HOUSTON – One year away from retiring, Consepcion Zapata, a custodian, learned she was fired from her job at Heights High School.
“I can’t even sleep at night I’m just thinking about my husband and my family and my job,” Zapata.
Zapata said she immediately went on leave after her husband was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital on Sept. 16.
“They tell me he has cancer so I had to be there with him,” said Zapata.
She notified her supervisor, who approved her time off so she could be with her husband.
“I have the copies where they approved my days. I’ve got everything.” Said Zapata.
KPRC 2 obtained documents showing Zapata’s approved time off started as early as Sept. 11.
Nearly two weeks later, her husband passed away.
“It was too fast,” said Zapata.
Two days after her husband’s funeral, Zapata was back at work. She had missed 20 days.
Two months after her return, she received this letter in the mail saying she needed to attend a meeting on Dec. 5 about her future employment.
“They just told me that it was about my job and that there were a lot of absences. I was fired. I’ve been working for HISD for 15 years. It’s not fair because I’m always there. I’m never late and my husband was in the hospital,” said Zapata.
Zapata’s firing comes after Houston ISD updated its absence policy. It states employees can’t go over 15 paid days without facing disciplinary action, including possible termination. According to the policy, it went into effect on Nov. 7.
Houston ISD sent KPRC 2 the following statement:
Per law and policy, and similar to other school districts and private employers, HISD may define reasonable leave use and correspondingly what constitutes high absenteeism that may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. HISD’s reasonable use regulation available online to both the public and all employees (see here - DEC8) defines high absenteeism as the use of either discretionary or non-discretionary leave that exceeds 15 days in a duty calendar year. Furthermore, any use of unpaid leave by an employee who is not eligible for one of the many protected leave options (e.g., FMLA leave, Temporary Disability Leave, Catastrophic Leave, etc.) is also prohibited and may also result in termination.
Discretionary leave is taken for personal business or vacation and requires advanced notice. Non-discretionary leave is taken for personal or family illness, emergency, death, or military leave and allows for very little, if any, advanced planning. The 15-day maximum allowed per year includes both discretionary and non-discretionary types of leaves. Yet, if non-discretionary leave is taken for a reason that also qualifies as a protected leave, such as FMLA, Temporary Disability Leave, Catastrophic Leave, etc., then these eligible leave days do not count against the 15-day maximum (so, we also refer to them as “hold harmless days”) and can also be unpaid days without violating the prohibition on using unpaid days.
As an example, an employee with 20 accrued paid leave days who suffers from a serious health condition may apply for FMLA leave. If approved, then they can be absent for more than the 15-day maximum without facing disciplinary action since FMLA is a “hold harmless” protected leave (by both law and HISD’s policies and regulations). And if they continue to be absent beyond the depletion of their accrued 20 paid days, then they are also allowed to go into unpaid leave status for the duration of their needed FMLA leave. FMLA leave provides up to 60 days (3 months) of protected leave status (i.e., job security) and continuation of HISD’s contributions to their health insurance.
Zapata said she was not informed about the policy before she went on her approved leave.
“I like my job. I like what I do. And that’s why I spent 15 years working there. I want my job back,” said Zapata.
Zapata is filing a grievance to try to dispute her termination.