They Are Called BENEFITS

We all know, in this economy people are getting laid off, they're hours are getting cut etc. etc. etc. It's no different at the store where I work. Employees and now managers have had to work fewer hours so we could all keep our jobs. But the managers all promised one thing, everyone would at least work just enough hours to keep their benefits, especially health.
This is how health benefits work in my place of employment. You receive them after 3 months of employment. You can choose from several different PPO and HMOs. In order to qualify and keep your health insurance you need to keep a 25 hr week average for the last 12 weeks. Sounds simple enough. When everyones hours got cut, us managers made sure that everyone worked at least 25 hrs a week.
I don't know if this economic slow down just made people lazy or people decided because their hours got cut to stop coming to work or something else but people have decided to stop coming to work in insane numbers. We do provide the typical 2 week vacation, personal days and sick days, but the calling off has gotten so ridiculous that most people have used up all those days. After you use up all those days is when it starts affecting your hours.
Now I have several employees without health insurance and other benefits. They are blaming their heads off on us when really they have no one but themselves to blame. These things are called BENEFITS, not ENTITLEMENTS. People need to realize that they are not entitled to health, dental, life etc. insurance, you have to work for them. In this case working for them is quite simple. Just show up for work and do your job.
With the economy this bad and unemployment this high, I would like nothing more than to fire some of these employees and replace them with someone who is willing to work the expected hours and cherish their benefits. All the other managers and I had a little meeting about all this and have a small solution. If anyone is to call in sick again, especially the compulsive call offers, one must provide a doctor's note showing that one can't make it to work. The other day I had an employee whine to me that how is she suppose to bring a doctor's note when she doesn't even have health insurance. I didn't say anything but if she does get sick before her average is back at 25 she will eventually learn her lesson that health insurance is a benefit, not an entitlement, and that sick days are for when you get sick, not to party.