An American health insurance company employee shed light on the hypocrisy of their employers by exposing alleged workplace abuse they were subjected to while battling cancer. Detailing the “most dehumanising work experience” of their life, the individual shared their account on Reddit, revealing that despite the “company’s entire business (being) health insurance, they couldn’t show basic humanity to someone going through cancer treatment.”
The US employee informed fellow Redditors about being diagnosed with stage 2 lymphoma last fall. Having served as a claims analyst for over three years at HealthPlus Insurance, the cancer-stricken person did not waste any time before sitting down with their manager to talk accommodations amid their ongoing treatment.
Sharing that their oncologist had advised them to work remotely during chemotherapy to curb infection risk, the individual in question divulged their grievances to the manager. Despite proper documentation, including a doctor’s note, backing their claims, the situation disturbingly slipped out of their hands. Even though their immediate manager came out in their support, things spiralled down once the HR department butted in. The US employee battling cancer alleged that they responded by denying any possibility of the Work from Home setup.
Cancer battling employee denied work from home
“Remote work is a privilege, not an accommodation,” the American worker quoted the HR’s response, who also suggested that their role was “impossible to perform remotely.” They allegedly denied assisting their team player despite the entire department working from home just months ago in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The objectionable final arrangement struck between the cancer survivor and their company allowed them to go on unpaid medical leaves on days scheduled for chemotherapy. However, on other days, they were required to be in office for work. “When I pointed out this violated ADA, the HR director had the audacity to say: ‘We employ 49 people, we’re exempt from ADA requirements,'” the Redditor wrote online.
Ultimately, their productivity and performance suffered in light of symptoms surfacing. After the second round of chemotherapy, the company is believed to have put them on a “performance improvement plan.” Just weeks later, the individual was fired for “failing to meet productivity standards” at a time when their white blood cell count was purportedly at its lowest.
Lawsuit filed: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case
The US employee has since legally challenged the company by suing it. Bringing on a lawyer, helped them build an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case once it was discovered that the HR lied about a 49-people strength since the company reportedly had 53 employees.
Other Redditors congratulated the person on the lawsuit, expressing their heartfelt apologies over the cancer diagnosis. In a follow-up response, the original Redditor again highlighted the irony of being subjected to such a treatment despite the employers being key stakeholders in the healthcare business. “Yep, the irony is brutal. They’ll process thousands of cancer patients’ claims daily, but when an employee gets cancer suddenly basic accommodations are “impossible.” Healthcare companies should understand illness better than anyone, yet they treated me worse than any other industry would. Really shows their true priorities,” read a comment.
Another user wished the OP well: “Absolutely disgusting behavior from a health insurance company of all places. I’m so sorry this happened to you. The hypocrisy of denying you remote work when everyone else had it during COVID, then putting you on a PIP during chemo treatments is inhumane. Glad you got a lawyer and caught them in their lie about ADA exemption. Hope you win your EEOC case and recover fully both health wise and financially.”
Read Reddit thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/1kgx80y/got_denied_remote_work_during_cancer_treatment/