Possible wrongful termination

[Zagriel]

Michigan, which I know is at will employment.

My roommate had a stroke back in June of 2016, while this didn't impair his work, he was off for an extended period of time for six months. Now when he was back at work, everything was fine he still had his full time status, benefits etc. While the stroke didn't impair anything like I mentioned before, the stroke did cause an aneurysm deep within his brain, which is inoperable.

My roommate who is also a coworker, told me he informed his store director, human resource manager that the stroke caused an aneurysm. He told them he could not have any stress in his life, so they found him a position within the company where he could work a certain shift etc. Little did I know his aneurysm was causing him to have severe migraines and this started to impair his work to a point of him having to call off on days prior to what would be the main incident. He wasn't at attendance termination prior to this point but he was close to it prior to his stroke.

While doing his new position, he is very great at it, to a point to where my store didn't have to hire outside contractors to meet quotas and also he trained people for a new store that was opening up. So his work ethic was not a question in this possible firing.

I'm not sure how many people know about the aneurysm in my store but most know about his stroke. However given the nature how I've dealt withe coming to high up officials with sensitive information, it's not really truly kept confidential, so at this point it's a guessing game with how many people really know about his circumstances.

Anyway three weeks ago my roommate was having extreme migraines and vomiting to where he had to call off for an extended period of time. The companies policy is that the individual must inform the Comany that handles federal medical leave, within either 15 business days, 15 days or 15 schedule days of the requested leave.

Now my human resource manager gave me the paperwork to file, abut 1.5 weeks ago. She claimed to have told me he needs to file but never told me of the time limit. When I requested leave the time limit was within 20 days, she knows that I have requested leave so you would think she would have informed me of a new time limit but she failed to do so. With that paper work we both went to his doctor office back around Monday last week. I told his assistant manager at the timend that his doctor was out until Wednesday of that same week and she would file it then, we'll when he went Tuesday he saw a different doctor.

I work two jobs so it's difficult for me to help my roommate out but I had luckily had that Wednesday and Thursday off at both jobs, so I was calling his doctor during these time periods thinking that the paperwork would be done, we'll it wasn't and I had to work early in the morning Friday so my roommate wentry to the office Friday. I had enough time between jobs to be informed that the paperwork wouldn't be completed Friday. Given this information, I decided to inform my human resource manager of the situation. Which she was already informed of this information being relied by his assistant manager.

Well when I told her the information, suddenly his personal information between him and her was confidential and I needed written letter stating from him I can discuss matters of confidentiality and also a photo copy of his State ID. Given the fact that she rarely works on weekends, she wouldn't be given this letter until Monday. Which my roommate had a medical appointment then, which he finally got the paper work completed. Given that I had enough time between jobs, I quickly scooped up his doctors paperwork, and went to work to discuss things with the hr manager.

Her first response is, it's too late know he never filed within the time limit and all those scheduled call offs would be counted against him. Which she had his letter at the time so she discussed the issues with me, she also explained the market manager was adamant aboutique the 15 day mark. Which she informed me his first technical call off was Friday the 29th of September. Now if you do the math, the last day for him to file was Friday the 13th. Bad luck I know, but given how she stated to me in the past without his written consent that he needed to file and to make sure he was choosing the correct call off option, that something like today was the last day to file and he hadn't yet, one would think something like that in her mind was not confidential given the circumstances. So why didn't she inform me then that the 13th of October was the last day he could have filed.

He has given up all hope because what he neglected to tell me when he went to the doctors last Tuesday an MRI revealed that his aneurysm was ballooning, but he still wanted his job at the time.

