I Was Fired For “Poor Performance” The Day After I Submitted My FMLA Paperwork
I had worked at the company for six years.
My performance reviews had always been good.
No warnings.
No write-ups.
No disciplinary meetings.
Then I needed surgery.
I submitted my medical leave paperwork on a Thursday.
My manager said, “We’ll get HR to review it.”
Friday morning, I was called into a meeting.
HR was there.
My manager was there.
They told me I was being terminated for “ongoing performance concerns.”
I actually laughed because I thought it was a joke.
They handed me a folder.
Inside were three pages criticizing my performance.
All dated that same week.
I had never seen any of them before.
I asked why I hadn’t been warned.
My manager said, “We’ve discussed these concerns verbally.”
We hadn’t.
I left furious.
Then something strange happened.
A coworker texted me.
She said:
“I think you should check the shared drive.”
There was an old folder containing my previous performance reviews.
Every review was positive.
Then I found something else.
An email from my manager to HR, sent two days before my termination.
The subject line was:
“Potential FMLA issue — need guidance.”
The email mentioned my upcoming surgery.
Then my manager wrote:
“We can’t have her out for six weeks during the busiest quarter.”
I forwarded everything to an employment attorney.
The company suddenly became very interested in settling.
But the biggest surprise came later.
My former coworker told me management had already planned to eliminate my position.
They didn’t want to replace me.
They wanted to outsource my department.
My surgery simply gave them an excuse to terminate me before I went on leave.
The company eventually offered me a settlement.
I accepted it.
But I kept one thing.
The email.
Because the funniest part is that the person who fired me for “poor performance” had accidentally created a written record showing exactly why they wanted me gone.
