Lifestyle

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My husband works for a growing company. He’s grateful for the job, but he’s the only buyer in the department and works seven days a week. His phone starts ringing at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, continuing all day. He hasn’t been able to take any of his four weeks of vacation. He’s tried discussing this with his immediate boss but hasn’t gotten anywhere and is starting to burn out. Any suggestions?

Umm . . . that he look for a new job if the hours aren’t working, and his boss is unresponsive? Although working hours in startups are notoriously long, the payoff is in building a successful business you own, or own a piece of. Whether or not the sacrifice is worth it is a personal decision, because it doesn’t sound like there is any relief or sympathy coming from his boss. Before he leaps, he should remember early employees of other startups quit under similar circumstances — and they found instant relief but long-term agita (Italian term . . . look it up) when those startups turned out to be Google and Facebook!

My grandson was illegally fired (according to his employment lawyers) recently and is now a plaintiff in a suit against his former employer. He hasn’t been able to get a new job, despite being highly qualified. We think it’s because his lawsuit comes up in a Google search for his name. Is there a way of removing this information?

I don’t know how to remove negative items from a Google search, but the lawsuit is a matter of public record, so it’s just as likely to come up in a regular background check as it is on the Internet. I’m afraid there isn’t much that can be done without changing his identity (which is not a suggestion . . . employers — and the government — generally frown upon that). Employment lawsuits go on all the time, and people still find other jobs. I’ve heard others try to load the Internet with positive content so negative items appear further down in search results. But if you research how to improve your search results, I’m sure you’ll find the answer.