The human resources manager for a New Hampshire company is suing her former employer after she sent an email about COVID-19 to employees and required two employees to stay home for one week after going on vacations to China and Malaysia. She claims company officials told her she was being fired for "exaggerating 'the China Virus.'"
The New Hampshire Union Leader has the details:
For its part, the employer claims that it fired Di Nola for legitimate non-discriminatory performance reasons, including her lack of attention to detail, her relationship with a subordinate, her lack of engagement with employees, and her repeated exaggerations and misrepresentations.
The New Hampshire Union Leader has the details:
Debra Di Nola worked for Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies Inc., a German company, since 2014. …On Jan. 29, two managers asked Di Nola to advise them on two employees returning from China and Malaysia, respectively, out of concerns about COVID-19. After looking into recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health and Human Services, Di Nola required the two employees to stay home for a week, according to the suit.Di Nola claims a vice president of the company said "he could not work with her and did not trust her" during a meeting on Feb. 11. She was asked to leave.
"(The vice president) accused Dr. Di Nola of exaggerating 'the China virus,'" the suit reads.
A few days later — Feb. 17 —- the vice president fired Di Nola. The suit claims the vice president escorted Di Nola out of the building as other employees arrived for work.
Nevertheless, if you fire an employee for exaggering "the China virus," you might be the worst employer of 2020.