Everyone gets sick, but what if the illness begins to interfere with the ability to perform a job? When an employee is sick at work and needs special accommodations to perform his or her duties, can the employee be fired? When an employee is terminated in Kansas and the termination is related to a medical condition the termination may constitute a wrongful termination.
An airline employee, who worked outside of Kansas or Missouri, is claiming she was wrongfully terminated from her position as a flight attendant by the airline. The alleged wrongful termination incident began when the employee was at work and reported she was ill and had a migraine. The employee reportedly conducted her first flight while not feeling well and continued onto her next flight. During the second flight, the employee claims her condition worsened and she reportedly suffered from blurry vision. After the incident, the airline terminated the employee.
In response to the former employee’s wrongful termination lawsuit, the employer claims the employee was terminated because she was sleeping while on duty. In the employer’s formal response to the lawsuit, it claimed the employee’s action were not consistent with her allegations.
The employer also claims the employee’s lawsuit is barred by the statute of limitations for not being filed within the legally permitted timeframe. The employer reaffirmed its belief that the employee was not wrongfully terminated, but was appropriately terminated within the bounds of all applicable laws.
Employees who have been terminated due to medical reasons may benefit from seeking legal counsel from an experienced attorney to review the termination incident.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Airline formally refutes flight attendant’s wrongful termination lawsuit,” John Suayan, Dec. 6, 2012