No mercy

Woman sacked for caring for terminally ill daughter

Terri Estepp (right) with her daughter Samantha, who has cancer

(Bild: Terri Estepp)

Terri Estepp just wanted to be there for her daughter. But her bosses showed her no mercy. Now the US-American woman, who had worked in a bank, is taking her case to court.

Terri Estepp (55) had worked loyally for Huntington Bank for 30 years. But when her daughter Samantha (31) fell seriously ill, that suddenly counted for nothing. Samantha was suffering from a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. Her mother wanted to be there for her - and was fired for it.

She had followed the law correctly. First, the 55-year-old from Detroit took her entire vacation to care for her daughter in California, over 3,000 kilometers away. Then she had to fall back on the "Family Medical Leave Act". This law allows Americans to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave to care for relatives. She applied for four of the twelve weeks to assist Samantha. When the time was up and she came back to work, she told her bosses that she needed a little longer.

I told my bosses that I had to get back to my daughter. She needed me. I was dismissed the same day.

Mutter Terri Estepp

The response was prompt: dismissal. "I was completely shocked," says Terri. "Because my previous boss had suggested it to me himself."

A week and a half later, Samantha died. "With the thought that she was responsible for my dismissal," says the mother. Because Huntington Bank never told her the reason for her dismissal, she is now suing her ex-employer. "Everyone should know what the bank did. It was wrong and something like this must not happen again."