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Merry Christmas? Sinclair fires reporter as she battles cancer
https://www.cjr.org/local_news/reporter-fired-cancer-sinclair.phpALEX GEORGE HAD ALREADY been through a lot. In the summer of 2017, four weeks after graduating from the University of Michigan, she moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the age of 22, to work as a general assignment reporter at WTVC, an ABC-affiliate, on a two-year-contract. Then, in May, after a gruelling first year at the station, she was diagnosed with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor, a rare form of pediatric bone cancer.
...
George’s long-term disability benefits, which allowed her to take partially-paid time off for 90 days, were extended for another 90. In mid-September, George was told by her bosses at WTVC that she would eventually receive a check-up call from Mike Costa, who was the station’s general manager; Tom Henderson, the news director; and HR representatives from WTVC and Sinclair Broadcast Group, WTVC’s owner. “I didn’t really know what to expect,” she recalls. She thought she might be told of a shift from long-term disability to unpaid leave, which would allow her to stay on Sinclair’s medical benefits plan. But she was worried. “I felt it wasn’t the check-up call like they kept saying it was.”
On November 19, after undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, George received the call, only to learn that Sinclair was terminating her contract before it was up. (The station is an ABC affiliate but because it is Sinclair-owned, the network isn’t involved with on-site decisions.)
George was informed that WTVC and Sinclair were terminating her contract and benefits as of December 1. She says she was told that Sinclair was not legally obligated to hold onto her position, but there was no further explanation given about why she was being let go. She was also asked about her health. “I could not believe they had the audacity to fire me and then asked me how I was doing,” she says.
...
George’s long-term disability benefits, which allowed her to take partially-paid time off for 90 days, were extended for another 90. In mid-September, George was told by her bosses at WTVC that she would eventually receive a check-up call from Mike Costa, who was the station’s general manager; Tom Henderson, the news director; and HR representatives from WTVC and Sinclair Broadcast Group, WTVC’s owner. “I didn’t really know what to expect,” she recalls. She thought she might be told of a shift from long-term disability to unpaid leave, which would allow her to stay on Sinclair’s medical benefits plan. But she was worried. “I felt it wasn’t the check-up call like they kept saying it was.”
On November 19, after undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, George received the call, only to learn that Sinclair was terminating her contract before it was up. (The station is an ABC affiliate but because it is Sinclair-owned, the network isn’t involved with on-site decisions.)
George was informed that WTVC and Sinclair were terminating her contract and benefits as of December 1. She says she was told that Sinclair was not legally obligated to hold onto her position, but there was no further explanation given about why she was being let go. She was also asked about her health. “I could not believe they had the audacity to fire me and then asked me how I was doing,” she says.
Who needs single payer healthcare?
Bah humbug!
1 replies
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