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Work-Life Balance: Cryptographer Fired By BAE Systems For Taking Care of Dying Wife (bostonglobe.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the mind-body-and-soul dept.

mdecerbo writes: A new lawsuit by cryptographer Don Davis against multinational defense giant BAE Systems highlights the fact that companies are free to have their boasts about "work-life balance" amount to nothing but idle talk. The Boston Globe reports that on his first day on the job, Davis explained that his wife had late-stage cancer. He would work his full work day in the office, but if he was needed nights or weekends, he'd want to work from home. His supervisor was fine with it, but the human resources department fired him on the spot after four hours of employment. The lawsuit raises interesting questions, such as whether employment law requires corporations to have the sort of common decency we expect from individuals. But what I want to know is, if BAE Systems loses this lawsuit, will they prevent future ones by making their "work-life balance" policy say simply: We own you, body and soul? Don Davis' lawyer, Rebecca Pontikes, contends he was discriminated against because the company "requires its male employees to be the stereotypical male breadwinner and to leave family responsibilities to women." BAE issued a statement to The Boston Globe saying, "we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and work hard to provide our employees with flexible working options that enable them to have a meaningful work/life balance." The company declined to discuss specifics, citing pending litigation.

8 of 513 comments (clear)

  1. WTF!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What?! He would work his full work day but if he was needed during night or weekend he would work from home and they fired him? For taking care of his dying wife?! Holy Jesus if only I could put my hands on the HR assholes department of BAE systems...I would teach them the lesson of their miserable life.

    1. Re:WTF!!! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What?! He would work his full work day but if he was needed during night or weekend he would work from home and they fired him? For taking care of his dying wife?!

      You are jumping to conclusions that are not supported by evidence. We was fired on his first day of work. The reasons for that are not clear, but there is almost always more to these stories than what is on the surface. You are only hearing one very biased side of it.

    2. Re:WTF!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That might be. However, the most important thing here is in my opinion that employers have a terrible amount of control over their employees' lives. Here in the EU, and especially in Scandinavia, we have very good protection by law for workers in situations like these. There is also fair means of state-sponsored compensation for employees (especially smaller ones) that may otherwise suffer financially from an employees personal crisis.

      We need to start treat workers as humans and stop thinking private corporations have the right to anything and everything. They take advantage of the stable society we all provide for them. It should come with a responsibility to treat employees humanely.

    3. Re:WTF!!! by Macthorpe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Hiding what? Do you go to job interviews and they ask you if your wife has cancer? Is it relevant to your competency to work the hours you're contracted?

      Your employment system is fucked.

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    4. Re:WTF!!! by Calydor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh yeah, he revealed on the day he started that working beyond the official hours would come with a caveat.

      How HORRIBLE of him! He didn't bring a sleeping bag and a toothbrush to work after divorcing his dying wife before leaving his home for the last time!

      Respect goes both ways, sure - but due to the insane power difference between employer and employee that respect has to start at the TOP, otherwise it's bootlicking and grovelling in the hopes of being thrown a treat and a kind word one day.

      --
      -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
    5. Re:WTF!!! by ebyrob · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Surely if you were recruiting for a job which requires someone to be physically available after hours (or travel away from home half the month, or whatever) this would be discussed at the interview, and put in the job contract?

      What makes you think it wasn't?

    6. Re:WTF!!! by Enigma2175 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      . Usually when people have steady jobs that have health insurance and someone covered has a serious illness, they won't change jobs because doing so has possible health insurance implications that could be negative.

      And this is reason #45123998 why the US should have single-payer healthcare. When you tie healthcare to work it gives the employer an extraordinary amount of leverage over the employee. Of course, employers like it this way which is why the system is the way that it is, since those with the money make the rules in this country.

      --

      Enigma

  2. The irony is by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The irony is this is a British company, but in Britain he would have had the legal right to take time off to make other arrangements. (though probably not for much longer)