Sept. 13, 2011
Claudia Rendon, 41, of Philadelphia said she was fired after taking time off to donate her kidney to her employer, Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Philadelphia. The school is also trying to collect $2,000 from her son, a student of the school, related to his sick leave.
Rendon, an employee for a year and a half at the mechanic's school's admissions office, said she notified her employer she planned to leave on July 19 to have the procedure on July 21 at the University of Pennsylvania's hospital. Her 22 year old son, Alex, needed a kidney transplant after his kidney failed in January. She was finally approved as a match after extensive testing in early July.
"I would do it all over again. No questions asked," Rendon said.
Though the major surgery requires at least 6 to 8 weeks of recovery time, her employer agreed to give her unpaid leave time until Sept. 1. Rendon said on her last day at work, her manager first promised she would have her job upon her return. But one hour later, asked her to sign a letter acknowledging that her job was not secured.
"They said, 'If you don't sign this letter, you are abandoning your job and quitting,'" Rendon told ABC News. "I said, 'I am not abandoning my job. I am saving my son's life.'"
Rendon said she signed the letter after a superior at the company said she was a "good employee" and would most likely have her job after her return. Rendon said she took holiday leave earlier this year related to the illnesses of her family members. That includes one week to bury her mother in Colombia after her death in February.
The Aviation Institute of Maintenance had no comment.
On Aug. 24, Rendon called her employer saying she was not sure she could return Sept. 1 due to severe back pain. Her employer then asked for a letter from her hospital.
Her hospital and her short term disability provider in turn wrote letters to her employer indicating she would return to work on Sept. 12.
On Sept. 8, Rendon said she made a social visit to her workplace and learned that her job position had been filled two days earlier because of business needs.
Rendon, who said she can only walk 10 to 15 minutes without assistance due to severe back pain, said she is still shocked about being fired.
"If they would have told me to come back that day, I would have done it," Rendon said.
Rendon said also needs the work because she just moved into a new apartment for which she is now unable to pay.
While her son has recovered smoothly, the school is trying to collect $2,000 related to time he took off for medical reasons. Rendon said the school is charging Alex, who became a student December 2009, $150 if he wants to return to the school.
"[The school] told him he took too long of a leave," Rendon said.
Michael Foreman, clinical law professor and director of Penn State's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, said Rendon's employer is not required to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) because it has under 50 employees. Rendon said the company has about 30 employees in the Philadelphia office. Calls to the company headquarters Virginia Beach were deferred to the Philadelphia office.
Foreman said Pennsylvania has its own medical leave laws, but they closely mirror the federal act.
But said it may be possible Rendon's surgery and medical complications could be covered with a disability under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act or Pennsylvania's disabilities law. Rendon said the state's law covers employers with four or more employees.
"The issue is whether her surgery and complications would constitute a physical impairment substantially limiting a major life activity. That is basically the legal definition from these laws," he said.
If it does, the employer would have to provide "reasonable accommodation" requiring an examination of the how keeping the position open would harm the company and its options.
Foreman said whether that law is voluntary, and therefore not relevant to Rendon's situation, should not be a factor. He said the law could apply even if an employee chose to ride a bike without a helmet and sustained a serious head injury.
"Assuming my head injury constitutes a physical impairment substantially limiting a major life activity I am covered under these law even though my injury was due to my voluntary activity," Foreman said.
Rendon said she is hoping to find legal representation because her company did not replace her for business needs.
"I gave them my best my all," she said. "I don't know why they would do this."
http://abcnews.go.com
http://abcnews.go.com
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