My sister's sister-in-law, H, was let go after 20 years at her job.
To be totally honest, we have never been close, but she's machatunim and that's family. What's more she spent the better part of this past year undergoing major chemo and radiation therapy for (I forget the stage--but it was higher than 1) breast cancer.
Oh yeah, her insurance went with the job--she's trying to see what she's supposed to do now. Thank heaven for Obamacare.
She was assured that her health had nothing to do with the reason she was cut.
And to this I say, bullshit.
A friend just lost her job. She had been there for a dozen years. It came three days after she finally got a positive pregnancy test after years of dealing with infertility, and is the result of her successful IVF. As many readers know, IVF can lead to absences at work. She asked if this had something to do with it.
She was told it did not.
Again to this I say, bullshit.
Almost two years ago I lost my job of ten years. I lost it shortly after I got back from FMLA leave. Three months to be exact. I insisted on taking the full FMLA leave I had a right to, instead of just the 5 week adoption leave which I acknowledge my former company was generous enough to give.
If I had given birth to Lotus, I'd have been entitled to 3 months leave, but I'm not going there now.
Three months after my return I was cut. I was told it had nothing to do with my new parental status.
Again, to this I say, bullshit.
I think that this is happening a great deal and I am fairly sure it is underreported. I think this is happening primarily to women who have health issues. If you know someone who had something like this happen, please comment and let me know.
If you think I'm wrong, also please let me know.
Thanks.
It is really hard to say if you are correct or not. I do know of instances this happening and it is always made to look as if the reason is not pregnancy/illness/ect related and there is always that thought. regardless of the reason it's a shame.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't let go, but they made it very difficult for me to work in one place after the principal casually asked me if I done after having twins or whether we wanted more kids. Being naive, I answered without thinking. Suddenly all the flexibility went out of my position. Could I prove the two things were connected? No. But do I think they were? Yes.
ReplyDeleteI say when you're the person sitting on the other side, your first gut instinct is the right one.
ReplyDeleteI was laid off by e-mail after 12 1/2 years. But it's better than the half-dozen people laid off a month earlier. They were told by our supervisor that they had 20 minutes to leave before their cards would be deactivated, and he'd go through their stuff and forward any personal belongings. (I think we were laid off with a day's notice and by e-mail because of backlash - some of the laid off people not only didn't have time to finish what they were working on but didn't get a chance to tell the associates or partners they were doing research for that they were unable to finish).
ReplyDeleteSome of the people laid off with me have been brought back for short term projects - at 60% of what I had been making and 70-75% of what the lowest paid people were making. Oh, and two people who bragged about slacking? Still there.
ReplyDeleteSeems pretty clear to me. If you are on the other side of the table scratching your head, you're probably right. I had reservations about my supervisor so I went for my current job. I was right. It's not a firing or layoff but he was clearly developing a younger engineer (male) over me and another female engineer (both of us senior to the man). Yup.
ReplyDeleteMy mom had stage 3 breast cancer and did not get fired after returning to work. She also didn't get fired when less than 6 months later she broke her ankle and was out again. in fact, when she went back after her mastectomy and radiation, she was given a pretty significant raise because things were such a mess while she was gone (she schedules surgeries for a very busy ob/gyn office). She did, however, return to work earlier than her doctor's recommended both times because she felt pressure to be back to work. She was also "written up" for not reporting to work the morning the ambulance escorted her to the hospital when she broke her ankle and she needed immediate surgery. I work in a job center, so I hear plenty of stories of people losing their jobs due to their own or a close family member's health issues. Mostly, they have used up all the time allotted to them (sick time or FMLA), but it sure seems rotten to let someone go when they're fighting for their life....
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