office from January 8 to January 12 for fires still raging against the region and without power in the office itself. The days closed will be declared Work From Home with the only exception made at individual team leaders’ discretion.
In one message, an HR representative passes on the links to other company resources, including a Mental Wellbeing Portal, a way to register for free mental health sessions with Lyra, and a link to TikTok’s “PSSL.” This refers to TikTok’s paid sick and safe leave program: sick time and personal days.
If hired before June, TikTok’s LA employees, every year, receive 10 sick/personal (Paid Sick and Safe Leave or PSSL) days on top of 15 PTO (Paid Time Off/Vacation) days. These sick/personal days are enviable as TikTok brings up strict policies on return-to-work, meaning employees are expected to return to the office at least three times a week. (The days of the week are chosen by the team and can’t be swapped for other days if needed.)
http://TikTok Faces Backlash Over Staff Wildfire Leave Policy
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