Company rethinks firing man for being with dying wife

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06061/663659.stm

A company that fired a 13-year employee as his wife lay dying of brain cancer offered him his job back Wednesday.

Bernard Chippie of Paint, Somerset County, a sales representative for a carpet-cleaning company, 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.

"There was never a question of where I needed to be," Mr. Chippie said. He went to Kathleen Chippie's bedside at a hospice that day.

Three days later -- a Thursday -- his boss at Rug Doctor LP demanded that Mr. Chippie be at work the next day, Mr. Chippie said. Mr. Chippie said he couldn't and was fired, he said.

Kathleen Chippie died that Sunday at the age of 56.

[mac56]

1. "It wasn't clear if Chippie would take back his old job."

I would tell them to KISS MY ASS.

[roguevalley]

29. sent an email. god bless that family.

[OneTwentyoNine]

30. Or Kiss my FU**ING ASS........n/t

[Scairp]

50. They are in violation of FMLA

Family & Medical Leave Act requires them to give him 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a new baby, a sick immediate family member, or himself. I hope they both get sued and get fined for violating Federal Law.

[Occulus]

51. IF he's a covered employee

The company isn't required to follow the FMLA regs if they have fewer than x employees.

edited to add: coverage is not automatic; the employee must file an FMLA- a paperwork process filled out by a doctor- AND the employer must "accept" the certification.

edited again: He works for Rug Doctor? I doubt they're exempt from that law, but he still has to certify. Oh, and employees may only sue for actual damages, IIRC, and no suit may occur until that happens, per the law as written. IANAL, but I've dealt with this several times; my employer is ridiculous about FMLA, going out of its way to even violate the law by giving no opportunity for the employee to get a second and third opinion on the certification at the employer's expense. Again, that's part of FMLA as well, but they yank their certification number out of their attendance control system upon first denial, making it impossible for an employee to exercise their rights under the Act, which is ALSO a violation per the Act itself.

:grr: I have sooooo many stories. Go look at the APWU FMLA message board for more.

Employers. Hate. That. Law.

Employers loooooove playing games with it. True story: my father was lying at home dying of cancer and I submitted an FMLA claim so I could be there as he died. The employer (which was the USPS, if you'd like to know) declined the claim- despite the twelve pages of documentation going back nine years I gave them with the certification, signed by two doctors, two oncologists, and two specialists.

They only reversed their decision after his body was in the ground. Mother-fuckers. I mean that with all my heart.

[AX10]

2. Can RugDoctor executives spell "B-O-Y-C-O-T-T"?

[Swede Atlanta]

3. Boycott

Sounds like this company needs to be taught the lesson for failing to live up to their moral obligations to their employees...the company should be boycotted until they apologize to the employee and publicly confess their sins and refuse not to do it again and make some gesture of compensation.

[UpInArms]

18. here's a web contact page

:evilgrin:

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

[mike_c]

23. I sent them an email-- thanks for the link....

:grr:

[shanti]

38. thanks

i sent them a "hearty" email as well :evilgrin:

[loudsue]

4. Welcome to the REPUBLICAN America -- where being cold-hearted

and greedy are "cool", and being human is "downsized".


This is republican america. No place for humans, but a great thing for corporations, who have more rights than the people do.

:kick::kick::kick:

[saigon68]

7. And those Tramps can't get abortions anymore !!!!!!

</sarcasm>

[loudsue]

17. LOL!! Can't forget those tramps and deviants!!

:rofl:

[saigon68]

46. The repukes sure love morality

In March 89, some woman named Catherine Campen gave an interview to Penthouse magazine, in which she claimed to have had an extramarital affair with the preacher. Between July 87 and January 88, they had met up on ten separate occasions. She mentioned beating him with a riding crop, but only after Swaggart convinced her to do it.


10 Nov 2002 Whoremonger, televangelist, and confessed pornography addict Jimmy Swaggart calls the Prophet Muhammed a "pervert" and a "sex deviant."
12 Sep 2004 "I get amazed. I can't look at it but about ten seconds, at these politicians dancing around this, dancing around this -- I'm trying to find a correct name for it -- this utter, absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died. Case anybody doesn't know, God calls it an abomination. It's an abomination. It's an abomination! These ridiculous, utterly absurd district attorneys and judges and state congress. 'Well, we don't know.' They oughta -- they oughta -- they oughta have to marry a pig and live with them forever. I'm not knocking the poor homosexual, I'm not. They need salvation just like anybody else. I'm knocking our pitiful, pathetic lawmakers. And I thank God that President Bush has stated we need a Constitutional amendment that says that marriage is between a man and a woman. All right."

[spinnaker]

5. let them know what you think by posting here ...

here

[JudyM]

20. Done! Thanks for the link!! nt

[OhioChick]

6. Pathetic......

"But Chippie said he had 160 hours of accrued vacation from never taking a full week in 13 years."

http://www.newsnet5.com/family/7608999/detail.html

[rhino47]

8. I called the corp offices and let them know I am boycotting.nt

[commander bunnypants]

9. I gave them an email

heartless bastards

CB

[flamin lib]

10. Just sent to my political address book:

Company rethinks firing man for being with dying wife
Thursday, March 02, 2006
AP
WINDBER, Pa. -- A company that fired a 13-year employee as his wife lay dying of brain cancer offered him his job back Wednesday.

