Saturday, September 18, 2004

Happy 'I Got Fired' Anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of the day I got fired from my job. Why did I get fired? I still don't know. Let's reviews the facts, shall we?

September 14th, I quietly told my boss that I was pregnant. She was excited and nervous for me, since I had suffered a miscarriage 9 months before. I gave her a note from my doctor, explaining that I was not to do any lifting of animals, or pet food over 10 lbs in weight. Oh, in case you didn't know, I worked at a veterinary hospital. Lifting animals and food were pretty much my job. She took it well and said she would be talking to the big boss, Dr. Kuhn, about it tomorrow. This was a Sunday.

Fast forward to Thursday afternoon. It was about 1pm, and I announced I would be going to lunch. My boss, Barb, called me into her office. As I was getting comfortable, she dropped the bomb.

Barb: We are letting you go today, Christina.
Me: What? Why? What?
Barb: Well, some things have been going on, as I am sure you are aware of. And we feel problems would be rectified if you were terminated.
Me: What did I do?
Barb: You know about the problems we have been having.
Me: Um...
Barb: (crying now) I am so sorry. Do you want to come get your last check tomorrow?
Me: Um...

What the fuck? Here I am a whole year later and I still don't understand that conversation. What is so funny is that no one knew I was fired for like 2 weeks. They thought I was taking time off because of my morning sickness. What the fuck?

Me being the way I am, I still obsess over this from time to time. My husband is convinced I was fired for being pregnant, but since that is illegal, they just threw some wacko excuse my way. Ah, that is what's so great about living in sunny California. You can be fired for whatever, they don't have to give you an excuse. There's a name for it, but I don't care enough to find out. My husband wanted to sue, but since I got unemployment and disability out of it, I just didn't see the point.

Actually, my point in posting this is I feel it was the best damn thing to ever happen to me. My house has never been cleaner, I get to stay home with my baby, and we eat a homecooked meal everynight.

So, thank you Valley Veterinary Hospital. Your incompetence has made my life complete.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A similar thing happened to me...and my obsession with it creeps up more frequently than I like to admit. I suffered a miscarriage back in February and was fired 13 days after coming back to work from medical leave. Apparently I was making too many personal phone calls....uh, what? I even had to go to court to get my unemployment benefits. Anyway, sorry for the late night rant. I'm glad you are a happy stay at home mom.

Anonymous said...

I'm searching for help. I had a miscarriage in August- missed 4 days of work, then had problems with my gallblader in September- missed 3 days as per my Doctor's orders- and was fired the day I was cleared to return to work. I feel I was fired because they knew I was going to try for a baby soon. No warning or anything. Is this legal??? It is not fair!!!

Christina said...

No, it is not legal to be fired due to medical reasons. I would ask what you were fired for...make them give you documentation. In the long run, it's up to you if you want to persue it legally. Remember, you will be responsible for any court costs and lawyer fees if it isn't proved in your favor. Good luck