by Alexandra Heep

Created on: July 31, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

I used to work for a large bank, in the post-closing department of their Mortgage division. I had worked my way up from a part-time temporary night worker to a full-time employee with benefits, excellent evaluations and regular raises. I had even earned some bonuses for reaching some very important money saving goals. I arrived at where I was by taking work home, working overtime, even bringing my young daughter on some nights and weekends so I could accommodate this company. All this I accomplished in less than seven years, and with an illness that can force some people out of the workforce completely.

When I started with this company, things were not bad. However, once they merged with another company, things went downhill. This was evident by the following scenarios: Departments kept changing, managers and supervisors kept moving into different jobs, and we constantly had meetings where production and profit were emphasized. At the same time rewards, incentives, bonuses, and all the fun stuff (like celebrating someone's birthday or company picnics) were slowly phased out. Overtime sometimes was mandatory, other times strictly prohibited. It seemed that the company itself did not know what direction to take.

The problem was caused by the work that was backed up from the company that bought us out. We inherited 100 Million Dollars worth of incomplete loans that were older than two years. In order for these loans to be sold, they had to be completed. This was my department's job, to obtain the missing documents for these loans and send them to the investors. That would in turn give our company more monetary flexibility.

After about three years of incredible stress, ten of us received an e-mail that we had to attend a meeting. As soon as I entered the conference room and saw the Human Resource representatives (as well as the tissue box in the middle of the table), I knew what was about to happen. We were told that our jobs were being eliminated. All of us received a severance package. As I looked around the table, I realized one thing: Every single one of us (the team leaders included) had an FMLA case. What does that mean? Every one of us had a chronic illness that was protected under FMLA guidelines. Those guidelines allowed extra time off from work, as well as protected our jobs. Ironically, in my case my own Manager had pushed me to get this FMLA case. I had resisted at first. I had told her I did not want to draw attention to myself in this manner. However,

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