Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Let me start by saying I'm empathetic to your husband for his illness.
However, as an employment attorney I'm a little perplexed about why you are the one phoning his company etc. - most companies wouldn't even talk to you due to privacy restrictions.
You have NO idea how your husband works, whether he is good or bad at this job, you have only his interpretation of events.
You're not his mother - HE needs to deal with this (or get a lawyer) but management of poor performance is something GOOD managers do, your husband would have no idea if other employees are having their performance addressed as well as that would be confidential.
The fact that he is ill may be a factor, but it also isn't a defense if he is underperforming.
One thing that does happen is that when employees go on leave Employers hire a replacement and realize the work should always have been done to a higher standard and then quite appropriately expect that standard to be met upon return.
Thanks for the advice everyone, his plan is to speak with his ADA counselor and go from there. They kept insisting they want him to stay. His boss called him and asked him to come back to work next Saturday and Sunday, so we really aren't sure WTF this is all about now. If he's such a ****ty employee he has to be suspended why are they asking him to work. I just don't get it. He also feels they are just trying to shake him up or something. Luckily we have savings but this still sucks.
TNFF- I do agree this is being used an excuse, we both feel as if they are making a mountain out of a molehill. Again, I worked in that industry for 5 years, finding dead mice randomly is very common. When my husband returned from work last May all the PI's were so glad he was back, even sent him emails (that he's logged in and forwarded to his other email) saying that they were so glad he's back because his boss and whoever was taking over for him was doing a terrible job.
BTW I don't believe working is a privilege and not a right, my husband has a right to make a living for himself and his family. It's sad that because NOW they found out he has multiple sclerosis (we never tell employers based on the past experiences we've seen our friends deal with) it seems like since he got back end of May he can't do anything right.
My husband feels worst case scenario he will just apply for disability if they let him go, he definitely qualifies for it because he has Multiple Sclerosis and the past year he's had 2 relapses and apparently we now have paperwork from his job saying he couldn't do the job.
You're not making sense and IMO it sounds like you're trying to milk the system.
You're saying he is totally able to do his job to an acceptable standard but they're being mean and picking on him.
You then go on to say if he gets fired for incompetence you'll apply for disability saying he is unable to perform his work.
"Yeah, he made some mistakes, but they're not that serious cuz someone else screwed up and they weren't disciplined as much."
So the university is guilty until proven innocent? Any kind of discipline against OP's husband just has to be them wanting to ax him because of his illness? It can't possibly be that his illness hasn't come into play at all in their decision making, that they're simply fed up with his constant and preventable mistakes that he keeps making out of carelessness and disregard for the job?
Typical lib BS. Never take responsibility for anything. Always play the racism/prejudice/discrimination card.
Your husband screwed up. By your and his own admission he made mistakes. How those mistakes are viewed and judged are not your concern. Your concern is to not make mistakes, and you've obviously failed at that. Accept that there are consequences for your failures. Whether those consequences are just and fair is not your call to make. Nothing in life is just and fair. It's not fair that there are people in other countries suffering from MS in damp, musty, decrepit excuses for a hospital while your husband gets top notch treatment, but I don't see you emptying out your bank account to make things right. Forget about what's "fair" because fairness is subjective. Focus on not making mistakes at work. If your husband can't cut out the mistakes and do the job the way they need it done then it's not the job for him. No one's fault but his own. Stop pointing fingers and take responsibility.
Thoughts and advice given on this thread are based upon the accuracy of what the OP said. If she is misrepresenting things for any reason, all of the advice is incorrect and will not help her in the least. But why should we assume misrepresentation?
Is your husband represented by a union? If so, he needs to speak with a shop steward IMMEDIATELY! When an employee is represented by a union, there is a process that must be followed by the supervisor when discipline is imposed. There must be "just cause" and the punishment must "fit the crime."
If not, I suggest you speak with a lawyer. Most employment law attorneys will not take a case without a retainer unless you've been terminated, though. But it's free to contact a few via telephone and one may be willing to give you a free consultation. Your husband also needs to document each day what is going on at work and keep a journal.
In the meantime, it might not be a bad idea for him to look for another job. He also needs to make sure he has some good references in the event that he needs to look for another job.
Thoughts and advice given on this thread are based upon the accuracy of what the OP said. If she is misrepresenting things for any reason, all of the advice is incorrect and will not help her in the least. But why should we assume misrepresentation?
Because the OP's word is only one side of the story. We don't know the employer's side of what happened? The OP's husband might've been sacked for totally legitimate reasons but everyone seems to be assuming it's the employer discriminating because of his illness. What proof is there? The only proof of anything is that the OP's husband was effing up on the job. That's the ONLY thing we know for sure.
Let me start by saying I'm empathetic to your husband for his illness.
However, as an employment attorney I'm a little perplexed about why you are the one phoning his company etc. - most companies wouldn't even talk to you due to privacy restrictions.
You have NO idea how your husband works, whether he is good or bad at this job, you have only his interpretation of events.
You're not his mother - HE needs to deal with this (or get a lawyer) but management of poor performance is something GOOD managers do, your husband would have no idea if other employees are having their performance addressed as well as that would be confidential.
The fact that he is ill may be a factor, but it also isn't a defense if he is underperforming.
One thing that does happen is that when employees go on leave Employers hire a replacement and realize the work should always have been done to a higher standard and then quite appropriately expect that standard to be met upon return.
Yep.
While I certainly have empathy for your husband's illness, as an employer, I need my work done, and if your husband can't do it either because of his disease or because he's lazy, all I know is, I need another employee working for me.
What a bunch of morons, they are certainly building a case against your husband! Get a lawyer. I am so lucky to have worked for places where employers were really supportive of family, I will never forget when I was pregnant with my first one, and could not get the guts to tell my boss, finally, I did, and he said "OMG, I am so happy now because when you were taking time to go to doctor appts, I thought it was something bad and was worried about you."
I'm not going to sit here and debate if my DH is the "problem" or not. I'm saying he is not. He has had zero issues until he returned last May. He has told me his work ethic and productivity is exactly the same as it was before he left. I choose to believe my husband over his work, that's what being married is about. This is an employee who would get yearly perfect attendance awards because he NEVER missed a day of work. BTW the last two people that worked under his boss are not under her anymore. The first threw his work keys at her, called her a psycho B and quit. The other one put in for a transfer and it was granted. My DH is the third person under her who is now having issues.
I like the example that someone posted about the late issues. I will tell him to bring up if they keep track of how many other dead mice are missed by the room technician. I GUARANTEE you the answer is "we don't keep record of that." Because they DO NOT.
DH has called and the ADA counselor is pushing for my DH to be transferred to another facility at the moment. NOW they are like "oh yeah that can happen..." He's asked for MONTHS for a transfer... NOW they are like "oh yeah NO PROBLEM!"
We are taking this very seriously and are making sure that we explore all our options. The only reason we are talking about disability is because we know eventually that time will come, and him losing his job IMO will just bring that time closer. I'd rather my DH not live the rest of his life under stress that can make his MS worse. Luckily I make enough where even if his disability lowers our income at least we can be insured solely through my job. Which I don't think he'd get $2400/month from disability, and he makes well above that amount of money now. So him going on disability is not an easy solution for us either.
BTW I am not doing anything, this is all on him, when I say "we" I am being his support system while he makes the calls. He has been on the phone with HR and the ADA counselor all morning. We are still calling the MS Society for help, even if it means having them come in to help with reasonable accommodations for my DH. His ADA counselor says one thing about accommodations and then HR says another, so clearly they are not communicating.
Thanks to everyone with the constructive and supportive comments.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