Now prior to this, he believed his first calling was the 10/1/2017, which the doctor excused from 10/1/2017 to 10/16/2017. I didn't know about this until I found him pain and vomiting on 10/2/2017 while returning from my second job. I decided given the nature of his situation that he needed to go into the hospital, so I called my parents to give us a ride. It was then he said he didn't want to go and I had called of of the place of work we both are employed at to do so. That's when he said make an appointment with his doctor to see if they can fit him in asap. Which he was given an appointment for the following Tuesday. Now my parents gave him a ride to the doctors and my secondary job is at a fast food company. My parents and him came to the restaurant where I work as a cashier and took their order, now given that I've worked with him for 4 years and lived together for going on three years now. I can tell when something was up but never informed me of anything until just recently.

Anyway like I mentioned before his actual doctor would return until 10/11/2017, to file out the paperwork. Which due to an error was put in the wrong doctor folder, where if I didn't mention previously he found this error out on Friday the 13th.

Now given the nature of his condition and certain higher ups knowing. Wouldn't his technical federally protected leave began on 10/1/2017 but still fell short of the 15 day mark which was shortened from 20. I know he is definitely fired at this point, since he hasn't gone back since then since I'll go into detail further. On 10/2/2017 when I called in I asked to speak to the store director, I informed him of the situation and he told me to keep him in the loop about him since I knew the director knew about the aneurysm. I informed the store Director, about his condition on 10/5/2017 that he had an MRI test done and what my roommate was waiting on the results. The director was just full of smiles like I was bull shifting him or something, at the time I was thinking nothing of it but it seemed unprofessional to me at the time.

Well this Monday and previous times, I've talked to his current assistant manager and we'll when I informed him that his absences probably wouldn't be protected, he was full of smiles as well like it was the greatest news he's heard all day. Which my hr manager told me to ask him if he would excuse his absences, he was all smiles at that point and said he needed to discuss them with the store director.

Now that Monday I went home for lunch, and relied this information to my roommate. He hast gone back to work since then and I haven't either well since I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off at our workplace so I don't know his future but he has given up hope and well I don't blame him.

If anything can be done what can be done because if he passes away which with his condition it can be at any moment in time. I would like to take legal action against the company, with the soul purpose of getting him some justice and possibly using the judgment to ensure that the resources go towards funding research in aneurysm repairs deep within the brain. Since his is inoperable and I'm sure there's many people out there in similar circumstances.

 

[quincy]

Michigan, which I know is at will employment.

My roommate had a stroke back in June of 2016, while this didn't impair his work, he was off for an extended period of time for six months. Now when he was back at work, everything was fine he still had his full time status, benefits etc. While the stroke didn't impair anything like I mentioned before, the stroke did cause an aneurysm deep within his brain, which is inoperable.

My roommate who is also a coworker, told me he informed his store director, human resource manager that the stroke caused an aneurysm. He told them he could not have any stress in his life, so they found him a position within the company where he could work a certain shift etc. Little did I know his aneurysm was causing him to have severe migraines and this started to impair his work to a point of him having to call off on days prior to what would be the main incident. He wasn't at attendance termination prior to this point but he was close to it prior to his stroke.

While doing his new position, he is very great at it, to a point to where my store didn't have to hire outside contractors to meet quotas and also he trained people for a new store that was opening up. So his work ethic was not a question in this possible firing.

I'm not sure how many people know about the aneurysm in my store but most know about his stroke. However given the nature how I've dealt withe coming to high up officials with sensitive information, it's not really truly kept confidential, so at this point it's a guessing game with how many people really know about his circumstances.

Anyway three weeks ago my roommate was having extreme migraines and vomiting to where he had to call off for an extended period of time. The companies policy is that the individual must inform the Comany that handles federal medical leave, within either 15 business days, 15 days or 15 schedule days of the requested leave.

Now my human resource manager gave me the paperwork to file, abut 1.5 weeks ago. She claimed to have told me he needs to file but never told me of the time limit. When I requested leave the time limit was within 20 days, she knows that I have requested leave so you would think she would have informed me of a new time limit but she failed to do so. With that paper work we both went to his doctor office back around Monday last week. I told his assistant manager at the timend that his doctor was out until Wednesday of that same week and she would file it then, we'll when he went Tuesday he saw a different doctor.

