Honeybaked Ham Fires Employee Shot In Store Robbery
A North Carolina Honeybaked Ham store manager was shot in an attempted store robbery in April, and has been recovering on worker's compensation since the shooting. Now that his benefits have run out, the store very thoughtfully has terminated his employment. (Update: Honeybaked Ham sent us a statement with their take on this situation, which is appended at the end of this post.)
They meant well—the company's ostensible reason was to allow him to apply for Social Security disability benefits, a process that can take months or even years.
Huether said the company promised in e-mails to keep him and his family "whole financially." For him, that meant keeping his pay and medical benefits intact.
"I mean don't try to say you're this warm, fuzzy family company with family traditions and all this other stuff," Huether said. "The facts are not matching what's been said to me."
Maggie DeCan, vice president of human resources, said the decision to terminate his employment had to do with following workers' compensation rules and that his release could make him eligible for Social Security disability benefits.
The family is primarily concerned with the loss of their health insurance, which would cost them $1,500 per month out of pocket.
Employee injured in robbery attempt loses job [WRAL]
(Update: Honeybaked Ham has sent us their side of the story.)
Statement from HoneyBaked Ham Regarding Richard Huether
At HoneyBaked Ham of Georgia, we value and care deeply about our employee family. We have been and continue to be deeply concerned about Rich Huether and wish him a full and speedy recovery. In keeping with our values over the past several months, we took a course of action that we thought was not only lawful, but also best for Rich and his family.
In the aftermath of Rich's unfortunate injury, we provided meals to him and his family and visited him at the hospital and at his home. We continued this support until we were asked to stop. Rich continues to have access to 100% employer-paid long-term disability benefits and workers' compensation benefits, which are available to all HoneyBaked Ham full-time employees. These benefits provide associates with the near-equivalent of full take-home pay. Additionally, since the accident, HoneyBaked Ham has more than made up the difference between his workman's compensation wages and his take-home pay in direct payments to Rich.
In an effort to reduce some of the stress of health insurance costs, HoneyBaked Ham is stepping forward to reimburse him for his COBRA payments. Finally, when Rich is healthy enough to return to work, we're very interested in speaking with him about opportunities at HoneyBaked of GA.
As always, we remain committed to our employees. We continue to send best wishes to Rich and his family, and look forward to his healthy recovery.
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Comments:
I don't mean to politicize this, but this is just another reason why we need healthcare reform. The idea of tying your health insurance to your job is just not a good one. If you lose your job, you not only lose your income, but you're on the hook for insurance premiums, and a lot of people stick with jobs they hate just for the benefits.
@icruise:
What you dont find 1500$ outragous for healthcare that may or may not deny your claim??? You sir are a cancer in this countrys... bla bla Yea I agree with you man it is nuts. I love how i'm covered by my company for 100%, i dont pay anything for it, but to get my wife on would be 1040$ a month. God forbid we have a child because then its over 1800$/month then!
@icruise: And even when you find another job, the period that you went uninsured due to unemployment will count against you with your next insurer giving them yet another reason to deny claims.
@icruise: Hey, why would we want people to be healthy if they can't afford to pay high premiums on their own?? If you can't afford health insurance, the country is better off without you! Fox News told me so.
If I wasn't already a vegetarian, I'd stop eating Honeybaked Ham over this.
As for healthcare reform, I know so many people that are sooo afraid of it. Sheeples.
He was interviewed on the local news last night. Poor man looked like he was going to break down in tears when he talked about how his young son was still terrified that it could happen to his Daddy again. Now he also has to worry about choosing between completely recovering and being able to care for his family financially.
Of course, to the company he's just a drain on resources, so making sure they can get away with not doing their part after he was shot on the job is priority #1. I hope their decision gets plenty of publicity.
@TinkishDelight: And likely, a new insurance company will consider the shooting a "pre-existing condition." It's like the stories you keep hearing about the people who become ill with serious diseases (cancer, lupus, etc.), have to stop working because of said disease, lose insurance, and can't get new insurance because of their pre-existing condition. Outrageous.
It doesn't matter if you're for or against the public option...loopholes like this need to be addressed, it's KILLING hard-working people.
@icruise: I totally agree - tying health insurance to one's job is ridiculous. Due to health, I can't work full time, and I'm an independent contractor - doing the job I love to do, means I can't get my own health insurance and have to rely on my husband. What if I weren't married? Not cool. Healthcare reform!
PS - no more HoneyBaked Ham for me!
@icruise: It's the only reason I'm still working at my current job- the insurance.
I'd be so much happier working elsewhere, but I need my insurance desperately. I don't know how a clause hasn't dumped me from insurance- I knock on wood. I think working for an ENORMOUS entity keeps the insurance companies interested in keeping the ENTITY happy, which means not dumping people off.
I wonder if it's because Social Security eligibility preclude it (I have no idea), but when I was laid off, my idiot bosses at least knew they were being awful human beings and extended my benefits for almost a year. So perhaps he could still be "fired" but they pay his premiums still?