Bernard Chippie of Paint, Somerset County, a sales representative for a carpet-cleaning company, 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.
<snip>
Three days later -- a Thursday -- his boss at Rug Doctor LP demanded that Mr. Chippie be at work the next day. Mr. Chippie said he couldn't and was fired. Kathleen Chippie died that Sunday at the age of 56.
<snip>
The company said it had spoken to Mr. Chippie and offered him his job back with back pay and no break in seniority. It wasn't clear if Mr. Chippie, 56, would take back his old job.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/pp/06061/663659.stm
=============
Rug doctor is head quartered in Plano Texas. If you'd like to comment on who SHOULD be fired you can send them an email at: http://www.rugdoctor.com/contact.aspx

My personal opinion is that the company should be burned to the ground and the earth sown with salt so that nothing will ever grow there again.

[flamin lib]

11. A better idea!!!

Email them and say that you do not support firing the supervisor who dismissed Mr. Chippie. Instead, as a condition of employment, he must spend a month volunteering in a cancer hospice at full pay without loss of seniority.

[depakid]

12. Seems to me his boss should be fired

and his name publicized in all the local media.

[Nite Owl]

13. Sent an email

and forwarding it to others.

When things like this happen corporations must start to realize that their actions have consequences.

Hopefully they will lose a lot of customers and what they think they are 'saving' will cost them where it hurts the most, their bottom line.

[musical_soul]

14. Anybody who fires for that is scum

Enough said.

[stepnw1f]

15. GOP Scrooge and Marley

I hate these people.

[iconoclastNYC]

16. Can't he sue under the family leave act?

Punitive damages?

[loudsue]

19. Not in a "right to work" state. People in r-t-w states have NO right to

work. The corporations only have the "right to work" people or the right to NOT "work people" (i.e., to put people to work).

"Right to work" laws need to be abolished across the board. There needs to be another labor uprising in the U.S., and, this time, it needs to spread across the globe.

Corporations are becoming waaaayyy to powerful, which is also why REPUBLICANS (and the DLC) are becoming waaay to powerful. The corporations buy their own republicans/DLCers, and then these same corporations "vote" them back into office with their crooked "election machines".

That is a racket, and it needs to be stopped dead in its tracks.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Pachamama]

22. What is a "right to work" state? Are you referring to "At Will" employment

I am not familiar with the term "right to work" state or what it means...I do know that many states, including the State of CA have "At Will Employment Laws" which basically state that an employer can terminate your employment "at will" and you as an employee can quit "at will" without reason or grounds. This said, they cannot however, terminate you for any reason that is in violation of Federal Employment Laws (Race, gender, pregnancy etc.) and not in violation of the Family Leave Act.

[TroubleMan]

34. No it's different. "Right to work" is a union busting tactic.

Here's what the ALF/CIO says about it:

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/legislativealert/stateissues/work/


Here's their home page (I think):

http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm

Here's wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_work


IMHO...it's a horrible law enacted to make workers lose their bargaining power and rights.

[Pachamama]

36. I assumed it was different but wasn't sure....but regardless, the FLMA

cannot be pre-empted or nullified just because of this "Right to Work" law from the state...

I think the bottom line is that this company and its local office screwed up in letting this man go and now they are dying to have him back...no hurt feelings...:eyes:

[shanti]

39. maybe i am misunderstanding you but

the state of CA has unions and you cannot just be terminated without LOTS of due process. :shrug:

[LostinVA]

26. Of course they can sue via the FLMA

Just because you're an anti-union state doesn't mean you don't have to follow Federal and State laws. THAT'S why they are begging him to come back -- because he could sue their asses off for this.

[Pachamama]

21. Yes, I believe he can which is why RugDoctor is "re-thinking" its firing..

The Federal Family Leave Act has provisions in it which specifically allow for leave to care for a sick dependent (spouse, child etc) and while it may be unpaid, they can not be fired during that time. I noticed that the interview/statement from the Corporate Headquarters seems very defensive and they are making statements of how they "accomodated" Mr. Chippie and how he had used up his vacation and leave time, however I think that is their defensive posturing, because the reality is that under the Family Leave Act, he should have been able to take that time off without risk of job loss. Granted, I have no idea what amount of time he had been taking off before that and for how long, but my guess is from the final paragraph where Mr. Chippie states that he wasn't off for more than 3 days at a time etc. is an indicator that he was within his rights for leave and my guess is they are offering his job back so they aren't sued.

[hyphenate]

24. An employee can take personal leave without

endangering his or her job. If I were this man, I would look into suing the company for violating that law.

