Wants to fire ill employee.

C Wilson

I learned last week that an employee has been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He has not returned to work & is having a difficult time coming to grips with the "C" word. He is to see a specialist this week, to see what his options are. The EE doesn't qualify for FML.

My GM wants to fire the EE. I get so frustrated with this individual! I some times wonder if he has a heart! He certainly has no empathy!

I need help with this please.

LindaS

Since he does not qualify for FMLA you first need to look at what you have done with other employees in similar situations. If this is a first for you, what you do now will have a great impact in the future.

First thing to decide is what type of leave, if any, you want to give him. Does he have medical certification removing him from work thus far? If not, that would be the first thing he needs to obtain.

I would contact him and have him come in for a meeting. Talk to him to determine what is happening with his treatment and what the doctors are saying regarding the need for time off work. Make sure whatever he tells you is followed up with written medical documentation. Once you know what he needs you can then detemine what you can give him, keeping in mind the precedent you are setting.

Why does the GM want to terminate? Has the EE followed your call-in policies? If he has not called in, there may be an issue for termination for job abandonment.

I do not want to seem heartless as I cannot imagine what this EE is going through but you need to look at the bigger picture and how his behavior may impact other employees.

C Wilson

>Since he does not qualify for FMLA you first need to look at what you have
>done with other employees in similar situations. If this is a first for you,
>what you do now will have a great impact in the future.
>
>First thing to decide is what type of leave, if any, you want to give him.
>Does he have medical certification removing him from work thus far? If not,
>that would be the first thing he needs to obtain.
>
>I would contact him and have him come in for a meeting. Talk to him to
>determine what is happening with his treatment and what the doctors are saying
>regarding the need for time off work. Make sure whatever he tells you is
>followed up with written medical documentation. Once you know what he needs
>you can then determine what you can give him, keeping in mind the precedent you
>are setting.
>
>Why does the GM want to terminate? Has the EE followed your call-in policies?
> If he has not called in, there may be an issue for termination for job
>abandonment.
>
>I do not want to seem heartless as I cannot imagine what this EE is going
>through but you need to look at the bigger picture and how his behavior may
>impact other employees.

We have never had a similar situation. The GM wants to terminate because " we have a business to run". I do not disagree with that fact. However, we deal with human beings and to not have empathy and compassion for an employee who is obviously devastated by the news he has received is beyond my comprehension.

From a business standpoint, one of my main concerns is, what message would terminating this employee now send to our other employees ? To me, it says we as an employer do not care what happens to you. You are expendable, You are just an employee!

We do have a 30 day unpaid leave available and that is what I recommend. It gives the employee time to come to grips with his diagnosis and find out what treatment will be required. During that time, management will determine if we need to terminate because the employee is unable to perform the job. At least in my opinion this is a more acceptable scenario. And it is a precedent that we can live with.

Does this sound feisable to you?

stilldazed

Agree with both prior posters. If there is no FMLA protection available, check your prior history and your policy. What your company allows is what you should do. If this is a first, you will be setting a precedent and should be careful in that what you do for this one will determine the direction in future similar circumstances--even for folks that you may not necessarily like. Make sure it is something your company can live with.

As for the compassion, your boss' decision is probably a business decision and a valid one. There is no doubt it sounds cold and there might be a better euphamism that "fire," but that may be exactly what your company ultimately does. If it is permissible in your company and you have a provision to delay the decision, it could certainly be reasonable to allow the worker to get through this week's Dr. appointment.

Think about ADA. You may or may not have an ADA issue, but it would reduce risk for your company to wait until the Dr. appointment is complete and document that you gave consideration. There are some situations (and cancer treatments can be one of them) where ADA would apply for an limited time.

Think about your own emotions as well. HR folks are faced with plenty of opportunities to not let their emotions influence their actions, especially when the action is an extension of a business decision.

best wishes