Thats not cool. Even taking a bullet for a company these days doesn't entitle you to ethical treatment. This makes me sad, and hopefully honeybaked ham goes out of business for this. I'll bet the guy who fired him can't get insurance due to his pre-existing codition of not having a heart. Fucker.
@icruise: If you didn't mean to politicize this, then why did you proceed to do it? This is worse than people pointing out their puns to show us all how clever they are.
In fact, you did mean to. I have zero problem with that, except you lied when you started by saying you didn't mean to.
Wow, they fired him since he would drive up the cost of insurance for them.
But hey, at least we don't live in a socialist country.
Wouldn't he be able to retain his health coverage under COBRA? The ARRA passed earlier this year says he can do this at a 65% discount. That means he'd have to pay $535 for it. Certainly not cheap, but also a lot less than $1,500.
My mother will be happy to know I no longer wan't honey baked ham on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Honestly I would wonder how the person or people who made this call feel. Id feel bad for it as a person with ethics and morals.
@MyPetFly: Healthcare reform is, as far as I can see, almost universally accepted as being needed.
Too many people think healthcare reform = public option. Which would fail miserably.
The holidays are coming up, let us show our dissappointment with Honey Baked Ham's actions with our wallets.
I have a hard time believing SS is going to come even close to supporting this guy's family, and besides that they can drag out denials and appeals for literally years. This guy's gonna be broke and without insurance for that whole time and unable to get individual coverage because the pre-existing condition of A BULLET WOUND SUSTAINED AT WORK.
I thought worker's compensation had to make you whole? Isn't there some requirement that they keep paying for his treatment until he's all healed?
This crap is why I have a strict policy of total compliance with robbers. You want the money in the till? Let me get you a bag. Oh, the narcotics in the safe, too? Here's the keys. You want some help with all that oxycodone?
@PsiCop:
I think termination is an exemption for continuing health coverage under COBRA. There are a long list of exemptions and exclusions so dont quote me.
@PsiCop: How can you pay for it if you are unemployed with a family to feed. COBRA is and will always be a joke with or without subsidies. If we had a single payer option then he wouldn't have to worry about COBRA at all. He'd get unemployment, however the majority of it wouldn't be going to health care premiums. Also there are cases when people aren't qualified for unemployment. Such was the case with me when I was a contractor.
@PsiCop: Clearly you've never been on COBRA.
The $1500 is almost certainly the COBRA cost, and frankly it sounds low. When I was offered COBRA it was $1600/mo for just *me*. No family.
COBRA lets you stay on the group plan without interruption but you have to pay the full cost--both your contribution and what your employer used to cover. At least that's how it was with my former employer. You're also not allowed to downgrade your coverage to save money. It's all or nothing.
The family would be better served finding private insurance. It's much cheaper, but the initial deductions (and hence the out of pocket costs) will be higher. Faced with that choice I opted to go without insurance for a time. Fortunately I found another job... 18 months later.
Health insurance is broken. I can't believe people don't see that.
@PsiCop: COBRA is RIDICULOUS. I've been laid off since last November, and even WITH the discount I'd be paying over 650 a month.
Do you know how much I get in unemployment each month? Try $1300. Do you know how much my rent is? $650. So... Combine my rent and my COBRA, and ... oh, wow. Look at that! That's what I have in unemployment each month! Guess I can stop eating now, I can stop paying for the internet and applying to jobs, I can stop putting gas in my car, I can also stop paying for electric to keep me from getting heatstroke in the summer and freezing in winter!
Y'know, because it's SO easy to afford COBRA with the ARRA discount!
So this guy is going to be living off of Social Security disability, which is a pita to get in the first place, is supposed to have enough money coming in to pay all his bills, plus his hospital bills, and COBRA?
@icruise: From the libertarian side, I'd like to point out that even those who aren't in favor of government-run (or -regulated) medical care think the current system is seriously screwy, but it's also important to keep in mind that government meddling (through wage caps and the spaghetti tax code) is why we're in this position to start with.
I guess Maggie DeCan is a typical republican and just wants to push the expenses onto the government.
This is pathetic for a company to fire someone under these circumstances.
@chrylis: I don't see how "government meddling" has screwed up health care. Wage caps and tax codes? What wage cap? And how does that impact the health care situation in this country?
"three years and all I got was this exit wound"
According to [www.expertlaw.com] it states:
Full medical benefits are provided to employees entitled to worker's compensation benefits, with no time or monetary limits. The employer selects the physician who will provide care.
That means that he should receive full benefits, without being cut off.
This guy should find a good worker comp lawyer.
@Rugbydan: Fail, as in "Dang guvmint can't do anything right" or fail, as in "It will be so popular it will force private insurers out of business"? It's hard to keep the teabagging story straight.
In the full article the HR VP is quoted as saying -
"We are a value-serving company," DeCan said in a statement. "We do the right thing and serve others. We couldn't feel any worse for Rich, and we would do anything we could for him."
