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Man Gets Fired for Taking a Sick Leave Amidst Uncertainty About Jobs; Sparks Online Debate

The OP was infuriated by the act and at a loss to figure out how one could be replaced for attending to their health and taking sick leave.

BY KRITIKA BHATIA

PUBLISHED MAR 23, 2024

Cover Image Source: Man gets fired for taking a sick leave (representative image) | Unsplash | Photo by Romain V

Successive layoff waves have left many Americans struggling to find employment, but those who managed to keep their jobs have been left anxious due to the uncertainty ahead. In such a tense environment, the news of employees are losing their jobs just because they took time off when they were sick only adds to the stress among the workforce. Following this, workers are scared and unsure about taking sick leaves, and are hence using fake reasons for leaves to take care of themselves.

Worried employee (representative image) | Pexels | Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

A Reddit user @u/No-Poem166 posted a screenshot about how her boyfriend got fired just because he took a sick leave. The screenshot started when the person messaged his employer that he would be taking a day off as he thought he might be having COVID-19 or the flu. The employer seemed to reply to that message genuinely, asking him to take care and mentioning that he would require a fourth person so he would be considering some contractors. All of a sudden, the next morning, he messaged, "Sorry man I've found someone to fill this week." The man thought it was a day's replacement and said, "I'll see you next Monday then." To his shock, the employer replied, "No, I've got the new guy starting. We chat about this at the shop the other night." The OP was infuriated by the act and at a loss to figure out how one could be replaced for attending to their health and taking sick leave.

Screenshot of the Reddit post. Image Source: Reddit|r/antiwork @No-Poem166
https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/1bhzmds/my_boyfriend_got_fired_for_being_sick_for_one_day/ — Screenshot of the Reddit post | Reddit | r/antiwork @No-Poem166

Many users resonated with the OP's sentiments and shared their devastating experiences with their employers. @DirtyPoolGuy commented, "He was looking for a reason to fire him and when he found the other guy, that’s all it took." @No-Poem166 commented, "Just a long disgruntled -sigh- for this kind of behavior. Bosses really know how to be douchebags. The 'talk at the shop' was about work finishing at the end of the month, but now he is jobless abruptly for getting a horrible flu/." @Logical-Friendship-9 commented, "What I don't understand is how people are OK with doing this to other humans. Staff or not, if someone is sick, we stop and help them. Well, successful tribes do anyway."

Screenshot of a comment under the post. Image Source: Reddit|r/antiwork @No-Poem166 https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/1bhzmds/my_boyfriend_got_fired_for_being_sick_for_one_day/ — Screenshot of a comment under the post | Reddit | r/antiwork @No-Poem166

@er_9000 commented, "Absolutely mental that this is legal in the US. It honestly blows my mind how bad the workers' rights are over there." @Cultural_Double_422 commented, "If a company expects a notice period, but doesn't offer severance pay in exchange, then they don't actually want a notice period." The user @No-Poem166 clarified by commenting, "He isn’t a contractor, he was an employee. It’s pretty disgusting to put someone out of work instantly like that. Never took a sick day before but he’s been dying at home with a fever." @Rasikko commented, "This is one of the main reasons that unions exist. To put a stop to "spite firing."

Amid such unjustified terminations and mass layoffs, employees have started filming their firing and posting them on social media. For example, a mid-market account executive at Cloudflare went viral after sharing a video of her being let go by the tech company.