I work two jobs so it's difficult for me to help my roommate out but I had luckily had that Wednesday and Thursday off at both jobs, so I was calling his doctor during these time periods thinking that the paperwork would be done, we'll it wasn't and I had to work early in the morning Friday so my roommate wentry to the office Friday. I had enough time between jobs to be informed that the paperwork wouldn't be completed Friday. Given this information, I decided to inform my human resource manager of the situation. Which she was already informed of this information being relied by his assistant manager.

Well when I told her the information, suddenly his personal information between him and her was confidential and I needed written letter stating from him I can discuss matters of confidentiality and also a photo copy of his State ID. Given the fact that she rarely works on weekends, she wouldn't be given this letter until Monday. Which my roommate had a medical appointment then, which he finally got the paper work completed. Given that I had enough time between jobs, I quickly scooped up his doctors paperwork, and went to work to discuss things with the hr manager.

Her first response is, it's too late know he never filed within the time limit and all those scheduled call offs would be counted against him. Which she had his letter at the time so she discussed the issues with me, she also explained the market manager was adamant aboutique the 15 day mark. Which she informed me his first technical call off was Friday the 29th of September. Now if you do the math, the last day for him to file was Friday the 13th. Bad luck I know, but given how she stated to me in the past without his written consent that he needed to file and to make sure he was choosing the correct call off option, that something like today was the last day to file and he hadn't yet, one would think something like that in her mind was not confidential given the circumstances. So why didn't she inform me then that the 13th of October was the last day he could have filed.

He has given up all hope because what he neglected to tell me when he went to the doctors last Tuesday an MRI revealed that his aneurysm was ballooning, but he still wanted his job at the time.

Now prior to this, he believed his first calling was the 10/1/2017, which the doctor excused from 10/1/2017 to 10/16/2017. I didn't know about this until I found him pain and vomiting on 10/2/2017 while returning from my second job. I decided given the nature of his situation that he needed to go into the hospital, so I called my parents to give us a ride. It was then he said he didn't want to go and I had called of of the place of work we both are employed at to do so. That's when he said make an appointment with his doctor to see if they can fit him in asap. Which he was given an appointment for the following Tuesday. Now my parents gave him a ride to the doctors and my secondary job is at a fast food company. My parents and him came to the restaurant where I work as a cashier and took their order, now given that I've worked with him for 4 years and lived together for going on three years now. I can tell when something was up but never informed me of anything until just recently.

Anyway like I mentioned before his actual doctor would return until 10/11/2017, to file out the paperwork. Which due to an error was put in the wrong doctor folder, where if I didn't mention previously he found this error out on Friday the 13th.

Now given the nature of his condition and certain higher ups knowing. Wouldn't his technical federally protected leave began on 10/1/2017 but still fell short of the 15 day mark which was shortened from 20. I know he is definitely fired at this point, since he hasn't gone back since then since I'll go into detail further. On 10/2/2017 when I called in I asked to speak to the store director, I informed him of the situation and he told me to keep him in the loop about him since I knew the director knew about the aneurysm. I informed the store Director, about his condition on 10/5/2017 that he had an MRI test done and what my roommate was waiting on the results. The director was just full of smiles like I was bull shifting him or something, at the time I was thinking nothing of it but it seemed unprofessional to me at the time.

Well this Monday and previous times, I've talked to his current assistant manager and we'll when I informed him that his absences probably wouldn't be protected, he was full of smiles as well like it was the greatest news he's heard all day. Which my hr manager told me to ask him if he would excuse his absences, he was all smiles at that point and said he needed to discuss them with the store director.

Now that Monday I went home for lunch, and relied this information to my roommate. He hast gone back to work since then and I haven't either well since I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off at our workplace so I don't know his future but he has given up hope and well I don't blame him.

