CF Discrimination

[Pete]

I work in a food ingredient factory as a process worker, I am good at my job and have had no product failures to my name, the course of my employment with the company I have had several promotions within my area in about an 18 month time frame, I frequently have been given responsibility beyond my skill RATING over the course of my employment...

On Monday I was given notice that this will be my last week in this particular area in the factory, I'm being transfered...

Why?

Because my partner has CF and is post double lung transplant

His reasoning?

Because of the POTENTIAL of her getting sick...if, or more likely, when she does get sick I WILL be with her in a heartbeat. For him that's not acceptable, he needs people who be reliable....he doesn't need workers who have a POTENTIALLY sick partner.

My course of action?

I can't do a thing, he made sure no-one overheard the conversation and he told the superiors over him that it was because of my performance and that I had taken too much time off....

I straight out called him a choice series of expletives and said that if anyone had overheard the conversation, the very next conversation we'd have would be in court.

I wanted to crush his skull

I start my new job on monday.

 

[shauna]

ARGH! things like this make me SO angry. anyone else that you work withs partner could get terminally ill tomorrow and have to take time off but your partners is known about. it just frustrates me, especially as there's nothing you can do about it. unless there is? i dont know but surely there's some legal action you could take? as if you'd want to work for a boss like that anyway though.

glad to hear you got a new job, congrats! and i hope your partner keeps well.

Tia xo <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[izemmom]

UUUGGGGHHH! We ALL have a potentially sick partner. My husband could be diagnosed with cancer or have another motorcycle accident. Have you checked into your legal options? I know nothing about law, but it really doesn't seem like they should be able to do that to you. Good for you for jumping on the new job. good luck!

 

[EnergyGal]

Hi I am very sorry to hear that this happened to you.

BEst of success
Risa

 

[JazzysMom]

Am I to assume that the Family Emergency Leave Act doesnt apply to you since you are not "married"? Domestic partners dont count? I am asking since I am not sure. I also dont know "time" wise how it can be used. It just SUCKS if there is nothing to protect you from this action!

 

[Landy]

Just as you may need witnesses or documentation to prove what he did say, he should have written documentation in your employee file of supposed "performance" shortcomings. I'm guessing that he doesn't have such paperwork unless he fabricated it and then, if your boss writes you up about something, don't you have to sign the form??? I have not formally been written up so I don't know the exact procedures.
You may have other things to worry about right now, but if you have the interest, it may be worth your time to talk to an attorney about it to see if you have a case. This just doesn't seem fair to me.

 

[anonymous]

If you have good job performance and haven't missed much work, then how can he tell that to the higher ups. Maybe you need to go over your boss's head.

I once had a job interview in which I was told that "as a woman, I wouldn't be able to perform the duties"! I was flabbergasted that in this day and age someone would say something like that to me. It was a job with a major manufacturing firm, selling plastic bags to veggie producers. There was no way I was going to work for a company like that, 'cuz even if I got the job, they would've made my life a living hell. So I wrote a letter to the president of the company, the manager who arranged for the interview and copied to the guy who interviewed me. Made me feel much much better!

Maybe your new postion will be much better. You can prove yourself to the new people and you don't have to worry about the previous supervisor stabbing you in the back or making your life a living hell.

And don't you just love the double-standard about sick leave, etc When DS was in the NICU for over a month in a city 250 miles from home, I heard from coworkers that the finance director was badmouthing me -- saying she couldn't understand why both DH and I had to take time off from work. Only ONE of us should take time off for dependent leave. To this day I can't look that bitch in the face. Liza

 

[Abby]

This kind of discrimination has me very worried. I will soon be looking for a new job and don't know how I will handle my daughters cf in the interview. Do I not say anything and tell them when something comes up or do I tell them in the interivew that I will need time off for doctors appt's, sickness, hospitalizations, etc.? I know we don't have to legally foreclose the information, but I like to be up front when I can. My current employer has never questioned my absences from cf related issues. He tells me to take all the time I/we need to get healthy and come back when I can. So far, this year I've missed nearly 15 days because of dd's cf and he is totally cool with that. I'm afraid I'll never be able to find this arrangement again.

