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Job Certification Legal Question
Ultarune
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm a sleep technician, and in order to become registered, I need to pass an examination given every 3 months by the BRPT. Their website is here, the form to apply here (warning, pdf), and the guidelines for candidacy here (warning, pdf). My supervisor lives in another state, so in order to get her signature on the needed paperwork, I faxed it to her, she signed it and faxed it back, and I mailed everything out.
The BRPT told me that I am disqualified to take the test because of an "original ink" clause. I couldn't find it anywhere, so when I questioned this, the director told me that on the second page of the exam form, the paragraph "When completed, mail (faxes not accepted) the application with the appropriate fee and documentation so that the application, documentation and payment arrives in the BRPT offics no later than 5PM Eastern Standard Time time on the appropriate application deadline (see page 2 of the application)." means that they don't accept faxed pages that have been mailed to them. However, my reading of that paragraph is that they only accept the application if mailed to them, not faxed, which is a bit backwards, but hey, they can do what they want.
I sent them an e-mail about this and the president of the company gave me an offer. First, to explain, the last test date for this 3 month period was June 28th, which they have no intention of getting me into. In addition, all BRPT candidates that test after July will have to take 14 online modules provided by a third party company that cost in total $620. He has agreed to wave the module requirement for me, but told me that I would have to wait 3 months anyway. My problem is that passing this test is an automatic $1 raise, which is a pittance, but money is money. With my hours that is $624 of lost income over the 3 months due to my test being delayed by, what is in my opinion, there mistake. In addition, this lack of registration also cuts into my promotion chances, and I don't like the idea of my career being stalled by 3 months.
My request is advice on what to do. Should I take the offer and deal with it, or should I push for more? Do I have a strong case, or am I wrong? I thought a large part of the law is what a reasonable person would take away from a piece of text, and I feel that my interpretation of that paragraph is more reasonable. Thanks for any advice.
Here is my e-mail chain with the company. (Off-topic, the guy uses Dear in a business e-mail, is that acceptable?)
From: Ultarune
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 9:53 AM
To: BRPT Info; Ganoe, John; Heavrin, Jean; Andy Nees
Subject: June Window BRPT Testing
To Whom it May Concern:
My name is Ultarune and I sent my completed registration form for the June testing window via express over-night mail 5 days before the cutoff date. I have yet to receive any form of confirmation of this via e-mail, and since this same lack of communication occurred during the March testing window when I previously took the exam, I attempted to call your office for an explanation. I left voice messages over the last two days and am now sending this e-mail. I am interested in why I have not been approved for the June window despite correctly filling out the form and mailing it to arrive well before the deadline. The cost of moving to a later window is an additional $620 in fees to the A-Step program, so any correction of this mistake and notification of this would be appreciated. My home phone is (555) 555-5555, my cell phone is (555) 555-5555, and my e-mail address is ---.
Sincerely,
Ultarune
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:11:12 -0400
From: Andy Nees
To: Ultarune
Dear Ultarune,
Your application will be returned to you because it was incomplete when it arrived in our office. Page 1 was photocopied, and it must have both your name and supervisor's signature in original ink. Your credit card has not been charged and we invite you to apply for the September exam. Please be doubly sure that all materials are in order when you submit them, we will not be retaining problematic applications in the future.
Andy Nees
Association Coordinator, BRPT
From: Ultarune
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 9:00 PM
To: Andy Nees
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
To Mr. Nees,
Thank your for your prompt response. I have re-read the Candidate Handbook & Application Form and have been unable to find the original ink clause you reference. Could you please respond with the page number of which document has this requirement?
Sincerely,
Ultarune
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:11:47 -0400
From: Andy Nees
To: Ultarune
Dear Ultarune:
"Original Ink" is a term I use to clarify with candidates when the original document has been faxed or photocopied. As the application says, we do not accept faxes of applications.
