Not every employee is fortunate enough to work for a company that offers employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. Many companies choose to offer it as an incentive to attract talented employees.
However, not every company is so generous when it comes to making good on its promise of healthcare coverage. That is reportedly why a South Florida man has sued his former employer Wells Fargo for wrongful termination. He alleges that the financial giant found an excuse to fire him on a technicality because his daughter's cancer treatments were becoming too expensive.
The man had previously worked for a branch of Wachovia bank and became a Wells Fargo employee when it purchased Wachovia in 2008. Later that year, his young daughter was diagnosed with cancer.
As is often the case in such situations, he required some accommodations to his work schedule. According to the lawsuit, his hours during this period were "generally less than full time, and in several different locations."
Because he was often working remotely, he was unable to comply with a change in company policy requiring employees to record and submit work hours only with the help of a supervisor. On at least one occasion, his supervisor input his time for him based on his best recollection of hours worked.
This would later become the alleged offense for which he was fired. But the circumstances and evidence surrounding his termination may suggest that it was an excuse and not the actual cause. The real reason, according to the lawsuit, is that Wells Fargo did not want to continue incurring the extra costs related to his daughter's cancer treatments.
As the man's lawyer noted, "This is a case of heart versus pocketbook."
Check back later this week as we continue our discussion about this wrongful termination lawsuit.
Source: ABC News, "Florida Man Says He Was Fired for Daughter's Cancer Treatment," Susanna Kim, Aug. 12, 2012