The 15th nominee for the “worst employer of 2019” is … the disability demoter

An employee tells you he might need to leave work on a moment’s notice to rush home to care for his disabled daughter (born with a severe neurological disorder, Rett Syndrome, which affects the ability to speak, walk, breathe, and eat, among other things).

Do you?

(a) Tell him he can’t leave work immediately after his shifts to care for his daughter because he's expected to remain on site in case of an emergency.

(b) Deny him a raise, telling him, “Your problems at home are not the company’s problems.”

(c) The day after his daughter suffered a near-fatal seizure and was rushed to the hospital, demote him from his position as an Operator, where his responsibilities included running controls on trucks, to a Laborer, where his chief responsibility involved shoveling sewer systems.

(d) Refuse to excuse the employee from overtime so that he can visit his daughter in the hospital.

(e) On the employee’s first day back at work after a two and half week absence while his daughter was hospitalized, you send him home for being 15 minutes late, and subsequently fire him.

(f) All of the above.

If you chose (f), you might be the Worst Employer of 2019.

The case is Kelleher v. Fred A. Cook, Inc. (2nd Cir. 9/24/19).