Fired employee sues Brunswick nursing home

AUBURN – An Auburn woman who missed work while suffering from gallbladder problems and viral bronchitis is suing a Brunswick nursing home where she worked for two years.

June Fuller, the former food service director at Dionne Commons, claimed in a lawsuit filed in Androscoggin County Superior Court that she was fired because she was ill and couldn’t work.

Fuller claims she was entitled to take time off under the state and federal Family Medical Leave Act.

She is seeking back pay and benefits, plus $100 for every day after her dismissal on Sept. 18, 2001. She is also asking that Dionne Commons be ordered to notify its employees about their rights under the Family Medical Leave Act.

Dionne Commons, which is owned by Rousseau Enterprises Inc., filed a response in court denying Fuller’s allegations.

The company claimed Fuller was not eligible for medical leave, and argues that she was fired for legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons. Dionne Commons’ attorney, Douglas Currier, was not immediately available for comment.

According to the lawsuit, after Fuller had a gallbladder operation on Aug. 21, 2001, her doctor told her to take a week off.

At the time, the lawsuit says, the nursing home administrator told Fuller she didn’t have enough sick time to cover her recovery period and she would be docked pay if she didn’t return to work on Aug. 23. Despite the warning, Fuller didn’t return until Aug. 28.

The lawsuit says Fuller became ill with viral bronchitis the next month and stayed home for three days on a doctor’s advice. She was fired four days later.

Her termination notice cited excessive absenteeism and her inability to work well with others as the reasons for her dismissal.

“[Dionne Commons] might argue that they were going to fire her anyway, even if she didn’t become ill,” Fuller’s attorney, Curtis Webber, said. “But we would show that the performance issues were things that happened a long time ago, and no one ever said anything to her about them until now.”

The federal Family Medical Leave Act allows people who work for companies with at least 50 employees to take an unpaid absence for a variety of reasons, including taking time to care for a new child, to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition, or to recover from a serious health condition.