'Boss From Hell' Fires New York Mum After Receiving Donated Kidney

Debbie Stevens, a 47-year-old divorced mum of two, filed on Friday a complaint with the New York Human Rights Commission against her boss, 61-year-old Jackie Brucia for allegedly firing her. Stevens donated a kidney to Brucia and was still recovering when she lost her job.

Stevens claimed that Brucia, who runs Atlantic Automotive Group, a new car dealer, set her up to get her kidneys. She was a clerk in January 2009 when she met Brucia who was then one of the company’s controller.

She moved to Florida in June 2010 and got a new job. In September, she visited Long Island and talked Brucia when she found out that her former boss needed a kidney donor and transplant. Stevens returned to the company.

Even if Brucia told Stevens that she already has a possible donor, the former employee still offered her kidney in case the donor’s organ would not match with Brucia’s body.

That turned out to be the case, so Stevens donated her kidney, but it was neither a match so the organ ended up in Saint Louis, Missouri. But because of Stevens’s donation, Brucia received a kidney from San Francisco and got a life extension.

The surgery to harvest her kidney was on Aug 10, 2011. Even if she felt not ready to return to work on Sept 6, was forced to, while Brucia was recovering at her house. She was experiencing pain, discomfort in her legs and digestion problems, so Stevens went home sick on Sept 9.

To Stevens’s surprise, Brucia called her house and berated her, asking her why she was not at work. When Stevens told her she was not feeling well, Brucia said, “You can’t come and go as you please. People are going to think you’re getting treatment,” quotes the New York Post.

According to UCSFhealth.org, the minimum time that a kidney donor needs to recover is four to six weeks, but experts recommend eight weeks before returning to work, although in some cases it could last up to 12 weeks. Clearly, Stevens’s recovery period was not enough, based on expert advice.

Stevens also complained that when both of them were back in the office, Brucia allegedly yelled at her for her so-called mistakes. The kidney-recipient boss also removed her overtime and transferred her to a dangerous and faraway dealership 50 miles from her home.

The mental anguish she suffered led Stevens to consult a psychiatrist, while her lawyer wrote to the firm. Brucia, who fired her, denied to media the claims that Stevens made, which she said was far from the truth.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au