Why I'm leaving after 8 plus years - Certified Medical Assistant and Program Assistant Kaiser Permanente Employee Review

1.0
29 Jun 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good Benefits - 401k, competitive salary, ability to transition to different positions, education pay, 98 hours of sick time, vacation time commensurates with years worked, convenient locations if you need to move, union job

Cons

I've been here for 8 years as an employee and 2 years as a intern. I have worked in both administration and clinic sides. I have dedicated much of my life to this company, I have sacrificed so much... including my health. My turning point was when a corrupt employee/ Chief steward and manager decided to try and fire me for my absences due to medical reasons. I have a debilitating medical illness that requires me to take off periodically. Kaiser is so staunch with the vacation and sick hours you've earned, that if you exhaust those because of any leave, you are immediately put in a spot and management will keep every tab and eyes on you. Leaves I was out on: medical: major surgery for my health (3 mos, 2012) medical: still birth; grieving (3 mos plus therapy; 2014) medical: work place injury (mental, 3 weeks, 2016). I am currently on leave, and have been thinking of resignation. The first leave was my own medical condition, but I had struggled to get my benefits settled and was constantly harassed by management for my time off. Second... I had experienced great stress from same manager plus another manager that I was hospitalized and I lost my baby due to preeclampsia. Third... stress at work, there are extenuating circumstances which I am not allowed to discussed, however when I first started this new position, the new manager had told an employee from another department that "I better watch my lateness". This is very unprofessional and uncouth. I ended up being ostracized for this as she has forced me to withdraw from people because of rumors she had spread. I reported to upper management for 3 months as I was so upset that I refused to go to work unless I reported to someone else. Furthermore, I had asked for adjustments to my work station, constantly because of my operation prior, and because I'm a Disabled person by CA state law. Though I repeatedly said this, management refused a desk high enough for me and a chair due to "keeping costs down"the solution was to send THEIR ergonomic specialist to evaluate me, after repeatedly telling said person my needs due to my disabilities, i finally got the approval for a higher desk. Her first suggestion (and managers suggestion) was to stack reams of paper under my monitor to raise the height. Still to this day, I have no compatible desk and have 3 reams of paper under my monitor. No changes were made despite the approval of the ergonomist. I am right now being falsely accused and have had council with several upper management. They send a compliance representative to prove that You are guilty. I was shown a piece of paper with people called and was said that I didn't comply. This is all heresay, and even if I never did anything; unless I take this to court, I won't be able to save my job. This is a week after I was found on the floor of my office, face down and unresponsive. I've rescinded to getting out of this toxic environment, as no job is worth my health. The union has many rats and protects their most valuable people, however, if you are not of any value to them, they will do nothing to help. I was a steward and ended up being told on by a chief steward and was sent to talk to compliance about timecard fraud. I proved her wrong, and 2 employees/ union reps vouched for me. I told the area specialist about this, and he knew what was going on. No one voted her out and no one said anything when I quit.

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5.0
26 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice office, friendly staff, up to date tech.

Cons

Sometimes it gets very hectic.

4.0
9 Sept 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Kaiser is a great place to work and build a career over time. In my experience salaries are above market for most positions, and the benefits are so good that many people become "lifers". The health coverage is extremely generous, and time off starts off adequate and gets better over time (18 days when you start, moving up to 33 after 15+ years - this does not include sick time). Employees truly believe in the mission of KP (at least, I do) and it's clear that this is a place where employees' contributions are valued. Although my role is not part of any of the unions, the fact that our workforce is predominantly unionized also places a positive role in KP's reputation as a good place for workers (although having unionized staff also presents many challenges). Overall, I enjoy working at KP and would recommend it to others, but understand that you are entering a big bureaucracy. A friendly, mission-driven bureaucracy, but still.

Cons

Cons: having lots of "lifers" means that innovative ideas and workflows are not always adopted without a fight. People have their roles deeply embedded here, and any threat to the status quo is seen as negative, even though we need to make some pretty radical changes given the new health care environment post-ACA. There's a lot of "not my job" attitudes here. It's hard to navigate the layers of bureaucracy, both in terms of personnel/HR/benefits, and in getting work done (there are often 4-5 departments at the regional and national KP levels working on similar areas, and no guidance on who does what.) Be aware that KP is not immune to reorganizations and layoffs -- they do make a good attempt to ensure workers are hired elsewhere in the organization, but there are no guarantees, and there can be a lot of turnover in certain departments. Benefits are currently generous but are always subject to downgrades in the future, so just be aware of that. Some changes to the pension and retiree medical benefits are about to hit, and with them a wave of Baby Boomers will be taking retirement, which should hopefully open up many new management opportunities for Millennials. Oh, and the biggest con of all: we still - STILL - use Lotus Notes for email. Shocking, I know, but true.

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