[InkAddict]

25. There are conditions to eligibility

An employee must have worked for a company for at least one year in order to be eligible for Family Leave Act status/benefit(?). My spouse, an only child, briefly worked for Toyota but not long enough to be eligible to get the job protection this Act affords to take care of his elderly father. I've always thought that the Family Leave Act should be amended so that the "only child" would not be bound by the one-year-on-the-job rule.

[crispini]

27. He had worked their 13 years, per the OP.

These people are asses. He should sue them or something.

[Ilsa]

28. I hope he sues/wins a nice chunk of change and the word gets out.

People need to understand that they don't have to put up with this crap, and employers need to understand the law better so they don't abuse people.

[area51]

31. Co. is playing CYA.

I don't know if there really is a "burn-in-fire" hell, but I know the asshole(s) who fired that poor man deserve to be in it. :mad: :nuke:

[Critters2]

32. My mom died of brain cancer

last summer. Luckily, my dad was retired, so he could be with her. Her condition would imporve and decline, so that he wanted to be with all the time, just in case. As it turned out, my dad, my siblings, and I were all with her at the end. But I know my dad would have missed all those days of work if necessary. It's what a spouse does.

Rug Doctor should be ashamed.

[NNadir]

41. Mine did too, albeit some 30 years ago.

[Nite Owl]

33. Reply from email sent

this afternoon:



I appreciate your concerns regarding the unfortunate situation involving Bernie Chippie and I hope the following information will help assure you the company’s actions in this circumstance do not reflect the Rug Doctor culture in any way.

Executive management at headquarters had no knowledge of Bernie’s unfortunate circumstances when the decision to terminate him was made. Had we known of the specifics of his situation I can assure you this never would have happened, and I regret that it did.

When I learned details of the situation, I personally contacted Bernie at his home, to offer condolences and to listen to his perspective on how the events unfolded. The telephone conversation was extremely cordial and led me to convene a special meeting that day with all the management involved with Bernie’s termination, as well as several other members of the executive management team.

The meeting was brief and the group unanimously concluded that the decision to terminate was regrettable, and we needed to reverse it.

All of these actions took place prior to the situation becoming public.

It goes without saying that if we could go back in time, this situation would have never happened. But since we cannot do that, we at Rug Doctor are doing all we know to do in order to make things right. To that end, we have offered Bernie his job back with full reinstatement of seniority and no loss of pay. We also offered him additional time off to tend to his personal affairs following his wife’s tragic death and are now awaiting his decision. We sincerely hope he accepts our offer.

Rug Doctor has always had, and continues to have, an open door policy, allowing employees to directly call the President and/or CEO if they believe they are being treated unfairly. Had Bernie and I had a prior conversation, I can assure you this situation would be different.

I hope that this one incident doesn’t improperly or unfairly change your view of the Rug Doctor organization and its people. Rug Doctor employs over 750 people located in 30 states. We have an admirable track record with respect to employee relations. In fact, one of the major core values from our founder and CEO, Roger Kent, centers on fairness to its people, customers and business partners. Roger attributes our years of success at Rug Doctor to the value we place on our employees.

Thank you for taking the time to consider our response.

Tim Wall
President & COO
Rug Doctor

[Caretha]

35. Fine

But until they fire the ass who was in the know and fired Bernie, they and their company can rot in hell and I will never do business with them.

[wordpix]

40. This COO should fire the guy who fired Bernie, then

[shanti]

42. now that sounds like a pantload

"they had NO knowledge" of mr. chippie's situation when they fired him?? bull-shit :grr:

[thebigidea]

43. The Rug Doctor culture apparent;ly involves plugging themselves...

... even when it involves a woman dead of brain cancer. Gotta love their marketing - that last paragaph especially.

[BiggJawn]

47. That "Culture"...

Sounds an awful lot like "Office Space" or "Dilbert" culture.

"Oooh! We got CAUGHT! Offer Chippie his old job back, and to show everyone how NICE we are, give him back-pay, too!"

Companies whose Brass brag about their "Open Door Policy" often have a "Revolving Door Policy" at the employee entrance, in my experience.

"My door is ALWAYS open! Of course, I'll hand anyone who walks in their nuts in a teacup..."

The Trapdoor Spider has an "Open Door Policy", too...

[0007]

37. This is third world mentality. n/t

[Minnesota Libra]

44. I emailed the company and told them to fire the boss. nt

[AnnieBW]

45. My Co-Worker Recently Lost His Wife

From breast cancer. Left a 13-year-old daughter. He was telecommuting and was on leave without pay to care for her. He's back at work now, but we did everything we could to support him during her illness.

I hope that boss has to take off to be with an ill loved one someday and remembers what he did.

[LostinVA]

48. Most people I've worked for would bend over backward to help

Good grief, my eldest (and dearest) furbaby was deathly ill in October, and had to be hand-fed for several days. My supervisor and HER supervisor told me not to worry about taking the time... this was the man's spouse.

[JohnstownDEM]

49. Read: Company rethinks bad publicity they recieved.

n/t

[antiblazer]

52. Bush's free market at work

This is more "conservative compasssion". Can't work because your spouse died? Tough luck. The corporate bottom line is all that matters to Bush-bots.