Anything? How about letting him keep his job!
@icruise: The added problem is when they fire someone who is ill or injured and they lose insurance what do they do? If you can't work you can't pay for insurance, if your sick you can't work until you get better.
The company acting like they did him a favor that he could now qualify for SSD? Never mind that SSD is running 1-3 YEARS before people can even get a review. SSD rejects about 60% of the claims they receive. No they are not all bogus claims either.
If Michael Moore wants to do another documentary he needs to do it on how screwed people are if they fall ill and can't work or end up left hanging by WC.
@reishka: Wow, those COBRA rates sound ridiculous. My COBRA (single person) was around $500-$600/mo before subsidy, around $250 or so with subsidy
Ever since they became a big name I've had their ham every Xmas or Thanksgiving. Almost without fail somebody would bring some Honeybaked Ham. I'm actually starting to get sick of the stuff anyway, and we're hosting Thanksgiving this year. I'm looking forward to having a good reason to tell the guests not to bring Honeybaked Ham.
Health care reform NOW. This may be the most important consumer there is. Best Buy sucks, capitalism first health care kills.
Sorry
Health care reform NOW. This may be the most important consumer issue there is. Best Buy sucks, capitalism first health care kills.
@RyanAEH: The topic is only politicized because the vast majority of Americans, yourself obviously included, can only think in terms of Party A and Party B. It doesn't matter if the idea is good or not (and healthcare reform obviously is). People just cling to whatever ideals "their guy" supports, because the "other guy" is inherently wrong in all aspects.
If you can think for yourself, then no, it's not a politicized topic.
@icruise: I agree, tying insurance to a job just seems so arbitrary to me. I can see why a company may want to offer benefits to entice workers, and how insurance is a benefit, but at what point did it get so entangled? Why not tie groceries to gym memberships to a particular employer? It just amazes me at how people act like insurance provided by employers is all that ever has been and all that ever can be.
@reishka: Shh!
The Republicans' plan will fix your problem lickety-split. With a tax credit at the end of the year. Problem: solved!!
@RyanAEH:
Is English not your first language? When someone says "I don't mean to...", it is similar to saying, "I don't want to be rude." It is a colloquialism for "I apologize in advance." A way of showing deference and sensitivity to the delicacy of the situation.
It would be similar to, "In all due respect, RyanAEH, you're an overreacting blowhard."
I've had to deal with Honeybaked Ham corporate before. They are a morally bankrupt company.
It's another example of the irony in the Republican position against government healthcare - the man can no longer work due to the the expense of employer-provided healthcare. If all citizens shared equally toward a singl-payer system then the cost of healthcare wouldn't figure in to the man's employment situation.
Do any of you realize that workman's comp is not indefinite? It does run out eventually. It is also entirely separate from health insurance and is not intended to pay medical bills. It is meant to make up your salary while you are unable to work due to medical reasons. Once it runs out you get nothing UNLESS you apply for and receive SS disability benefits. Per the norm there aren't enough actual facts here to determine the truth about this.
@luftmenschPhil:
Why should I have to contribute to this guy's healthcare? If he was cut-off illegally, he can sue and force the company to pay-up. If he feels he was unfairly discharged, he can sue his employer. If he feels that they are responsible for his wounds, he can sue them. Why should the government, or society as a whole, be responsible for ensuring that this guy has his medical bills paid? His situation sucks, but don't put his problems on me.
Yeah, every year I get the Honeybaked catalog with super-overpriced products and $20.00 shipping at least. The ham is good but it goes up all the time (although they claim in this year's catalog it went down, I can't see any difference). They plastered this "family value's" pic of their Stepford family grinning at the in the catalog every year. Like anyone gives a damn. They are in Carrollton, GA. I used fun a theater there in the "First Tuesday" shopping center. This is the most redneck town I ever lived in. The citizens don't like blacks or anyone not white, Southern and Protestant (they tolerate the Catholics because Susan Hayward lived there and paid for the Catholic graveyard).
So, I can see them firing someone shot working for them. This town and the family that runs Honeybaked are rabid Republicans who believe in "do as I say, not as I do" and "take care of your own damn self, no matter your circumstances".
@Esquire99:
Actually, I take part of that back. Workman's comp. will alter his ability to sue them if he thinks they are responsible for the injuries.
It's good that people cite a highly unusual and specific event when supporting sweeping institutional changes for everyone. Because any of us could someday find ourselves shot on the job and laid off (although 99.999% of us will not).
We should call this for what it is, a shitty move by a corporation that should be mocked and ridiculed publicly until they reverse course (which already appears to be occurring according to the story). Not some kind of indictment of the U.S. healthcare system.
If he goes on SSI like Honeybake wants, he'll qualify for Medicade. While it's not an ideal situation, he does have a safety net.
Simple conflict of interest; they couldn't let him bring home the bacon.