Ethics Concerns

Maybe I'm lucky. I'm sure this is totally minor compared to what others go through. But I have never had my workplace ethics so challenged before, and I don't know what to do.

I am a shift supervisor. It's just my coworker and me working long nights. It's time for me to write her review. No problem - she's a great employee, been here over ten years, is a good hard worker-bee. No, she ain't winning a Fulbright anytime soon, but neither is she gonna get nominated for the Darwin Awards. She does her job, and she does it well.

Of course, we ALL have hiccups. She's got 'em, same as everyone. I included what we've been working on, where she could improve (and how she's already improving), and what she's accomplished, on her review.

Yeah, they butchered it. They (being my department supervisor who has seen my co-worker perhaps once in the last year, I kid you not; and the HR director who, to his credit, does see her slightly more often, but never knows what she does) have forced me to write things I absolutely do NOT agree with. For one, I was taught to NEVER put something on a review that the employee was unaware of. They've forced me to include two pretty major things of which we were both unaware. They've knocked down every single one of her "excellent", "generally excellent" and top numerical marks. My boss claims that means she has no room to improve - well, she's doing a cracker-jack job, she doesn't NEED to improve in those areas!

I tried to protest. Problem is, these two people REFUSE to believe I have ANY experience before coming to this company. You know, my two and a half years running an HR department. Oh, and about ten years cumulative of supervisory experience. And...well...you get the point. So I get the patronizing smile and the pat on the head and the "yes, Slugger, that's lovely, now do what we say."

Thing is, this isn't worth losing my job over. It isn't worth quitting my job over. But they will - and have, obliquely - threatened my job if I don't comply. What do I do? I can't "file a formal complaint" - there's no formal complaint to file, and if I did, it would just go to the HR director! There's no getting around him (yes, my company is THAT f'ed up). I even suggested removing my name from the eval - no go. I suggested initialing whose additions were whose - no go.

I'm in a serious bind - my ethics are SCREAMING that this eval is wrong, wrong wrong. It has LIES in my opinion (they've knocked her scores down so low) and has a whole lot of this-is-how-you-do-an-eval screw-ups. What do I do? Sit down, shut up, and take it? I've already told my co-worker what is going on. Her response? "Every shift leader I've ever had has said the same thing." F that.

Suggestions on how to muddle through this situation with my ethics not TOO badly compromised?

In the meantime, anyone looking to hire an ETHICAL, EXPERIENCED worker who'll bust my chops, expect those around me to bust their chops, but will most cerainly give praise where praise is due?