Tommy lives in Florida.
He just told me he has cancer (type he won’t reveal) and has been fired for taking too many sick days.
Several operations (I first heard of them today) & an Interferon treatment.
His Boss fired him today. Too many sick days.
He owes a lot on his house. How much, he won’t say.
My finances aren’t great either.
Advice, please?
A consultation with a disability rights attorney is first on the list.
Hugs to you and your brother.
I agree that an attorney consultation is probably the best first step. (Perhap the American Cancer Society can recommend someone?) But there’s also using the media to shame the employer.
Oh, that’s sad. Get a lawyer may be all you can tell him. He might want to look into selling his house.
I’m so sorry this is happening to your brother.
Seconded both actions. You will be in our thoughts and get a lawyer on it.
FMLA only applies to companies with more than 50 employees. So a lot of small employers do not count.
I’m not trying to politicize OPs trauma, but I guess OPs brother is not one of those people who ‘loves their health insurance they get through work’ that politicians keep talking about. Once you get sick you get fired, and lose your insurance. Wonderful.
Sadly OPs brother may have to sell his house.
His best bet is to get real practical immediately.
If he did not apply for FMLA and get approved for it then he may not be covered. There are all sorts of picky little forms and deadlines that employers can use to absolve themselves of responsibility.
Stay in touch daily if you can, and be understanding but encouraging. Help him keep moving on all these fronts; it will stave off the worst losses.
There’s a chance he might be protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act. But if he was as closed-mouth with his employer as he was with the OP, he might have lost the chance to go on the record. Either way I* n*th the recommendation to see a lawyer.
If they didn’t walk him out, he should go in to HR and file for disability.
He should also find an attorney. I know some on the West Coast, if your brother is out this way.
This. sick leave abuse is not something that happens overnight. Typically you’d go thru your days & then get some warning. How much/little has he told his employer if he won’t even tell his brother specifics of what type of cancer he has?
If he hasn’t told them I’d first go back to them & see if he can get disability or FMLA. If that is unsuccessful then I’d contact a lawyer.
He may have been lying about the reason.
According to my Sister, who lives near him, he acts like a jerk at work, over & over again, & gets fired.
Also, he used to mooch off my poor old Dad.
My Sis pretty obviously suspects that the cancer claim could be a come-on, to gert cash out of me.
I don’t want to sound too cynical, but if this is the case, your brother should definitely see a disability lawyer. Preferably one who advertises in the middle of the day on courtroom TV shows, repeating their phone number three or four times in each ad.
The hard truth is, your brother has a better chance of getting a big score from his employer than he does from a family member.
So he’s that Florida man we keep hearing about? 
Seriously which is worse? That he has cancer and was fired or that he’s a relay who would try to scam you?
It seems to me that you are trying to politicize it.
Well, there is a political fix to this problem, is there not? If we don’t want to live in a world where people can go bankrupt because of cancer, and history has shown us that only political fixes can solve this problem, then why not propose a political solution to a very real crisis?
I passed your suggestions on to him.
I tried to keep my call upbeat, he still did not accept any money, & seemed down.
If it turns out your brother does have cancer and did get fired for taking too many sick days, then I retract my previous post and hope he finds an aggressive lawyer who will fight for him. And he and you both have my sympathy.
Bringing up the fact that our health care system is fucked up isn’t politicizing it. This is a major flaw in how our system works.
If you get insurance through work, once you get too sick to work you lose your insurance. I"ve seen it happen and heard of it happening endless times. Yeah you can get cobra if you can afford it, and maybe you qualify for ACA subsidies. But maybe not. If you’re ‘lucky’ and end up totally disabled you can go on medicaid. But there is a window where you are sick and uninsured.
Its a massive flaw that needs to be addressed. Health insurance that disappears once you are too sick too work defeats the purpose.
Doesn’t everybody who gets fired or laid off get walked out nowadays?
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