A Canadian woman was fired from her job after suffering an allergic reaction while she was at work.
Later, while Duperreault was in an ambulance, her supervisor texted her. Instead of asking how she was doing, the supervisor fired her.
"I gave your shifts away this week, and unfortunately, I won't be scheduling you any longer," the boss wrote in a text message that Duperreault posted online. "We will mail your last pay stub to you. Take care, wish you all the best."
"I feel like I was fired for having another allergic reaction because I had another one before, but it went really well because I had my EpiPen with me," Duperreault, who had been working at the retailer for two months, told CBC. "Everything was calm and cool and I went to the hospital. This one was handled terribly."
The supervisor also fired the co-worker who took Duperreault to the clinic, according to the post.
But Duperreault's post didn't seem to be filled with anger toward the supervisor. She said her aim was to "raise awareness about allergies in the workplace."
"I firmly believe that there should always be an epi pen on hand in every store," Duperreault wrote. "Who knows if a customer needs one in an emergency or someone who doesn't know they have allergies and doesn't own an epi pen. And frankly everyone I talked to about this believes that if she seen a customer in peril, she'd jump in to help... There should be training on how to administer an epi pen, how to handle a situation like that, and how to deal with the after math."
Y.M. Inc., the parent company of Urban Planet, told BuzzFeed that the CEO apologized to Duperreault for the incident. "We have thoroughly investigated this. Simply put, the actions were unacceptable," a spokesperson said. "We take very seriously the health and well-being of all our employees. We have reached out to Ms. Duperreault and we would ask for everyone's patience as we work through this situation."
Dupperreault told CBC News the company has promised to pay her until she finds a new job.
"That’s more than I could’ve asked for," she said.
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