The debate sparked when a boss asked online if he would be wrong to fire an employee with a “very, very sick” wife.
Posted to Reddit‘sr/AmITheA**hole forum, a boss under the anonymous username u/ExistingClaim6030 shared his story to get feedback from the Reddit community. The viral post has more than 4,000 upvotes and 1,000 comments.
“Recently, I found out that our company is doing layoffs,” the original poster (OP) began, “I will have to let go of one person among my 4 subordinates. It came down to choosing one of the 3 least experienced who were all hired ago about 2 years.”
About a month ago, all of his employees were doing pretty well, until one of his employees, whom he called “A,” had a wife who was hospitalized and became seriously ill. A said that the doctors do not believe that she will survive and that he is constantly taking care of his two “inconsolable” children and will always help his wife.
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Unfortunately for A’s job performance and productivity, he hasn’t been doing well because he’s so distracted. The OP wrote that ever since he returned to work from his initial leave, he has been coming to work late and leaving early. take many phone calls and be less productive and focused. When the OP talked to A about it, he was very apologetic, but nothing changed in his job performance.
The Reddit user is “99 percent sure” that A needs the job for his good health insurance and if he does get fired, it will affect him drastically. The fact that you haven’t quit your job yet if you have other health insurance further convinces the OP.
The user wrote: “I tried to explain to HR he asked for more time or something. They told me the downsizing decision was set in stone way above them, and there was nothing they could do.
“One of them suggested FMLA, but our local company office only has about 40 employees (and we’re in a small town that’s over 75 miles away from any of our other locations), so I think that means that he be ineligible,” they continued.
The OP explained that it was his job and he needed to keep his emotions at bay and wrote, “Don’t blame me, blame capitalism and the American healthcare system.” He has been trying to make the decision for himself after hearing the thoughts of the friends and family about him.
news week reached out to u/ExistingClaim6030 for comment.
Do you qualify for FMLA? the Family and Medical Leave Law allows an employee to take unpaid time off for “specified family and medical reasons” with health care coverage provided by covered companies.
when an employee uses the FMLA, have 12 weeks of work within a 12-month period for maternity leave, caring for a sick family member, spouse, or child, caring for the employee himself, or if the employee adopts a child. If an employee is caring for a veteran, twenty-six workweeks are awarded within a 12-month period.
for you to be FMLA-qualifiedYou must be employed with an eligible employee for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours of work prior to leave, and work for a business with more than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius.
news week has many articles on job-related issues, including how an employee was denied unpaid medical leave despite never taking time off.
Reddit users were quick to comment on their opinion in the comments section.
“[You’re the a**hole] Your work has always been good. They are currently dealing with extreme circumstances. Essentially, he is firing them because of his wife’s illness. That’s abhorrent,” u/numtini wrote. Many other Redditors agreed with the user, receiving over 14,000 upvotes for their comment.
U/BigOleJellyDonut said: “[You’re the a**hole], 1000%. Just switch places with him, how would you handle it? Have you ever had a seriously ill partner? Well, I have and the stress is unbearable. You have to live with yourself! I couldn’t be so cold and indifferent.”
“[No a**holes here]. But please don’t fire him. I hear what you say about his job performance, but this is one of the most difficult moments of his life. It would literally not be possible for him to continue to work at his normal level with what is going on. If you don’t know what that’s like, consider yourself lucky. Some day you will. The loss of this insurance may mean the loss of his medical care and, by extension, his life,” commented u/naptivist.
“First of all, you’re not a [a**hole] in any case. Human resources is forcing you to fire someone. That is not up to you. You’re going to screw someone over anyway. Whatever happens, someone is hurt,” admitted u/TheRunningMD.