On Sunday, I told you about Jonathan Larson, a delivery driver for Rosebud Italian Specialties and Pizzeria in Naperville, Illinois who is suffering from cancer of the brain and spine. Last week, he asked his manager for six weeks off so he could have surgery to remove some of the cancer from his back. The manager responded in about the worst way possible–by firing him.
Well, it looks like this story has a happy ending. On Sunday afternoon, Rosebud Restaurants, the Naperville eatery’s owner, announced that it was more than willing to welcome Larson back when he is fully recovered from his surgery. The Chicago-based Italian restaurant chain announced on its Facebook page that after speaking with his family, “Jon Larson’s job will be waiting for him when he completes his treatment.” Rosebud said that while it makes it a point to treat its employees like “family,” its treatment of Larson “did not live up to our own expectations.” Translation: “We screwed this up, and we screwed this up royally.”
This change didn’t come without some prodding. After this story broke, Rosebud faced quite possibly the most severe backlash in its 40-year history. It didn’t help matters that a poster on its Facebook page was outed as an employee of Rosebud’s public relations firm after posting a story about how Rosebud cared for his mother after she was stricken with cancer. Additionally, the manager’s actions not only violated every standard of decency that is known, but may have also broken the law as well. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the Illinois Human Rights Act, protect employees from losing their jobs when they have to take extended time off for medical reasons. It’s not known which of these laws applies.
Ever since I read about this on Sunday, the one thing I haven’t been able to get out of my mind is of WMAQ-TV’s Natalie Martinez helping Larson to a bench to get some relief from the pain he has been experiencing in his joints due to his cancer. Several rounds of chemotherapy have only made the pain worse. It boggles my mind how a manager could have known how much pain Larson is in and been so cold and callous. For his part, Larson hasn’t said whether he’ll accept Rosebud’s offer or not. However, if I were in his shoes, it would be awfully hard for me to come back as long as that manager is still there. After all, it’s obvious the manager is missing a major part–the part that makes him human.
Larson is due to have surgery in December. Here’s hoping he has a speedy recovery, regardless of how his job situation shakes out.
Let us know your thoughts at the Liberal America Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.
Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
