Owner of company say's he want'smy wife gone Georgia

[tim31401]

My wife's boss has asked for resignation citing a problem from over 3
years ago after a problem at the work place one night last month. He has
backed off a little and he asking about her health (she's a diabetic).
She had minor surgery 3 weeks ago to remove a cyst on her back and he
called wanting to know about the pathology test. The doctors called and
she has to go in for a test on her thyroid at nuclear medicine and she
did not tell anyone but her boss called and wanted to know about that
test and asked how her job search is going. My wife has been with this
company 22 years and is one of highest paid co-managers, she over heard
her boss tell someone that he could hire managers for a lot less than
they are paying their current employees.She likes her job but she is
stressed over this and I believe that what is causing some of her health
problems. Her boss brags that he doesn't pay unemployment to former
employees and he fights to make sure he doesn't. My wife does not know
I have contacted anyone but I am worried about her, she won't hardly
talk to me and she breaks down and cries at times and she was the strong
one, our kids are worried they are 9 and 13 and they don't understand
whats wrong with their mother. My wife would quit here job but she needs
the insurance for her medicine and doctor visits.
Is there anything she can do or should she quit and leave like her boss
wants, he is also the owner of the company.

[Pattymd]

Let's start simply. How many employees does this company have at her work location or within a 75-mile radius?

[tim31401]

They have maybe 25 at this location and total of 150-200 total.

[Pattymd]

Any other locations within a 75-mile radius?

[tim31401]

I think there are 9 locations in 4 cities within 75 miles

[Pattymd]

I am not a dentist and I hate pulling teeth.

Is the total number of employees within a 75-mile radius of your wife's job site (including the site where she works) at least 50? This is a critical question, I'm not asking just to hear myself talk.

[tim31401]

Yes there are more than 50 employees within 75 miles, all 9 locations are within a 75 mile radius and each one has at least 25 employees.
each one has a GM a co-manager an asst. mangager and shift managers, and then employees that usually don't get 40 hours so they don't get any benefits.
These are fast food stores

[Pattymd]

OK, now we're getting somewhere.

Relative to the manager's comments about her medical issues, there is a fine line between nosy and getting enough information to find out if this is a "serious medical condition" that may meet the criteria under the FMLA. And although the employer may call the doctor and ask about her condition, I hope to heaven he didn't tell the employer anything. I do know, from a dear friend's personal experience, that stress can exacerbate the symptoms of diabetes. Has she talked to her PCP about the possibility of a medical leave under FMLA?

All else I can say is that she should NOT resign. She would have an uphill battle getting UI if she did.

[tim31401]

The owner is not worried about her health as much as he he worried about her drawing UI and causing his insuance premiums to be higher. He told here flat out that she needs to find another job and get on my insurance because she is not going to be there much longer.
The only problem with the insurance is that she has to be without insurance before I can get on us. She is carring insurance on the family and my company requires me to be without insurance before we get it from my employer.
Is there any way to write a resignation and still draw UI, she has been looking for a job and there are not many out there at this time.
He told her yesterday that he couldn't believe she was still there that she needed to go, but he will not fire her, she told him she has been looking for a job and had filled out applications but still no interviews.
He has made her mad not and she said she is staying until he fires her or she finds and good job.
Also if she take a temporary job will she be able to draw UI when it ends.

[Pattymd]

Pretty much, no, if you quit, you don't get UI.

Regarding quitting, then taking a temp job, then getting UI when it's over, maybe, maybe not. Depends on the state (and I do not know Georgia law on UI to that extent). If this employer is such a PITA about UI, she could count on him to protest her claim, which he has the right to do, even if he is not her last employer of record.

But back to FMLA leave, she should really talk to her PCP about that. If she's on FMLA leave, the employer has to continue her medical insurance at shared cost (what she pays as an active employee), even if part or all of the leave is not paid. There would be nothing stopping her from continuing to job search while on FMLA leave.