A lawsuit was filed against Reddit alleging that the company fired an employee with anxiety for taking medical leave. The employee, Jamie Lee, had worked at Reddit as an accountant for over 4 years with positive reviews. In July 2022, Lee requested 3 days off for her health but was denied. She was later placed on medical leave after fainting, but was fired upon returning and accused of poor performance. However, the lawsuit claims others made similar mistakes. It also alleges Reddit’s new leadership under the CFO has created a “toxic, political, and not inclusive” culture, which two other employees also left over. This highlights challenges employees faced with the changing culture at Reddit.
The problem is that for most companies, employee health is very far down the list in importance.
I worked at a company where my colleagues included two young brothers. One of them had a serious illness and was in hospital. One day the other brother, at work, got notification that his brother in hospital might not have much time left. He asked management if he could take the afternoon off to go and see his brother. They said no, they needed him to work late. This guy was an overly conscientious employee and he didn’t go to the hospital that day. His brother died during the night and he didn’t get to say goodbye to him. Those are the priorities of many companies.
Don’t ask for your employer to meet your time off needs. Tell them that your time off needs are going to be met.
I am not at all saying that it was the employee’s fault in your example. It wasn’t. The sad thing is that people have been conditioned that they need to ask for time off when emergencies arise.
Then you get fired, and in this economy, probably end up homeless.
Make it a country where it’s illegal to fire someone on medical leave, where firing them after they come back entitles them to unmotivated dismissal compensation, where they get unemployment pay even if they get fired.
Might sound like a fairy tale to people in the US, but countries like that do exist.
Go Union and that cannot happen.
Yeah, it’s real systemic, there’s a lot of restrictive things all wrapped around everything that keep labor under the thumb of owners and their minions. If enough people stand up for their humanity, there will be a tipping point. Revolution doesn’t come without risk.
Seize the means of production.
I don’t see any riots. Seems to me that nobody cares—not even the people being made homeless.
Be the change you want to see in the world. You have nothing to lose but your chains.