Woman Sees Husband Off to Iraq, Gets Fired

AP ^ | 10/26/5

[SmithL]

Disgusting

[podkane]

Really. These folks are walking the walk. Let's get more of the "support the troops" crowd at least talking the talk...
I hope her friends and co-workers raise a big stink over this..

[DoughtyOne]

Seems like some accommodation could have been made for a "part-time" employee. This doesn't look good, but then playing the devil's advocate, this may not be the world's most stellar employee either. We just don't know the whole scoop.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Suzette Boler had received permission to take off work the week leading up to her husband's departure. As a part-time employee at Benefit Management, she did not receive vacation pay and was not compensated for her time off.

She ought to sue for them for unlawful termination.

[babyface00]

This article is a little vague.

Did she take a week off, and then not show up on the day after the week she took off?

Or

Did she take a week off, and that scheduled week included the day after her husband left?

If the latter, its pretty disgusting. If the former, then she should have made better arrangements.

[DUMBGRUNT]

N. Henry Bledsoe
President/ASM
Benefit Management Administrators, Inc.
PO BOX 17
9365 Cherry Valley Ave
Caledonia, MI 49316
Phone: 616-891-1984
Fax: 616-891-9009
Email: henry@benefitsthatfit.com
URL: http://benefitsthatfit.com

Services:
Administration firm (third party administrator), Insurance products or services, Debit cards and electronic payments, Funding and financial services, Consultants and plan designers, Related services (such as flexible spending accounts and benefits)

[OSHA]

....fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure.

Looks like she didn't go back to work when she said she would.

[SolidSupplySide]

File this under: NOT BEING TOLD THE WHOLE STORY

[Alberta's Child]

Suzette Boler had received permission to take off work the week leading up to her husband's departure.

The article says nothing about whether she had received permission to take off work for the day after her husband's departure.

There's a possibility that she took the week off and then tried to call out sick for the extra day. That's an absolute no-no for a lot of companies.

[cripplecreek]

It's really pretty common and it is disgusting. I once listened to a supervisor tell a new hire (about 60 days) that she could take a day off for her wedding. She took the agreed upon day off from work, returned the next day and was there long enough to get called to the office and fired.

It's no wonder factories need security these days.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Did anyone (including the headline writer) bother to read even the first sentence?

A woman who took an unpaid leave of absence from work to see her husband off to war with an Indiana National Guard unit has been fired after failing to show up for her part-time receptionist job the day following his departure.

[Moral Hazard]

"This article is a little vague.

Did she take a week off, and then not show up on the day after the week she took off?

Or

Did she take a week off, and that scheduled week included the day after her husband left?

If the latter, its pretty disgusting. If the former, then she should have made better arrangements."

It's the former. She took the previous week off, her husband left on Sunday the 16th, and she was scheduled to return on Monday the 17th, but didn't show up that day. She claims that her work understood that she probably wouldn't be in on the 17th. Obviously that means she did not call them on the 17th to let them know she was taking that day off.

What it presumably comes down to is whether she in fact did tell them beforehand she would probably take the 17th off, and whether they understood that as meaning she wouldn't need to call them and let them know that day.

[SmithL]

We just don't know the whole scoop.

True, but . . .

One of my first lessons in the Navy was to always have a reason AND an excuse for every action. They have picked the wrong ation to use as the excuse to fire her. There is nothing they can do to not look like the unpatriotic bad guys.

[frankjr]

"We gave her sufficient time to get back to work," Clark Galloway...

Any relation to George? A-hole!

[dinok]

I'm not surprised.

I wonder what kind of bonus her boss gave himself last year.

American boys and girls are dying so that these slobs can get richer.

[Bommer]

Here's the company information

N. Henry Bledsoe
Benefit Management Administrators, Inc.
9365 Cherry Valley Avenue
Caledonia, MI 49316

PH: 616-891-1984
FX: 616-891-9009
henry@benefitsthatfit.com
States: GA, IN, MI, OH, TN

[YankeeinOkieville]

according to mapquest Caledonia, MI - Indianapolis, IN is just under 300 miles. I don't see where the trip to see her husband off should have interfered with her ability to return to her job the following day. Since the article says there were other factors involved, and I for one think the better of the company for NOT disclosing their reasons to the press - I just don't get where you think it's "disgusting" for them to expect an employee to come back to work.

[Bob J]

"She ought to sue for them for unlawful termination."

And how was she unlawfully terminated? This isn't a question of law but of decency.

[DoughtyOne]

I noted the mention of taking time to see him off and also not showing up the day after he had left. It seemed to me that she might have been pushing the limits a bit. I don't want to see a service member's family put-upon unfairly. I don't want to see some lady try to milk an excuse to the point of absurdity either. I think you've got a good chance of touching on the issue that actually cost her the job.