Is it possible for my dad's employer to terminate him during his colon cancer treatment still in process?
my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer around 9/2009 and was told to go on leave ASAP for treatments such as IV chemo and radiation. After the treatments he had an operation to remove the cancer around 02/2010 and the surgeon had attached a temporary colostomy. A few weeks after he was back to chemo pills for weeks. he has been very weak throughout his treatments and can barely walk. Around 09/2010, he had his 2nd operation to remove the colostomy. He had an open wound. I change his dressing twice a day. I'm still changing his dressing til now. He has been updating work with everything paperworks he comes up with from his surgeon or when HR needed information. Last week, he receives a letter from work stating that he had already exhausted all of his options and that they can no longer accomodate him. My dad had told me that from what the letter says, they want him back to work in 2weeks or they're going to have to terminate him at the date of the letter. He had called HR, he was told that someone from HR will give him a call today but never did. Is that possible? Is that fair? He's on disability at this time and was asked to recertify so it's pending. He's also in process of apply for LTD as well as Social Security. Everything is pending at this time. I'm not quite sure yet if my dad still has PTO with the company, would it matter?
Law & Ethics - 7 Answers
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1 :
unfortunately he is being paid to work ..not recover...sorry...employers actually expect everyone to come to work to keep a job.....
2 :
Have him contact the National Labor Relations Board
3 :
Does he have short and long term disability insurance? Activate it now and call an employment atty. They are only required to keep his job available for a certain time because they have to function as a business. They should offer him another position inthe compnay when he is better.
4 :
Business and Humanity are incompatible. I sure hope that your Dad continuous to have Health Insurance. Focus on his recovery and go from there. This is a case why the Health Care Reform is such a must. I wish your Dad full recovery.
5 :
I'm assuming that he really had exhausted his options, including FMLA, short term disability, and long term disability (plus the usual sick leave and annual leave). If so, then unfortunately they are not required to keep him on. Keep in mind, he's being dismissed for having a "disability" that actually affects his ability to perform his job (or a comparable one). People mistake the prohibition on firing someone that has a disability (but can still perform the job with reasonable accommodation) with "if I'm sick/have a disability, I'm untouchable." It's sad. It's doesn't seem fair. But it's legal and might actually be necessary for the company. I do hope that he's purchased disability insurance. If not, he may be facing some financial issues.
6 :
Unfortunately, if he is back at work and not out on FMLA then yes they can do this, from my understanding. He probably didn't get a call because the people didn't have the courage or the heart to do it. I agree with the poster who said that you need to look into any insurance that he has and perhaps any unemployment. Your father is in my prayers.
7 :
I'm sorry but yes it is possible for an employee to be terminated. No, it's not fair but it is a legitimate business decision. Employers are not required to hold a job for an ill employee (unless it was a work-related injury or condition). Though this seems like a really crappy thing to do, his employer has apparently held the job for him for over a year. They did go above and beyond what they were required to do - and I suspect that if the economy was better, they might have been able to give him more time. He should file for unemployment (since he is not able to work, I don't know if he'd be eligible to collect this but maybe his employer won't fight this) and he should immediately file for disability through your state and through Social Security. I wish him good luck and a full recovery.
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