Is this legal?

Thepeddlerswife

My daughter has just been diagnosed and will be starting chemo next week. She has been at her job for 9 months and has been completely up front with them regarding her treatment. She has missed very little time through all of the testing, and biopsy. Even postponed the biopsy to accomodate her work when they wouldn't give her the time off for it. She went to work today and was given a letter of termination. The reason, business is slow. WTF. This can't be legal can it? It is obvious they didn't want to have to deal with the employee with cancer. Am I right or not? Should we consult a lawyer?

pupfoster1

Wow, talk about knocking someone when they are already down.  That sucks!   What kind of work was she doing?  If she was the only one let go you might have grounds, but if they were reducing the workforce as a whole it might be tough going.

Good luck,

Sharon 

Thepeddlerswife

She is an orthodontic assistant. Small office. only 2 other employees. The Dr. just spoke with her last week and told her that he would do "whatever" it took to keep her. I would be very surprised if she didn't have a case. What do you think?

Thepeddlerswife

Thank you...I didn't think about the ADA side of this. I will be in CO on Sunday and I will be looking for a lawyer first thing Monday. I have just turned in to a mother bear. They better watch out!

cycle-path

It is a violation of Federal law to terminate someone because they have cancer. However, sadly, the law affects only those who work for companies that employ 15 or more people.

http://www.eeoc.com/guidance/discrimination/disability-discrimination/ 

http://cancer.about.com/od/newlydiagnosed/f/discrimination.htm 

It wouldn't hurt to consult an employment law lawyer because it's possible your state has more restrictive protections. But be sure to do so quickly, because there are frequently time limits to these kinds of things. 

marie5890

Im curious.

Do ADA laws apply to all people or only those with "legally" fit into the description of what is, by law, considered a disability? 

 (edit for further information)

Just found the answer...it depends

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/91/10/822.full 

Thepeddlerswife

Thanks so much for all of the input everyone! You are the best. I think for the most part because it is such a small office that we don't stand a chance. She is the only employee that was terminated but she is also lowest on the totem pole. We will just have to make our way through this. One more trial! This too shall pass!

208sandy

It may be legal but it sure is unethical - if the lawyer doesn't work out what about a story in the local paper about discrimination vis a vis breast cancer patients.

cycle-path

Oooh, Sandy, I like that! A little shaming can go a long way.

LisaAlissa

BTW, check and see if they are advertising her job.  If so, you want to keep a copy of the ad.  Especially if it's an on-line ad, it can be difficult to get a copy after-the-fact.  Similarly, does she have a friend in the office who would tell her if they hire a replacement?

That's info that might be helpful if you're going to pursue something...

HTH,

LisaAlissa 

SpecialK

Need to be careful about contacting news media unless you can PROVE she was let go for BC, otherwise she would possibly become liable for slanderous comments, especially if the business is harmed economically.

AnneW

CO is a hire and fire at will state. You'd definitely have to be able to prove discrimination.

J-Bug

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/113/topic/771363?page=1#idx_17

Check out this link above on my job loss related to breast cancer.

I think she would not qualify for FMLA because of the size of the business. There also has to be a certain number of hours put in by the employee to legally qualify for FMLA protection. Then she would just be left to the problem of being an "at will" employee with no protection. If she qualified for FMLA, that would have provided some protection. The link above gets into some more of that conversation.