Update on Woman Who Donated Kidney to Boss, Got Fired

As I previously blogged, Debbie Stevens, 47, was fired from her job just months after she donated her kidney to help her boss, Jackie Brucia, 61, receive a kidney from another donor. Stevens has filed a discrimination complaint with New York state officials that alleges that Stevens was tricked into donating her kidney and that Brucia only hired her back to ensure she had a back up kidney donor in the event her original donor fell through.

Stevens is also looking into legal action against Brucia in part because of Stevens’ need for health insurance following the surgery and her subsequent job loss. Reuters has noted that it is illegal for a boss to pressure an employee to return to work while the employee is ill or recuperating and that Stevens was entitled to time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act.  Atlantic Automotive Group, the company for which Brucia works and from which Stevens was fired, has called Stevens’ complaint groundless, claiming the company acted “honorably and fairly at every turn.” While Stevens previously stated that she had no regrets about donating her kidney, she has now been quoted as saying about Brucia, “You hate me so much, and I’m so despicable—give me my kidney back!”   

See David Schepp, N.Y. Worker Who Donated Kidney Tells Boss, ‘I Want It Back,” AOL, Apr. 25, 2012.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.