Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A(nother) Kick in the Kidneys [UPDATED!]

If there's a downside to almost 7 years of posts, it's that there seems to be very little new under the sun:

"A Nashville woman seemingly has to choose between her family's financial well-being and a distant relative's health ... The challenge is that the procedure would require her to miss quite a bit of work, and her employer is unwilling to guarantee that her job will still be there for her when she returns."

That was 4 years ago. Apparently, we've learned nothing:

"A Philadelphia mother was left jobless Tuesday after she took time off work to donate a kidney to her dying son and was fired during her absence."

As in the Nashville case, FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) "does not apply to companies with under 50 employees."

I'm reminded of an aphorism: just because it's legal, doesn't make it right.

UPDATE: In the comments, Deon makes a very good point about the practical implications of this story. Recommended.

UPDATE #2: Ms Rendon "has been put back on full salary until another position opens up at her company."

On the one hand, this is great news for her. But as our commenter yesterday observed, this puts a lot of financial pressure on the employer. I'm not convinced that this is a win-win.

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