am i being taken advantage of? per diem vs q status
hi! essentially i picked up a sub central assignment originally from 9/11-9/30 at a high school in district 7. the first day, the ap told me that it was extendable since it was a vacancy, but after doing a mini interview, confidently told me he thinks i'm the best they're going to get. he told the principal he found someone for the year, the principal also had a chat with me welcoming me to the community, and i've been teaching chemistry for the school since that time.
i'm under the impression that since i started within the first 2 weeks of the school year, i should be eligible for q status (full benefits, salary pay, etc.) by this point. i bring this up because my grandmother suddenly passed in the middle of the night yesterday. i was still a bit shaken up friday morning, and asked to speak with someone regarding bereavement since i would have to travel for her services by the end of the month at some point. one of the other ap's and the payroll secretary gave me their condolences, told me to go home for the day, and said they would speak with hr about how to process everything because i'm a sub.
i called them back a couple hours later and the payroll secretary told me that i'm not eligible for q status until i work at least 60 days at the school, and because i left early on friday (at their command) the clock will now reset and i have to wait another 60 days. mind you, this whole time, they've added me to their school roster, i have attended afterschool pd, planned for the curriculum, graded student work, decorated the classroom, etc. i asked if this meant my employment at the school was at risk, or if they didn't need me for the whole school year since i keep being told i'm just a sub, and she immediately said no. however, if i needed to leave for my grandmother's services, i just wouldn't be paid for those days.
for added context, i asked about the status of my employment at the end of september since it still didn't change in subcentral, and all i had was verbal confirmation. the next day (10/1), i saw it was changed to the full school year, and the payroll secretary told me the ap changed it. she also gave me a timecard with my own printed name and slot number on it. i asked this past wednesday (literally the day before my grandmother passed) when my q status would process, and the payroll secretary claimed she didn't know i was staying for the whole year... she said she would call hr, and repeated the 60 day rule. she said it's only immediate / within a couple weeks if i started on 9/8, but since i started on 9/11 i have to wait 60 days.
so i'm just wondering if she's actually correct because to my knowledge, the uft says that you only have to wait 60 days if you started work after the first 15 days of the school year. i haven't been able to get in touch with a salary specialist yet, but when i called the uft and spoke with a general rep, they did repeat the 60 day rule thing the secretary talked about.
if anyone has any advice for how to navigate this, i would greatly appreciate it. i would totally understand if this is quite literally the salary rules and procedures, but i'm just not certain that's the case. for context – i'm 24f, this is my 2nd year teaching, and should have my transb by next semester (which i communicated to them). thank you!