Andy Nees
Association Coordinator, BRPT
From: Ultarune
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 1:12 PM
To: Andy Nees; Ganoe, John
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
To Mr. Nees:
I have read the section of the application on page two of the instructions you reference, but disagree with your interpretation of it. My application was mailed to you in its entirety. The fact that my supervisor lives in a different state as me, therefore necessitating a fax of the first page of the document to her, her signing it, and her faxing it back to me, at which point I mailed the entire package, is immaterial. Your original ink requirement is not documented in the form, and I have complied with the instructions as listed. I don't wish to be difficult, but I also don't wish to have my professional career postponed 3 months and be charged an additional $600+ dollars by a third party due to this mistake on the BRPT's part. Please get back to me in regards to what can be done to correct this error.
Sincerely,
Ultarune
Ganoe, John
Sent: Mon 6/23/08 1:34 PM
To: Ultarune; Andy Nees
Mr. Ultarune,
Andy Nees has acted in accordance with BRPT policy and the policy of our organizational credentialing body in enforcing the rule prohibiting a FAX or photocopy of a verification of experience / employment.
If you will provide us with an original version of page 1 of your application, signed by the appropriate individual, I will authorize a waiver of the ASTEP online module requirement for the September testing window and we will move forward with authorizing you to test in September.
I realize this does mean your test is postponed 90 days, but feel this is a significant concession.
John H. Ganoe, CAE
Executive Director
The BRPT told me that I am disqualified to take the test because of an "original ink" clause. I couldn't find it anywhere, so when I questioned this, the director told me that on the second page of the exam form, the paragraph "When completed, mail (faxes not accepted) the application with the appropriate fee and documentation so that the application, documentation and payment arrives in the BRPT offics no later than 5PM Eastern Standard Time time on the appropriate application deadline (see page 2 of the application)." means that they don't accept faxed pages that have been mailed to them. However, my reading of that paragraph is that they only accept the application if mailed to them, not faxed, which is a bit backwards, but hey, they can do what they want.
I sent them an e-mail about this and the president of the company gave me an offer. First, to explain, the last test date for this 3 month period was June 28th, which they have no intention of getting me into. In addition, all BRPT candidates that test after July will have to take 14 online modules provided by a third party company that cost in total $620. He has agreed to wave the module requirement for me, but told me that I would have to wait 3 months anyway. My problem is that passing this test is an automatic $1 raise, which is a pittance, but money is money. With my hours that is $624 of lost income over the 3 months due to my test being delayed by, what is in my opinion, there mistake. In addition, this lack of registration also cuts into my promotion chances, and I don't like the idea of my career being stalled by 3 months.
My request is advice on what to do. Should I take the offer and deal with it, or should I push for more? Do I have a strong case, or am I wrong? I thought a large part of the law is what a reasonable person would take away from a piece of text, and I feel that my interpretation of that paragraph is more reasonable. Thanks for any advice.
Here is my e-mail chain with the company. (Off-topic, the guy uses Dear in a business e-mail, is that acceptable?)
From: Ultarune
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 9:53 AM
To: BRPT Info; Ganoe, John; Heavrin, Jean; Andy Nees
Subject: June Window BRPT Testing
To Whom it May Concern:
My name is Ultarune and I sent my completed registration form for the June testing window via express over-night mail 5 days before the cutoff date. I have yet to receive any form of confirmation of this via e-mail, and since this same lack of communication occurred during the March testing window when I previously took the exam, I attempted to call your office for an explanation. I left voice messages over the last two days and am now sending this e-mail. I am interested in why I have not been approved for the June window despite correctly filling out the form and mailing it to arrive well before the deadline. The cost of moving to a later window is an additional $620 in fees to the A-Step program, so any correction of this mistake and notification of this would be appreciated. My home phone is (555) 555-5555, my cell phone is (555) 555-5555, and my e-mail address is ---.
Sincerely,
Ultarune
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:11:12 -0400
From: Andy Nees
To: Ultarune
Dear Ultarune,
Your application will be returned to you because it was incomplete when it arrived in our office. Page 1 was photocopied, and it must have both your name and supervisor's signature in original ink. Your credit card has not been charged and we invite you to apply for the September exam. Please be doubly sure that all materials are in order when you submit them, we will not be retaining problematic applications in the future.
