'Update: We argued. I quit': Boss insists worker leave dying girlfriend and return to work, worker quits

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    Font - My girlfriend is dying and my boss keeps asking when I'm coming back. I'm gonna quit today. My girlfriend has terminal cancer and is dying at home with hospice. I told my boss I was going to take a leave of absence to be with her until she goes and he said okay. That was a few weeks ago.He texted me 13 times this week asking "how are things" then yesterday said he was "very surprised" that someone can be on hospice as long as she has been already because when they put his grandma on hospi
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    Font - Editing to add: It's a small company. There is no HR. Everything is my boss and his wife, who own the business. I'm a veterinary technician at a small family-owned farm veterinary business serving mostly horses and cattle. There are other technicians as well as the owner and his son, who said they'd keep me covered when the leave was first approved. I am on an unpaid leave because they said they couldn't afford to pay me for it beyond the vacation and PTO days I've already used up. I am g
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    Font - There is no FMLA protection for me in this situation because my girlfriend and I never married. We have been together 10 years, but she didn't believe in marriage so we never got married. My state does not recognize common law marriage. Getting married isn't a possibility. For one, she's bedridden and barely conscious at most times. When she is conscious, she doesn't make a whole lot of sense with her thinking anymore and it would be immoral to convince her to marry me now with her facult
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    Font - BluePersephone99 14 hr. ago S I wonder if telling him "I'm on leave and will not be answering any work related messages" would work. And then don't reply to him anymore. He sounds so insensitive. I'm very sorry you're going through this! 1.4k lavenderfox 9 hr. ago Right and then if he fires you, you could collect unemployment maybe? 345 Reply Share 125 Reply Share DazedAnd Trippy - 3 hr. ago I'd say that'd be the better move than quitting, OP can save a bit while staying with his parents
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    Font - apri08101989 · 14 hr. ago Man. Hospice can be months Reply Share 7.8k HotDamn18V - 13 hr. ago It can be years with reevaluations included. 2.8k Reply Share
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    Font - HellzHoundz2018. 15 hr. ago 2 3 I'm so very sorry for what you're going through. Fok cancer. Your job is the least of your concerns. Go deal with what's truly important. There are other jobs. You only have one family. ↑ 8.9k Reply Share
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    Font - 2990 Very_Stable_Princess 15 hr. ago I'm so sorry you're in this position. Do you know what your company policy is on this type of leave? Is it just up to the manager's discretion? If so, maybe just write him to say that you will contact him when you are coming back and if that's not acceptable, you understand if he needs to fire you. Ask him to not contact you again because it is adding stress to an already stressful situation. 3.0k Reply Share madsmadhatter 14 hr. ago OP, don't quit, le
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    Font - MediocreFisherman 15 hr. ago . 2 Reply back with "Hang on, I'll ask her to die faster for you." 42.3k Reply Share
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    Font - Spoonful_of_Truth - 14 hr. ago Your job can suck it. Your gf deserves all of your attention. She is lucky to have you. • a widow 1.1k Reply Share
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    Font - Posted by u/Shot-Falcon 945 8 hours ago 8925 14 4 6 Update: Boss texted me again. I called him back. We argued. I quit. ↓ She woke up and I went to sit with her and help her take a bath. She fell back asleep and I came back after a couple hours and found that my post had blown up. I'm honestly surprised it got as much attention as it did and I tried to sift through it and answer as many people as i could but with all those comments it was overwhelming, so here's my update as well as my an
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    Font - - I don't think it's worth unemployment to make them fire me. It just isn't worth the struggle right now when I have savings to live off of for the time being and a plan for financial security moving forward. I'd rather be at her bedside than at the unemployment office or out applying to jobs to fit the unemployment applicant quota right now. -FMLA doesn't apply to my situation because the veterinary office I work for has less than 30 employees. -When I took my leave of absence, I told my
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    Font - -They are not short-handed right now. The boss is mad because his son, who usually goofs off in the office and does social media stuff all day, is complaining that he's being sent out to assist with animal care. They are not losing business because I'm out. The son just isn't getting to do what he wants to do.
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    Font - -I posted on Reddit because maybe you don't know this but when a person is dying, friends and family tend to move away. I think it's uncomfortable for most. I don't really have the support group of our friends right now. They're all keeping their distance and most days it's just me and her and her mother here at the house. Her mother is beside herself in grief and I am certainly not going to discuss these issues with my dying girlfriend, so I came here- a subreddit with people from all ov
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    Font - -Finally, to the troll who chat requested me to call my girlfriend vulgar names and say you're glad she's dying, I'm sorry. I'm sincerely sorry for whatever has gone wrong in your life.
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    Font - Now, the UPDATE: He texted me again and asked "How's she doing? Is she still up moving around? I'm curious how long you think you're going to be gone." I started to text back but I was annoyed and angry and decided instead to simply call him. So I did and I asked what the hurry was and reminded him that when I left 3 weeks ago, he was told it could be a month or so. He repeated his experience with his grandmother and said that his wife's sister is a nurse and they just can't believe how l
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    Font - Also please do not DM me any more miracle cures or things you did that saved your life or loved one from cancer. She made the decision six months ago after spending over half her life fighting this disease that she's ready to go. Even if I believed in any of the miracle cures, I'd never disrespect her by asking her to keep fighting. This is the choice she's made.
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    Font - BigHulio 7 hr. ago "my family member died faster than this, so I'm allowed to back on what I said" Wwoowwww. Good decision to leave. Don't give it a second thought. 6.8k Reply Share foehn_mistral. 7 hr. ago All he said was "You should have just quit three weeks ago then instead of wasting MY time." Total agreement here. Your boss is an incredibly shitty person. Good riddance to him. 2.5k Reply Share
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    Font - Away-Cicada 8 hr. ago Former boss is an absolute shopile. Like, I know that management types are usually heartless assholes but this is severely low. 335 Reply Share
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    Font - Shot-Falcon 945 OP 26 points. 4 hours ago She is in her final days. She is no longer able to swallow or eat and has refused a feeding tube. If she was well enough that I thought she might hang on for years, I would be working. I took the leave on the day her organs started shutting down and her doctor informed us we were within a month. She has gotten progressively worse ever since. Just because she can't talk as much doesn't mean I shouldn't be here. I'm not here for me. I'm here for her

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