A South Florida man said he was fired from his job simply because colon cancer struck him. Now the federal government is going to bat for him, filing legal action against his former bosses.
The government's message to his employer and anyone who has a payroll: You can't do that. No canning a worker just because they get sick.
"It was awful because all of sudden you beat a disease that a lot of people who are not with us anymore, and then to be told that you're being terminated, that was crushing," Greg Reyes said.
Reyes, 61, survived the colon cancer that struck him in 2010. He lived through a surgery at Baptist Hospital, chemotherapy treatments bordering his trip to see his son graduate from college, and said he even worked some at his job as a sales rep for Idex that produces heavy duty mechanical equipment, despite the chemo.
But he exclusively told NBC 6 he wasn't prepared after working for Idex for four years to be terminated just a few weeks after he was back on the job full-time.
"I probably would have worked extra hard," Reyes said.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission didn't think his firing was right either. The EEOC filed legal action against Idex on behalf of Reyes.
Local
The EEOC told the court Reyes successfully performed his duties at all times and Idex violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it terminated Reyes because of his disability.
"Mr. Reyes' supervisors continued to ask him questions, invasive questions, about his blood cell count, about the extent of his disability," said Samantha Williams with EEOC.
Reyes said while his base salary was $36,000, he made over $150,000 with his commissions, an indication of his performance, his attorney said.
"It tells me that it was great. When somebody makes four times the amount of their salary in commissions, they're a pretty valuable employee," said Attorney Matthew Dietz.
"We hope this lawsuit serves as an education piece for individuals to know that if they have a disability and they are treated unlawfully in the workplace, they have a place to go," said Kim McCoy with EEOC.
Reyes said he's been through most of his 401K retirement funds. He spent three years trying to reach a deal with Idex but that never happened. He's looking for back pay and other damages.
NBC 6 reached out to Idex but didn't hear back.
If you think you've been discriminated against in the workplace, or you're an employer, and want to educate yourself, click here for more information.
