Man Fired For Taking Off To Be With Dying Wife

[rsmith6621]

WINDBER, Pa. -- A company that fired a 13-year employee as his wife lay dying of brain cancer has offered the Pennsylvania man his job back.

Rug Doctor said the company has offered back pay and no break in seniority to former sales representative Bernard Chippie. But it's unclear if he will take the carpet-cleaning company up on its offer.


http://www.kirotv.com/family/7608999/detail.html

[MadMaddie]

1. Wow.....this is happening every day across America...

The guy worked 13 years for the company....and they treat him like trash....

Unbelievable....

[porphyrian]

18. Yeah, corporations don't care about people.

They only care about profits. In an economy as shitty as ours is, there are plenty of people standing in line to take that abuse for less pay, and corporations like that.

[BlueEyedSon]

2. The compassion is overwhelming

[newscott]

3. NIiiiiiiiicccce.

[90-percent]

5. job back

If he takes his job back does he get to keep his senority and 401K status or does he have to start over from ground zero?

-85%

[Democrats_win]

4. At least they realized they were wrong. Without Family Leave act, they'd

probably insist on their right to fire him. Some family values, hey?

[quiet.american]

6. Boggles the mind, the callousness. Just boggles. n/t

[Warpy]

7. I'd hold out for the pinhead who fired me to get the axe

because no company needs this kind of publicity. I hope he yells long and loud until it happens.

Heartless little pricks in middle management need to go.

[NewJeffCT]

8. At a previous employer of mine...

A woman (2nd Vice President level, to boot) who was a workaholic had a teen son that got hit by a drunk driver. He was in a coma & transferred to a special hospital for care. This woman asked for time off to be with her son and was told, "as long as it didn't interfere with her quarterly responsibilities..."

[Initech]

9. So is the new idea of "compassionate conservatism" I keep hearing about?

[liberalitch]

10. Sounds like some freak in his branch had a probelm with him....

maybe a superior who was looking for an excuse.
Thing is that this guy probably knew of his co-worker/employee's wife's condition, waited for him to start missing time as "the end drew near"....
Not knowing that the family leave act would save his victims butt

[f-bush]

11. Yup! Happens all the time!

In 1986 my wife's dad was dying of cancer. She was 26 at the time and a new teacher at St. Charles Borromeo in Tacoma, Washington. She chose to spend an extra day with her father and the principal Patrick Feist docked her a days worth of pay. This is supposed to be from a "Christian" "family values" institution?

[rocktivity]

12. THEY COULDN'T GIVE HIM UNPAID LEAVE????

When the wife of someone I worked for miscarried, he was out for two days. I took the liberty of putting him down for two sick days and pointed it out to our boss. He didn't bat an eyelash.

...Chippie said he notified his employer on Feb. 13 that he would not be able to finish his weekly route because he had just learned his wife had between two days and a week to live. He went to Kathleen Chippie's bedside at a hospice that day.

...(H)his boss demanded that he show up at work the next day. He said he was fired when he said he couldn't...Three days after that, Kathleen Chippie died...

THREE DAYS???? That isn't even a full business week! I thought he was out for THREE MONTHS, and even then the company could have given him an unpaid leave and replaced him with a temp. I suppose now they expect the widower Chippie to be as forgiving as compassionate as they were.

:eyes:
rocknation

[Hell Hath No Fury]

13. And a view of another employer....

For the past few years I have worked for a small business of 13 or so employees. For the past three years my Mom has had one health crisis after another that has required I spend time away from work for weeks at a time at least twice a year.

My job has never been in jeopardy, I have been paid during my absences, the time off has not been counted against my vacation.

Am I lucky? You bet. Should it be the same for any worker who has a family crisis? You bet.

I get so pissed off when I hear stories like the original post :mad:

[Strawman]

14. Somebody else please give this guy a job

"Now, he's wary of their job offer. But he also said he fears he could lose unemployment benefits if he doesn't take the job back."

Wow. What a country. Gotta love that free market where compassion is an externality. I bet the company would fight the unemployment claim if the PR/image hit wasn't more costly.

No way should he have to go back and work for that asshole boss. His boss should be fired for being an asshole and for opening the company up to a fat ass lawsuit.

I hope this guy sues the shit out of Rug Doctor, and I hope Sam Alito isn't deciding the case.

[ThatsMyBarack]

15. You do all the right things....

....but there's still someone out there waiting for you "slip up" even the tiniest bit so they finally have an excuse to punish you or treat you like shit. I know that feeling all too well....:cry:

[phylny]

16. Oh, this kind of stuff has been happening for a long time.

My husband works for a very large corporation. When I had our first baby, 20 years ago, he asked for a Thursday off so that he could take us home from the hospital.

His boss asked, "Can't she just take a cab home?"

I kid you not.

[Elidor]

17. Let them know what you think:

http://www.rugdoctor.com/contact.aspx

[leftofthedial]

19. we need a popular uprising against the corporations

trouble is, the people who should be part of the revolution have been brainwashed into believing that capitalism is a viable system