The Guardian Ad Litem Program Caused My Demise

On August 4, 2004, I began working for the Guardian ad Litem program in Viera, Florida. I was excited about getting a position with the state of Florida. This was a position with a program that represented children torn from their parents and placed in the custody of the state. Not only was the program a godsend for abused and neglected children, it was a godsend for me also.

I finally had a decent job with full benefits and great pay. I thought my life was going to change for the better, and it did, until my husband, a paramedic of 13 years, needed surgeries. I then found out just how uncaring and heartless the Guardian ad Litem office, and its staff, really was. Sure they did a fine job representing the children but, they could care less about an employee in need.

The nightmare began on February 23, 2006, when Jim, my husband, had to have his right knee replaced; surgery number one. I used some vacation time so that I could be with him in the hospital and also at home while he was recuperating. Jim then needed to have bone removed from his left knee in April (surgery number two) so I used some more of my vacation time. But, the killer came in September of '06, when Jim needed to have 5 discs fused in his back, surgery number three. This is when the true colors of the Guardian ad Litem office began to show.

I filed the paperwork for the Family Medical Leave Act almost immediately after Jim's third surgery and was told by my boss, Leonard that I could take the 90 days whenever I needed. I was also told that he would rather have me be at work as much as possible because he didn't feel it was fair to the others in the office if I wasn't there. Correct me if I'm wrong but the Family Medical Leave Act states that an employee is legally allowed to take 90 days of time to care for a sick family member. It is a law but yet I was denied the use of it.

I did not want to lose my job so I did what I could to stay on top of my employment duties as well as take care of my husband. It started to get very hard on me so I asked, again, if I could take my 90 days and again, I was told that it really wasn't fair to the others in the office. I was told that if Jim needed me he could call and that I could leave if needed. Sure he could call; he was on so much medication that he didn't even know who I was half the time. How in the world was I to expect him to pick up a phone? And, what right did my boss have to tell me I could not take advantage of the FMLA law? All I wanted was my 90 days so that I could take care of my husband.

Things began to get even worse. Jim was not healing properly and was in so much pain that the doctors decided to give him even more medication. The mixture of Percocet and Morphine completely immobilized him. One day I came home from work to find him half on and half off the couch. I thought he was dead! How could I have left him alone like that? How could my boss have denied me FMLA? What if Jim had died that day? Who would be to blame?

I couldn't take it anymore and, once again, I asked for my 90 days. I needed to be home with Jim because his health was just not right any longer. He needed care and, because the Sebastian River Medical Center fired him three days after his back surgery, we couldn't afford to have a nurse come to the home. But, once again, my request was denied by the Guardian ad Litem director. He, Leonard, felt that Jim was fine and could be on his own. He couldn't understand why I needed to be with him. Did he need to understand? Wasn't it my right to take the 90 days I was legally entitled to?

My mind began to frizzle out as I was forced to juggle my life. Not only was I trying to give my husband the best care possible but I also had to work, continue with my schooling, and take care of the house. Thank goodness I didn't have any little children. I was to the point of no return when I received a phone call, in November, from Gary Phillips, the HR director out of Tallahassee. He seemed genuine and sincere when he told me not to worry about my job, that it would be fine. He wanted me to worry about my husband as well as me. He gave me the phone number to the EAP (Employee Assistance Program) so that I could call them for counseling and possibly medication. My nerves were shot and I was ready to end it all; I had lost my mind. I truly thought that he cared about the health and welfare of me and my husband. Boy was I wrong.

I did begin counseling and medication on December 4^th, 2006. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I was going to be alright and that I would finally be granted the 90 days of leave I so desperately needed. I was told by Mr. Phillips to go in to work on December 14^th to meet with Alyssa, the new director of the Brevard County Guardian ad Litem office. As always, I did what I was told. When I was called in to her office all hell broke out. She and Mr. Phillips told me that I needed to be in the office, that the other employees were beginning to complain because I wasn't pulling my share. I understood but still requested my 90 days, the 90 days that I was still legally entitled to. Mr. Phillips and Alyssa then began to accuse me of making the office look bad. What? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I lost control of my emotions, of my mind, of my thoughts and I walked out of the office saying that I would quit. I had no clue what I was saying or doing at that moment.

I went to my office, sat down in my chair, and started to do my work all the while crying so hard I could barely see. What were they doing to me? All I ever wanted was the 90 days I was entitled to by law. Then, all of a sudden, my computer access was shut off. Mr. Phillips entered my office with a paper stating that I had resigned and wanted me to sign it, which I didn't. I just couldn't stop crying. "No, I won't sign that. I don't want to lose my job. All I want is the 90 days I am entitled to so that I can get my head straight. Please, please, please let me get my head straight". I pleaded. But, it didn't matter. I was told to pack my things up and leave the building immediately. I was treated as if I was a criminal. I was dieing right then and there.

I couldn't stop crying as I packed up my things from an office I had sat in for over two years. Alyssa and Mr. Phillips asked me if they needed to call 911 and if I needed to speak to my counselor. They saw how much turmoil they had put me through but sat there and watched as I continued to lose control of my emotions. What the hell was I going to do? Not only did my husband have his job taken away from him but now I was having my job taken away from me too. How could they have been so cruel, so heartless, and so evil? They even walked me out to my vehicle as if I was being led out of a jail cell. They let me drive away in such a bad emotional state that I am still unsure how I made it home without getting in to an accident. I cried for three days straight after this ordeal. What a terrible Christmas this was going to be.

I guess the entire office was glad that I was gone as I never received a phone call or an email with concern. It was ok when the other girls took two months off for vacation. It was ok when they would bring their children or grandchildren in to the office to watch them. It was ok when they never worked 8 hours in a day. It was ok that they spoke ill of the volunteers. It was ok that the lead attorney pursued a relationship with one of the parents of a represented child. It was ok when they would sit around the office for hours and gossip. But, it was not ok when I requested time off to care for my husband. I was just a peon there and nothing that was happening in my life mattered. The Guardian ad Litem program felt no compassion whatsoever and felt no guilt when they took away my job and sent my husband and I into the poor house.

It is now September 11, 2007, and still I have not found steady employment. We are two months away from losing our home. My health has failed tremendously but I have no insurance and my husband, well he will never be the same. There is no income at all coming in to our home. My husband will never be able to return back to work because he has been deemed as disabled but, he has not been given disability yet. I have not received any answers from the Governor or any other agencies concerning the discrimination shown me by Gary Phillips and the Guardian ad Litem office. They took away my life and everything it stood for and one day they will be punished in some form. And, when my true death occurs because of over anxiety and hardship, the Guardian ad Litem office will still feel no shame. They care for the children because that is their job, not because they have any heart.

If any of you find yourselves in the position of having to care for an ill family member do not let your place of employment deny you your rights. The FMLA is a law that was created for people like you and I and we are entitled to it. It is our right to be granted the Family Medical Act Leave and any employer who denies this right should be persecuted. Don't take no for an answer.

The Guardian ad Litem office of Brevard County, Florida may have caused my demise but that does make them right. They acted inhumanely against me, an employee, so how do you think they act towards children and their families? As a state agency they should be expected to treat every employee, volunteer, child, and parent as a human being but evidently, they have no clue as to how to do this. God knows what they did to me and he will be watching them closely from now on.