An American health insurance company is potentially staring down a lawsuit after the alleged firing of an employee, whom it had earlier denied remote work for their cancer treatment, over “productivity issues” while they were undergoing chemotherapy.
A former claims analyst of three years with the firm shared “the most dehumanising work experience” of their life with Reddit’s Antiwork community.
“Last fall, I was diagnosed with stage 2 lymphoma. After the initial shock, I immediately sat down with my manager to discuss accommodations during my treatment,” the employee recalled.
“My oncologist recommended I work remotely during chemo to reduce infection risk. I had documentation, a doctor’s note, everything. My direct manager seemed supportive until HR got involved.”
Allegedly, they were told that remote work is not an accommodation, but a privilege, despite the entire department having worked from home during COVID until a few months ago, according to the post.
As a compromise, the employee was offered unpaid medical leaves for their chemo appointments, but were required to be in-office on all other days.
“When I pointed out this violated ADA, the HR director had the audacity to say: ‘We employ 49 people, we’re exempt from ADA requirements.’”
“I tried to make it work – showing up between treatments despite fatigue, nausea, and a compromised immune system during flu season. My performance obviously suffered.”
After the second cycle, the worker said they were put on a performance improvement plan, and later terminated for failing to meet productivity targets, while their white blood cell count dropped to its lowest.
Even after the employee’s dismissal, the end of this nightmare was nowhere in sight, with the company contesting their unemployment claim arguing that they were fired “for cause”.
It wasn’t until they finally hired a lawyer that an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case began to take shape. Turns out, there were 53 employees working with the company, which made it subject to the act.
Last week, the employee said they filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.