Out for 8 weeks of chemo, then told I can never have another special project at work
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Anonymous
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I have a job that is below my abilities. I’ve always gotten stellar reviews and been given projects that were above my pay grade. I don’t care about the pay; I like the challenge of these extra projects.
I was just out for 8 weeks doing some intense chemo and came back to find that one coworker decided and convinced my boss that I shouldn’t be given these extra projects anymore. There is a new batch of projects coming this summer and I’ve already been told I can’t participate. It’s not a performance issue at all. Everyone was congratulating me on my latest project just before I went out on disability. How do I go about complaining about this to my boss or HR. It feels like discrimination to me. |
Anonymous
| What is the chance you health issues will require another extended absence? |
Anonymous
Does it matter? |
Anonymous
| You should talk to a lawyer |
Anonymous
Yes. They are not firing you. They are just not assigning you to special short tasks because you may need long periods off (if I understand correctly). |
Anonymous
| I'm sorry, OP. Your coworker sounds like a snake. Best with your health issues. |
Anonymous
Even if it wasn’t part of my specified job duties? It was just extra work I took on and did awesome at. I presented at a national conference just before starting my chemo. I continued work on it while off for chemo. |
Anonymous
Okay, but I don’t need periods off, and no, they are assigning me to grunt work. Editing the book I was initially told I could help author. |
Anonymous
| Just talk with your boss OP. They probably think they are doing you a favor by not giving you extra work that isn't directly part of your job responsibilities. |
Anonymous
This doesn’t matter. They do not have to fire you for you to have a claim. Talk to a lawyer. |
Anonymous
If you have that in writing, then you can do something about it. But if it was just said in passing, then probably nothing you can do, especially if it isn't part of your actual job duties. Also, would this be a new project, or a continuation of the old project? That might make a difference. And is it possible that the other author of the book has declined to have you included. But agree, your co-worker is a snake. |
Anonymous
| Agree they probably think they are helping you. I would be alarmed that someone who is doing chemo was working while technically haven take time off. You need to talk to them and tell them you really thrive on these projects. Make sure you actual duties are not suffering. |
Anonymous
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Also, who told you that co-worker convinced boss to keep you off projects? Was this office gossip?
At best, you could say to your boss, casually, I was so looking forward to doing Project X. And after the success I had with Project W, I thought I was a definite Go for me to work on Project X. |
Anonymous
| HR here, seems like a clear case of illegal retaliation to me. Up to you whether to talk to a lawyer since it's not about money for you. |
Anonymous
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I’m not sure if your coworker is a snake or really dumb. I had something bad happen to me, and it seems like smart people made dumb decisions or didn’t think at all.
So keep an open mind as to whether this coworker is being overly and annoyingly controlling and “helpful” or is a snake that’s out to get you. Since you didn’t hear what they talked about, I’d have a 1-1 with your boss and find out what their thinking is and say what you want to do. |