 

[LisaV]

Abby,
I went through this with my husband. A professional I talked to reminded me that there is such a thing as <i>intermittent </i>family leave. That is you apply for Family Leave but instead of taking the 90 days off one after another, you take them as you need them to take care of an immediate family member (child, parent, legal spouse - not partner).

So you don't have to mention it at interview time at all. The thing to consider for a new job is that you want to work for a company that has enough employees so that it has to offer Family Leave. Then once you have the job and you qualify for Family Leave, you apply for intermittent family leave. And you can apply again year after year. Untill you have been OKd for Family Leave, you have to use personal days, sick days, vacation days, whatever. Afterward you take Family Leave days (that you don't get paid for of course) following whatever policy your company has (which may well mean you have to use vacation days first).

Hope this makes some sense....

 

[anonymous]

I wouldn't mention it. Maybe dd will be perfectly fine and you won't need to miss much work at all if any.

My problem is at my job everyone is always soooo concerned about everyone else, that someone else might be taking off too much time.

If you've got the time coming to you, then it's nobodies business but your own. When DS was first diagnosed, I was worried that I might have to miss a lot of work. DH and I took turns taking DS to local doctor's appointments, synagis shots, etc. Fortunately my inlaws moved closer to town, so when DS has gotten an ear infection, they've been able to watch him during the day. Liza

 

[julie]

Pete,

Even though you aren't the one who is sick, you still have rights under the ADA and I would pursue them in a heartbeat if I were you.

Regardless if anyone heard you or not (or him), I would still pursue it. So you have any documentation in your employee file about your performance and taking too much time off? Seems like anyone could see that as fishey, especially if comments were just recently made-because of the several promotions in a short time frame. I woud pursue it (I know I keep saying this). These sorts of things just disgust and anger me beyond belief.

Your partner... is this a long time girlfriend or something? I'm not quite sure, but depending on the state that you live in and if you have "common law mariage" 'rights' in your state, you would also be covered under the Family Medical Leave Act and the company (not just the boss) could be in for a pretty little lawsuit brough on by the govt. Those are a few things I would look into.

I wish you luck, keep us updated-please!!

 

[Emily65Roses]

Even though no one overheard him, is there really nothing you can do about it? What he's doing is so incredibly illegal, it's infurating.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/">FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT</a>

I'd be irate if I were you, can't say I blame you.

 

[Pete]

Hey guys, thanks heaps for your comments and suggestions, I read them all, too much to reply to though. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

It comes down a case of is it worth fighting and what would I get out of it?

The person who made the decision for me to go is a supervisor, he got put in that position because corporate trust him and his word...I have no chance, any course of action I take WOULD cost me my career...

Is a person like that worth losing my career over?

I'm looking at the positives in this and I do look forward to the new challenge in my new job. I'll leave that section with the knowledge that I did a damn good job and that the other workers (who are my friends) know that as well, cause I trained them and in fact I trained the guy in question with various aspects of the job as well.

If it is an on going problem within my career there, then I will take legal action for sure...no problems there...but at the moment it's just one, bad, egotistical, egg, who is only interested in his career, he doesn't care who he runs over on the way...I don't want to be around someone like that.

Plus...I am a firm believer in Karma...

Pete

 

[anonymous]

I'm a firm believer in "what goes around comes around". It'll all come out in the wash. I also like to think that things happen for a reason -- one door closes, another opens. Okay I've become the queen of cliches here.

See it as a new opporunity. Heck, maybe some of your former coworker/friends will end up in your new department

Liza

 

[anonymous]

So sorry this happened to you!!! I'm so angered by it. I agree that your supervisor has to have a documented cause for firing you or you should have legal recourse.... check it out.

As for telling about your family (daughter or anyone with any issues), I was once in a interviewing/resume class in college and they basically said that you shouldn't really disclose anything at a job interview that isn't pertinent to a job! They can't ASK you about your family life legally, so why offer it, ya know? The instuctor even said some people go so far as to not wear wedding bands (women) so employers don't look at them and think, "hmmm... married, pregnant in the future, family at home, etc..." Its sad, but people can and do discriminate at the interview in discreet ways such as this. It makes me very angry. But, at least laws protect us from having to disclose health, family, etc.. information. If they ask, don't answer. JMO

Sonia