Giving an employee medical leave for a kidney transplant would seem to be a no brainer for most employers.
But Claudia Rendon, a 41-year-old mother from Philadelphia, found herself out of work after returning from donating a kidney to her son, according to ABC News. On top of that, the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, where Rendon worked and her son took classes, apparently tried to simultaneously collect $2,000 in fees related to her son's sick leave.
A lack of employer sensitivity isn't specific to Rendon's case. This month it was reported that a mother was told by her boss to take down photos of her deceased daughter and act as if she "did not exist."
And earlier this year, Carl Sorabella, a Massachusetts man, was fired after asking to take medical leave to deal with his wife's cancer.
Indeed, the country remains far from having specific rules dictating how businesses should handle the health emergencies of an employee's family. Only in July did Connecticut become the first state to require the employees themselves be provided with paid sick leave, according to the Washington Post.
Though her employer promised Rendon that she'd still have a job when she returned from medical leave that lasted less than a month and a half, she was also asked to sign a letter acknowledging her job was not secure, according to ABC. Her son's life in peril, she decided to sign.
The period had been one of the most trying times of Rendon's life, according to Fox 29:
Even as Rendon mourned her mom, she found out her father had leukemia, her uncle passed away, and her son's kidneys failed.
"Everything was coming down all at once. I felt like the best thing that happened to me this whole entire year was that God gave me the blessing of being able to give my son my kidney."
After an investigation into the controversy, AIM agreed to pay Rendon's salary until she can re-apply for her old position, according to Fox 29. The company makes sure to note that doesn't mean she's sure to get her job back.