If anything can be done what can be done because if he passes away which with his condition it can be at any moment in time. I would like to take legal action against the company, with the soul purpose of getting him some justice and possibly using the judgment to ensure that the resources go towards funding research in aneurysm repairs deep within the brain. Since his is inoperable and I'm sure there's many people out there in similar circumstances.

You cannot file a lawsuit on his behalf. You can set up a fund or contribute to a fund for aneurism research.

I am sorry about your friend.

 

[Taxing Matters]

If anything can be done what can be done because if he passes away which with his condition it can be at any moment in time. I would like to take legal action against the company, with the soul purpose of getting him some justice and possibly using the judgment to ensure that the resources go towards funding research in aneurysm repairs deep within the brain. Since his is inoperable and I'm sure there's many people out there in similar circumstances.

Your efforts to support and help your roommate/co-worker (and I assume friend) are admirable. We could all stand to have someone like you there to help us when we need it.

Your co-worker unfortunately is facing a problem for which he might not have any recourse. You said that he is great at his job but you also mentioned that he already had a problem with unexcused absences from work even before the stroke. After the stroke a year ago, he was off work for an extended period of time, six months according to your post. He was allowed back at his job after that extended period. That was itself very generous of the employer because no federal or state law required the company to hold open his job for that length of time.

The inoperable aneurysm very likely amounts to a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA an employee is entitled to reasonable accommodation of his disability by his employer to help the employee overcome the limitations of the disability and do his job. Your co-worker told the company of the aneurysm and requested a job that would not be stressful, which the company did. So it appears that the company met its obligation to reasonably accommodate the disability.

But your co-worker has also had spells of migraines and vomiting, too. These episodes have required him to take time off work from what you said in your post. If he qualifies for unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) then he is entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave which he could use for those episodes. The problem is that the extended period of time he had off after the stroke would have used up any FMLA leave that he had, leaving him with nothing left when he got back. He’d start building it up again, but he may have used up what he had as he went along. The details of the FMLA leave system the company uses (assuming it is a covered employer under FMLA) would matter, as would the details of the time he took off. There are specific rules for FMLA leave but in general the employee must follow the employer’s rules for notifying the employer of the intent to use the leave.

If he was out of FMLA leave or doesn’t qualify for it, then he’s got a problem because no other law requires that the employer provide him leave. Under the ADA providing leave can sometimes be a reasonable accommodation, but that is not common and the employer does not have to provide it if the leave would pose an undue hardship on the employer.

It sounds, though, like the employer was willing to provide more leave provided your co-worker followed the rules and submitted the requests timely. Your posts indicate that the requests were not filed timely. The employer had no obligation to tell you of the deadline; indeed, very likely what the employer could tell you without express consent from your co-worker was quite limited. It was up to your co-worker to ensure he knew the deadlines. Did either of you ask about deadlines when you picked up the forms? You don’t mention doing that and seem to chastise the manager for not volunteering the deadline information. But if you didn’t ask the manager may well have assumed you and your co-worker knew the rules. In any event, not meeting the deadline is a problem. The employer does not have to tolerate a lot of unexcused absence and if an employee is not following the rules to get leave approved the company could terminate the employee without it being a wrongful termination.

If he gets fired, by all means he should see an employment law attorney to see if he has any recourse. Perhaps details you didn’t include here would make a difference.

For an ADA claim before he could sue he would first have to file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and may have as little as 180 days after the termination to do it. So he wouldn’t want to wait long before seeing an attorney. But both you and your co-worker need to be prepared for the possibility that the attorney may tell him there is no recourse here.

The only way you could sue for your friend is as the personal representative of his estate should he die before he could complete a lawsuit himself. You would need to hire an attorney to litigate it for the estate. Note that anything that was won would go to the estate and get distributed per his will (if he has one) or state intestate succession law if he does not have a will. You don’t get to decide where it goes.