(WSVN) - A gas station manager is out of a job after denying an employee’s time-off request due to her son being on life support.
Crystal Reynolds Fisher works for PS Food Mart, a gas station and convenience store chain owned by Folk Oil Company in Michigan. WWMT reports that when her 18-year-old son ended up in the hospital on life support with what doctors believe is cellulitis sepsis, she reached out to her manager.
Fisher posted screen shots of her messages with her boss on Saturday to Facebook. She said she texted the manager, identified in the text messages as Dawn, two days before her next shift, telling her she would not be able to work until her son’s condition improved.
“I’m just letting [you] know my son is still on life support so until he is out of the bad I will not be able to make it to work,” Fisher wrote. “I can let [you] know as he starts to get better so that way I can return to work with no problems.”
Rather than sending a sympathetic response, Dawn replied, “That isn’t how we do things, so I’ll accept that you’re quitting.”
When Fisher argued that her son’s life was on the line, Dawn replied that she had been “more than accommodating during this” by allowing schedule changes.
“There is no reason you can’t work and I will not tolerate drama. End of conversation,” her manager wrote. “If you aren’t there to work your shift tomorrow then I take that as you’ve quit.”
Fisher tried to reason with her boss, asking if she would be able to work if her child was on life support.
“Yes I would, I still have bills to pay and something to keep me busy and occupied,” Dawn retorted.
Fisher’s screen shots quickly went viral, with over 48,000 shares in a matter of just two days. Her post soon got the attention of her job’s corporate office.
Folk Oil posted a message on the PS Food Mart Facebook page on Sunday, just a day after Fisher’s post, to say the company was looking into the matter.
“PS Food Mart and Folk Oil Company are in complete agreement that this is not acceptable,” it read, saying Fisher would be allowed to take off as much time as needed. “We are sympathetic to anyone, especially our employees that have a loved one in the hospital.”
By Monday, the company posted an update saying the manager was no longer employed.
“We investigated and have found that the situation was handled improperly and without the compassion that we value as a company. For that, we are very sorry,” the post read. “We took quick action and that manager is no longer employed by PS Food Mart. We have also reaffirmed to our employee that she will be able to take all the time off that she needs during this difficult period. We’d like to thank the public for their concern.”
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.