job termination

[LINDYLOU]

my son was recently fired from his job. he gets severe migraine headaches that impair his working ability. he is being treated by a doctor and has been on several different medications, each of which has there own side effect which hinders his work.the present medicine he is taking helps his migraine in a few hours but leaves his body feeling like rubber. he is a slinger for a trash company and needs full movement of his body, taking these pills renders him helpless. he called off work several friday's ago because he had a very bad migraine. his boss called him at home around 5pm and told him his job was terminated. unfortunately he does miss alot of work because of his migraines, but since he is being treated for them and trying different medicines his headaches aren't as frequent. since he is under doctor's care for his migraines, can he be fired for medical reasons and is it legal to fire someone over the phone? he can't afford a lawyer, but since he is no longer working and has no medical insurance anymore he can't afford to continue to go to the doctor. can his previous employer be made responsible to continue to pay his medical bills and how do we go about this? please help!

 

[carebearsmom]

First of all, in most states, he can ber terminated for any reason - it is called AT-WILL. In our company, he would have been terminated for inability to perform essecntial job duties and/or excessive absenteeism. AS for the medical bills, unless he can prove that the migraine were directly cause by his job and not a re-existing condition, they will not be responsible. If he had insurance throught the company, however, he will be eligible for a COBRA plan which he can keep for several months. It is basically an extention of his insurance wit hte same benefits, BUT he would be responsible for paying the entire amount for premiums. Sorry about the situation and I hope with his new medications he is able to find a good job, soon!