Eastvale, CAAfter 33 years of work as a hospital respiratory therapist, Bob, age 64, took stress leave (he went through a nasty divorce). Although he tried to return to work, Bob believes he was wrongfully terminated to save the hospital costs, and that is a violation of the California Labor Law.
When it was time to go back to work, HR told Bob that his position was filled and there were no openings. "I asked the HR woman what that meant - did it mean I was fired?" says Bob. "She said, 'I didn't say that.' Well, what else could that mean? Apparently, I would find out at a meeting.
"The manager of HR, the HR woman who called me and my director were at the meeting. They more or less repeated what I had been told on the phone. They also said that I was a valuable employee but there were no job openings. I was shocked, to say the least."
In other words, Bob was in limbo. He was still an employee but had no job, no hours, no benefits. HR suggested he check the hospital's job website frequently to see if there is any other work he would be interested in. Maybe nursing, an administrative position, cook or housekeeping? Every job posted, at minimum, required one year experience. So after 36 years of being a respiratory therapist, Bob didn't even qualify for a housekeeping job.
"Two weeks ago, they said maybe in three or four months when business picks up there could be an opening in my department and my boss will call me," says Bob, "but I am not holding my breath waiting.
"I found out from my co-workers that two per diem employees were given two part-time positions to fill my job. According to people in the department, they didn't need to fill my position because business was so slow they were sending people home. I am the second-highest paid person in the department; now two people are doing the work of one person for the same amount of money. And so many younger employees will work for less money.
"So I believe I was wrongfully terminated to save costs, and they don't have to pay these two people benefits. I don't know the legal ramifications of this but some people have said that, because I was not fired, they don't have to pay anything into unemployment and I cannot apply for unemployment benefits because technically I am still an employee.
"I have almost drained my checking account and my savings so I don't know what I am going to do. From the divorce I have a big mortgage and if I lose that…well if I do lose it, I owe more than my house is worth. That means I cannot refinance my house and my ex-wife is still on the deed. And I imagine my age is a problem. I would be willing to take less salary but I have to cover that mortgage. I am in a bad situation."
Bob says he has looked for a position elsewhere but jobs are scarce right now. To make matters worse, some of the hospitals require a higher license, which is more involved than the license Bob got 36 years ago. There are two levels of respiratory therapist: certified and registered. Bob is the former. Some hospitals allow the registered therapist to do more procedures than a certified therapist can do. Although Bob has done all procedures in his 36 years of experience, some departments insist on having an entire registered staff.
"I am very despondent about this, I just don't know what I can do," says Bob. "At minimum, I want to file a wrongful termination suit and get my job back. My ideal situation would be getting my job back and job security. But I know there is retaliation.
"I still have my pension and if I have social security, I will be OK financially. But I have given half my life to this place and for them to put me in limbo is so unfair. I think they were hoping I would get mad and quit or do something and get fired."
Bob says he won't play that game; he wants the hospital administrators to know the California labor law violations cannot be tolerated.