Andy Nees
Association Coordinator, BRPT
From: Ultarune
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 9:00 PM
To: Andy Nees
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
To Mr. Nees,
Thank your for your prompt response. I have re-read the Candidate Handbook & Application Form and have been unable to find the original ink clause you reference. Could you please respond with the page number of which document has this requirement?
Sincerely,
Ultarune
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:11:47 -0400
From: Andy Nees
To: Ultarune
Dear Ultarune:
"Original Ink" is a term I use to clarify with candidates when the original document has been faxed or photocopied. As the application says, we do not accept faxes of applications.
Andy Nees
Association Coordinator, BRPT
From: Ultarune
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 1:12 PM
To: Andy Nees; Ganoe, John
Subject: RE: June Window BRPT Testing
To Mr. Nees:
I have read the section of the application on page two of the instructions you reference, but disagree with your interpretation of it. My application was mailed to you in its entirety. The fact that my supervisor lives in a different state as me, therefore necessitating a fax of the first page of the document to her, her signing it, and her faxing it back to me, at which point I mailed the entire package, is immaterial. Your original ink requirement is not documented in the form, and I have complied with the instructions as listed. I don't wish to be difficult, but I also don't wish to have my professional career postponed 3 months and be charged an additional $600+ dollars by a third party due to this mistake on the BRPT's part. Please get back to me in regards to what can be done to correct this error.
Sincerely,
Ultarune
Ganoe, John
Sent: Mon 6/23/08 1:34 PM
To: Ultarune; Andy Nees
Mr. Ultarune,
Andy Nees has acted in accordance with BRPT policy and the policy of our organizational credentialing body in enforcing the rule prohibiting a FAX or photocopy of a verification of experience / employment.
If you will provide us with an original version of page 1 of your application, signed by the appropriate individual, I will authorize a waiver of the ASTEP online module requirement for the September testing window and we will move forward with authorizing you to test in September.
I realize this does mean your test is postponed 90 days, but feel this is a significant concession.
John H. Ganoe, CAE
Executive Director
Ultarune on
0
Posts
Demanding an inked signature rather than a faxed/photocopied one is most likely for their protection and yours, as a fraud-prevention measure. You should probably suck it up and have the one page they request resent and filled out accordingly in time for the September test.
I would ask them to accept the fax copy as a temporary proof of whatever the fuck it was supposed to prove, so you can take the test on the 28th. Offer to provide an original ink version as soon as you possibly can. The issuing of whatever certificate would be contingent on you providing this original ink copy. Seems reasonable to me (but they may not be reasonable).
Also, since the timeframe is so small I would try to get the person you've been emailing on the phone instead. Be as nice as possible, with the attitude of "I thought I was following the procedure (maybe point out the poor wording, or maybe just say you misunderstood, depending on how the conversation goes) and I would like to correct this as soon as possible".
If the jockey at the end of the phone says no, ask politely to talk to someone higher up.
If they say no ask to talk to someone higher.
Remember to be polite.
Satans..... hints.....
Take it further if you like, but try not to be too disappointed if you have to take it in September. This isn't TOO huge a loss really, and it was your responsibility to read the fine print. I've run into almost the exact same thing before, and I learned my lesson.
I'm talking to the director of the company, there is no one higher.
My argument is that there was no fine print to read. After he gave me the reason for not accepting the application, I went over every piece of paperwork with a fine-toothed comb and found no such "original ink" clause. It is however included in the form they send to you with your declined application, which seems unfair to me since they only inform you of the requirement after the fact. The statement "...mail (faxes not accepted) your application to..." is what he ended up citing when pressed, but by placing the (faxes not accepted) after mail, he put it into a shipping method context, not document format context. His statement actually means mail through a package delivery service instead of faxing using a fax machine and a phone line, not mail the document with original ink instead of mailing a copy of the document that had been faxed in order to facilitate signing, which is what he thinks it means. Every person I've consulted on this matter, including co-workers, friends, and neighbors, went with the first analysis of the sentence, not the latter.