Woman gets fired without pay after telling her boss she has cancer - NY Daily News

 

Pennsylvania surgeon fired a loyal employee of 12 years after she was diagnosed with cancer — in a letter that many criticized as coldblooded and heartless.

 

Carol Jumper, 51, of Hopewell Township in western Pennsylvania, received the handwritten letter from Dr. George Visnich Jr. dated Aug. 11.

 

"The symptoms of the disease, the pain medications you will need and the side effects of the chemotherapy will be significant and distracting," the letter reads.

 

"You will not be able to function in my office at the level required while battling for your life. Because of this, I am laying you off without pay as of August 11, 2014. Your last paycheck will be mailed to you this Friday, 8/15/14."

Unless I'm mistaken, the letter from the doctor should be sufficient evidence for her to win the lawsuit, assuming it is written in his handwriting. That's exactly what the American with Disabilities Act protects against.

 

Only legitimate reasons, such as downsizing, would allow for the employer to fire the woman. This letter would seem to prove otherwise.

Wow. And a doctor as well!

If the letter is indeed verified to have been written by the doctor or sent via his computer if it was an electronic message, he is up a creek without a paddle. What a terribly insensitive thing to do.

This is so off the wall cruel and there have been recent frauds done by people who are trying to raise sympathy money, that I'm going to wait for further information on the incident. If it turns out true I would not want to be in the good Dr's shoes. Even if it doesn't fall under disability his business will, and should be toast.

This is so off the wall cruel and there have been recent frauds done by people who are trying to raise sympathy money, that I'm going to wait for further information on the incident. If it turns out true I would not want to be in the good Dr's shoes. Even if it doesn't fall under disability his business will, and should be toast.

Exactly.

Wow. And a doctor as well!

 

Doctors are notoriously terrible business men.

This is so off the wall cruel and there have been recent frauds done by people who are trying to raise sympathy money, that I'm going to wait for further information on the incident. If it turns out true I would not want to be in the good Dr's shoes. Even if it doesn't fall under disability his business will, and should be toast.

 

I lean this way as well. I know a lot of doctors with an inability to speak, let's say, politely, but this is way out there. If he really did write that, then he gets what he deserves. However, I would say I'm 80% sure a professional wouldn't do that.

I'm about 50% sure , too many are just educated idiots .

I'm about 50% sure ' date=' too many are just educated idiots .[/quote']

I know of one on BGP, lol! j/ k

Doctors are notoriously terrible business men.

 

Agreed.

 

And I'll bet this fella's bedside manner is just WONDERFUL.

 

"Mrs. Johnson, you've got multiple sclerosis. Oh come on, stop crying...it's just childish."

Doctors are notoriously terrible business men.

 

Absolutely correct. I have owned a CPA practice for many years, and without a doubt, doctors are (on average) the worst business owners I deal with on a recurring basis. They also tend to be horrible money managers when it comes to personal finances......... Of course, when you have to pay alimony to 3 ex-wives/former nurse employees, things can get to be a little tough.

Doctors are notoriously terrible business men.

 

That one sure is! If this is legit.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/lay-off-letter-to-woman-with-cancer-causes-outcry-97308014352.html

 

Neither Visnich nor his lawyer, Larry Kelly, returned calls seeking comment from Yahoo Health on Friday. But Kelly told the local Beaver County Times that the meaning of the letter has been misconstrued, and that it was simply a “humanitarian” gesture to allow Jumper to collect unemployment. Visnich wrote the letter, Kelly explained, “with the understanding that when she is feeling better, she can come back to work.” He added that the media coverage, which has blown up this week, has been “very disappointing, in that he’s trying to help this woman and he’s made out to be a villain.”

 

A friend of Jumper’s, John Barkovich, who has been helping to plan fundraisers in support of her treatment costs, told Yahoo Health that the coverage has indeed gotten out of hand. “She wants to drop the whole thing,” he said. “Somebody posted the letter on Facebook with good intentions, to alert friends that Carol is now unemployed.” He added that Jumper “is not worried about the doctor at all, and she made it quite clear to me that she wants [the attention] diffused.”

 

Found this point of view interesting.

This is another example of an article leaving out some important details to portray a sympathetic person as the victim of a villain. When I read the article, I immediately noticed that the type of cancer was not described and wondered why that detail was omitted. The woman's cancer has already affected her pancreas, liver, and ovaries. Cancer is the real villain in this case, not her employer.

 

The doctor, as his lawyer suggested, was probably doing her a favor, although he also probably broke the law in doing so. I am not an attorney, but as I understand it, the doctor could have waited until the woman was unable to do her job and then fired her without violating the ADA. If he had done so, then the woman may have been denied unemployment pay.

 

A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is a virtual death sentence. It is extremely rare for patients who are diagnosed with this disease in its very early stages and treated by the best doctors in the world to survive as long as 5 years. Pancreatic cancer is also a very painful disease that usually requires heavy doses of pain medication. In this case, the disease was apparently not discovered until it had spread to multiple organs. It is very likely that the woman will be dead in 6 to 12 months, if not sooner.

 

The lay-off letter that the doctor wrote to the woman was obviously written primarily to ensure that the woman would not be denied unemployment benefits. Maybe some of us would have handled the situation differently, but the doctor could have done worse and it would never have become a national story.