another question.....sorry

[faithnlve]

What is the name of your state? Vt. Hello all. As you all know I have a sexual harassment/retaliation/wrongful termination suit going. The company responded to the EEOC, and that was 2 weeks ago. I have not yet received a copy of it. They told me they wanted to review it and compare it to my complaint. Anyways, I do know part of the response back from company was that they deny any wrong doing since they let me go due to absences from work and not from the harassment. The 9 months I was there I missed 2 weeks total without pay. The other days out I used my vacation time. They claim their dismissing me has nothing to do with the sexual harassment, even though I was fired 2 days after emailing my manager that I was getting medical treatment and counseling due to the effects of the harassment. Now here is my question: Are there any laws in the U.S. that protect an employee from termination due to absences of an illness caused by the harassment? The uk does. But I cannot find any here in our country. The only thing I found was something under victimization, but that seems to only cover domestic abuse. Our law states that there needs to be a connection between the adverse action and the harassment. Thanks again....faith

 

[Beth3]

Are there any laws in the U.S. that protect an employee from termination due to absences of an illness caused by the harassment? No, although if it can be proved that the absences are bonafide and directly caused by the harassment (assuming prohibited harassment is actually taking place), then terminating the employee would be a dicey decision on the part of the employer.

 

[faithnlve]

Thanks Beth. The illness was directly caused by the harassment, and I have medical proof. But if there is no law protecting these absences then how would it be dicey for company to terminate employee? Then wouldn't the employer have the "at will" doctrine to protect them if there is no such law? And Beth, it was only 2 days after writing to my manager I was getting the medical treatment for my coping issues that I was fired. Isn't that kind of strange? Thanks again, Beth Faith

 

[weenor]

Thanks Beth. The illness was directly caused by the harassment, and I have medical proof. But if there is no law protecting these absences then how would it be dicey for company to terminate employee? Then wouldn't the employer have the "at will" doctrine to protect them if there is no such law? And Beth, it was only 2 days after writing to my manager I was getting the medical treatment for my coping issues that I was fired. Isn't that kind of strange? Thanks again, Beth Faith

Your claims simply depend on the totality of the circumstances, which cannot be fully flushed out here. Btw- at the request of either party or the EEOC, the EEOC may set your case for mediation prior to issue the right to sue letter. Something you may want to think about if you do not want to be involved long protracted litigation.

 

[faithnlve]

eeoc already offerred mediation. I signed up for it, employer refused. Faith

 

[mitousmom]

It seems to me that you've asked this same question several times before. As you have an attorney and EEOC is processing your complaint, it would be more productive to ask either, since they know the details of your case. Nonetheless, as I suspect they have told you, there is no federal law that prohibits an employer from terminating an employee for absences that the employee contends were caused by harassment. As I recall from your earlier posts you didn't contemporaneously inform your employer that your absences had anything to do with any illegal harassment that you believed you were experiencing.

Further a statement that you were "getting medical treatment for your coping issues" doesn't mean much if you didn't indicate that you were trying to cope with illegal harassment. The date of your termination may have nothing to do with your notice to your employer. The decision to terminate you may have already been made when you sent your notice; or you were absent again, or a bunch of other things completely unrelated to your notice could have occurred.

If it is established either by EEOC or a court, that you suffered illegal sexual harassment, you can make a demand for compensatory damages. If you can prove that your absences were caused by the illegal sexual harassment, you can claim the absences. However, you need to discuss all of this with EEOC or your attorney.