纽约某女为救老板性命捐肾反被解雇

中国日报网 2012-04-25 08:48

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N.Y. Mom Fired After Donating Kidney to Help Her Boss (ABC News)

A New York Long Island woman said she was fired after she donated a kidney to help save the life of her boss.

Debbie Stevens, a 47-year-old divorced mother of two, filed a formal complaint with the New York State Human Rights Commission last Friday, claiming her boss used her for her organ then fired her "after the woman got what she wanted." Stevens' boss, 61-year-old Jackie Brucia, is one of the West Islip controllers for Atlantic Automotive Group, a billion-dollar dealership operator. Brucia hired Stevens in January 2009 as an assistant.

"She just started treating me horribly, viciously, inhumanly after the surgery," Stevens told ABCNews.com. "It was almost like she hired me just to get my kidney." Although Stevens turned out to be less than a perfect kidney match for Brucia, Stevens donated her organ to an out-of-state stranger so that Brucia could move up on the organ donor list.

Stevens left the company in June 2010 to move to Florida. She returned to New York in September to visit her daughter, and decided to stop in at the dealership, according to the complaint. It was during this visit that Brucia told Stevens of her need for a kidney transplant.

"She said she had a possible donor, a friend or something," Stevens said. "But I told her if anything happened that I'd be willing to donate my kidney. She kind of jokingly replied, 'You never know, I may have to take you up on that one day.'"

A few months later, Stevens moved back to Long Island and asked Brucia if she had any job openings. Brucia hired her within weeks.

Then, in January 2011, Stevens said her boss called her into her office and asked if she was serious about donating her kidney.

"I said, 'Yeah, sure. This isn't a joking matter,'" Stevens said. "I did not do it for job security. I didn't do it to get a raise. I did it because it's who I am. I didn't want her to die," Stevens said.

When tests revealed that Stevens was not the best match, doctors agreed to let her give her kidney to someone in Missouri, which gave Brucia a higher place on the organ donor list.

Stevens underwent surgery on Aug. 10, 2011. She said doctors hit a nerve in her leg, causing her discomfort and digestive problems.

She returned to work four weeks later, and said that's when the problems began.

"I don't have words strong enough or large enough to describe her treatment of me," Stevens said. "Screaming at me about things I never did, carrying on to the point where she wouldn't even let me leave my desk. It was constant, constant screaming."

After consulting a psychiatrist for her mental stress, Stevens' hired attorneys who sent a letter to Atlantic Automotive Group. Stevens was fired within a week.

Stevens' attorney, civil rights lawyer Lenard Leeds, said he planned to file a discrimination lawsuit against AAG, and would likely seek millions of dollars in compensation.

(Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)

纽约长岛的一名女性称她为救上司性命捐了一个肾后，被解雇了。

黛比•史蒂文斯是一位有两个孩子的47岁的离异母亲，她上周五向纽约州人权委员会提交了一封正式控诉书，称她的老板利用她捐出自己的器官，然后“这名女性在得到自己想要的东西后”将她解雇。史蒂文斯的老板名叫杰姬•布鲁西亚，今年61岁，是大西洋汽车集团西伊斯利普控制器生产商的一员，该集团是价值过十亿美元的代理商。布鲁西亚于2009年1月雇用史蒂文斯做助理。

史蒂文斯告诉美国广播公司网站说：“手术结束后她对我的态度就变得很恶劣、充满敌意、残忍。好像她雇用我就只是为了得到我的肾。”尽管史蒂文斯的肾对布鲁西亚而言并不是最佳匹配，但史蒂文斯将她的肾捐给一个外州的陌生人，这样布鲁西亚可以在器官捐赠名单上排位靠前。

史蒂文斯于2010年6月离开公司，搬到佛罗里达州居住。据控诉书中所写，她9月份回纽约看望女儿，决定顺便去一下公司。正是这次走访中，布鲁西亚告诉史蒂文斯自己需要做肾移植。

史蒂文斯说：“她说她可能有一位捐赠人，大概是一位朋友。但我告诉她如果发生任何意外，我愿意捐出我的肾。她好似开玩笑地回答说，‘谁知道呢，也许有一天我会用上你的肾。’”

几个月后，史蒂文斯搬回长岛居住，问布鲁西亚是否有工作机会。布鲁西亚在几周后就雇用了她。

2011年1月，史蒂文斯说老板将她叫进办公室，问捐肾一事她是否是认真的。

史蒂文斯说：“我说，‘是的，当然。这可不是拿来开玩笑的。’我不是为了保住工作才这么做。也不是为了升职才这么做。我这么做是因为我的为人。我不想让她死。”

当测试显示史蒂文斯的肾不是最佳匹配时，医生同意让她将肾捐给密苏里州的另一个人，这让布鲁西亚在器官捐赠名单上可以更靠前。

史蒂文斯于2011年8月10日做了手术。她说医生触及她腿上的一根神经，导致她身体不适，出现消化问题。

她四周后回去工作，据她说从这以后麻烦就开始了。

史蒂文斯说：“我没有足够强烈或有力的言词来描述她对我的态度。以莫须有的罪名对我叫骂，甚至都不让我离开办公桌。那叫骂一直持续不断。”

在史蒂文斯由于心理压力太大去看了精神病医生后，她雇用的律师向大西洋汽车集团寄了律师信。史蒂文斯在一周内就被解雇了。

史蒂文斯的律师、民权律师伦纳德•里兹说他打算对大西洋汽车集团提出歧视诉讼，并将可能索赔数百万美元。