family health insurance
I worked for a Company for over eight years, made good money and had excellent family health insurance. I have had back problems on and off for years and this manufacturing job was slowly taking it's toll. I worked out regularly and this helped with the pain. One time at work I pulled a muscle and they let me do light duty for two weeks. When I felt better I went back to my regular job and although a lot of people complained, I knew I had it pretty good. It was then announced that a new company was buying us out and everyone thought it was going to get a lot better in there. When the buyout was complete the trouble started, slowly at first. A layoff, the first I had seen in eight years. Then they started charging us more for our family health insurance followed by another layoff. Now we had one third of the staff doing the same job. Where as before I would spend an hour doing hard labor, mostly lifting before being relieved had now turned into six straight hours. I woke up the day after a hard day at work and could not move, but went to work anyway. Halfway thru the day I reported this to my supervisor and then found myself up in human resources with the new big shots. I told them what had happened and was told because I woke up with this it was not Workers comp but that I should take the rest of the day off and would be receiving a warning for missed time and to be back at work on Monday. Six of those in a year or five twice in a year was a termination. I had three missed days in the year and figured I could afford one more since I had two more coming off soon. So I left that Friday knowing I did not have to be back in until Monday. Well Monday came and still in serious pain went to work my twelve hour shift and then all of Tuesday. I ended up in bed for over three months and still in serious pain stayed out on short term disabilities. I received about one hundred and fifty a week and with four children that is nothing. I contacted several attorney's, even met with some of them, but because I admitted to waking up in pain instead of laying on the floor at work I could not get workers comp and lost my job after six months. So much for family health insurance!