A mom was allegedly fired from her job at Huntington Bank after she took leave to take care of her daughter with breast cancer.
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Terri Estepp, from Detroit, reportedly worked at the bank for 30 years. Her daughter, Samantha, 31, died from breast cancer last year. In an interview with WZZM, Estepp said that her daughter blamed herself for her mother losing her job.
Estepp explained, "I told my employer I needed to go back to my kid, and she needed me. And they showed up that day, and they fired me." According to WZZM, Samantha was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in April 2023. Estepp allegedly used most of her holiday and paid time off to look after her daughter in California.
The report explains that Estepp used four weeks of her FMLA in April 2024. FMLA stands for the Family and Medical Leave Act and allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid but job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. One of those reasons is 'to care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition.'
Estepp was reportedly fired just two days after returning to work after using FMLA.
Estepp says, "I was in complete shock. I was not ready for anything like this, I requested medical leave. My previous boss had recommended that I do that just in case I needed to take any spur-of-the-moment time off to care for my daughter." She also explains that Huntington Bank did not provide a reason for her termination.
Within 10 days of firing Estepp, her daughter lost her battle with cancer.
Estepp Has Filed A Lawsuit Stating Her Former Employer Fired Her For Using FMLA
Estepp's attorney, Sarah Prescott, explained that Estepp "represented through her bank, 6,000-plus different businesses, families at any given time." She has also filed a lawsuit against the bank, accusing the establishment of firing her client for using FMLA.
When asked for comment by WZZM, a spokesperson for Huntington Bank said: "While Huntington does not comment on active litigation, we are committed to compliance with all applicable employment laws, including the FMLA, and we acted appropriately in this matter."
