Discrimination, Wrongful Termination and Wage Dispute

My husband was terminated from ******* as a result of absences resulting from my ADA covered illness and hospitalization. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy Type 1 in 2005. We had a series of medical events that were well documented, supplied to all supervisors as well as HR. We have multiple emails showing that from the very first occurance, my husband was told he would not receive any accomodations from then on. This immediately violates the reasonable accommodation laws set forth by EEOC, Department of Labor and the ADA. My husband was also enrolled in the company's EAP "Employee Assistance Program" in an effort to reduce the need for time off and to provide help during my illness through their company supplied child/adult care service. These are supposed to be coded as "non-chargeable" and would not result in disciplinary action. This was not the case for my husband. We filed through MetLife as well. We paid for ST, LT disability coverage and life insurance. Our claim was denied stating that he was ineligible for FMLA based on his time with the company. In the email, SB accused my husband of lying about my well documented health and physical disorders. (we have all of the documents in electronic and hard copy forms) This email was also sent to his Assistant Directors and resulted in being flagged and denied further accomadations for the ADA covered events. Again, the events above should have been coded as "non-chargeable" thanks to an EEOC lawsuit in 2010 that required the company to revise their attendence policy. You must ask for these accomidations and coding. My husband followed prootocol. During the month of June, my husband needed to use his UIA time, when we had to be suddenly displaced due to mold and water damage resulting in repairs and loss of use of our family owned home for 2 months. We have insurance documents that back this as well. Again, the HR Dept was notified. He also was originally approved for bereavement pay for 3 days as per the company guidelines when my grandfather passed on June 18th 2015. Work was notified of his (grandfather) failing and terminal condition nearly a week prior in efforts to cover all bases. They were provided proof of my husband's involvement with the funeral as a pallbearer. Had his UIA time been coded properly from my "non-chargeable" illness, he would not have 'violated' the company's attendance policy resulting in his termination on June 22, 2015. This UIA time was fixed to be used because the HR Rep refused to let him use his accrued vacation time not provide reasonable accommodations (usually would only be a shift swap). June was a horrible month for my husband, myself and our FOUR children. Upon termination, his belongings were also not returned to him. He received a box that contained only part of what was on his desk. He was humilated and refused access to pack his own desk. We noticed that the folders that were not company provided and that these contained the original copies of my medical records (originally supplied for proper coding of his time off) as well as other HIPAA protected documents were in fact missing. He was told by 4 different supervisors that his items could not be located. Upon the threat of legal recourse, the HR we will refer to as "SB", miraculously claimed to have found the folders and items listed. We received the folders by FedEx only to find all of the contents of the folders were taken by the company and not returned which violates the company's Code of Ethics policy. After his termination he was not given his bereavement pay despite HR saying he had. It was paid and then deducted onn the same pay stub. He was terminated with an accrued vacation time balance. He was initially denied UI Benefits however, we are currently appealing that as well. We know we have enough evidence to sue. We would like legal advise before we begin our investigation with EEOC, ADA and the NCDOL. We lost everything, but most of all my health insurance as per my condition I am likely to expire from heart/lung failure without warning. His company stats were extremely above company standards and his customer service rating was 100%. He was targeted and discriminated against because of my illness. My cousin was also a pallbearer at the funeral and just so happens to be an employee of the same company and would be likely to testify in our behalf. He was allotted time off showing that the treatment of even the bereavement situation was not uniform. His child also has the same condition I do and has never had the same issues resulting from time off during his first year of employment which was when his child was first diagnosed. We need professional help and an attorney who doesn't mind taking a career building case with a likely potential for monetary gain. This case is for damages that we've directly received. The outcome is in our favor seeing as this company was sued by the EEOC resulting in one of the highest grossing rulings in their history. Currently there are many class action suits and federal/state suits we will be filing as well. Thank you for your time and effort.

0 answers  |  asked Aug 25, 2015 2:44 PM [EST]  |  applies to North Carolina

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