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A man in Palm Beach County, Fla., is suing his former employer, saying he was terminated
A man in Palm Beach County, Fla., is suing his former employer, saying he was terminated
on a pretext because his late daughter’s cancer treatments were too expensive.
Yovany Gonzalez, 36, was a securities broker with Wells Fargo in Palm Beach County. He
began his career as a mortgage consultant at a Wachovia bank branch, which was acquired
by Wells Fargo in 2008. One of his children, Mackenzie, was diagnosed with cancer in
December 2008. During Mackenzie’s treatment, Gonzalez had to work irregular hours,
“generally less than full time, and in several different locations,” the suit states. His attor-
ney, Jack Scarola, said, “This is a case of heart versus pocketbook.” “There’s a dramatic
contrast between Yovany’s coworkers — their willingness to help family out while Mack-
enzie was being treated — and callousness of corporate management on the other,” said
Scarola. Gonzalez alleges that he was fired on a pretext — for falsifying his time records
– but that his daughter’s medical treatment costs were the real reason. He is suing for
damages in excess of $15,000, the jurisdictional minimum that must be pled in order for
a case to be pursued in the circuit court of the state, Scarola said. A spokeswoman for
Wells Fargo said, “Mr. Gonzalez’s termination was completely unrelated to his family’s
health care needs.” “The passing of Mr. Gonzalez’s daughter was tragic. Our deepest symp-
athies go out to him and his family,” the company said in a statement to ABC News this
week. “We value and support all of our team members. As part of that commitment, we
provide comprehensive health care coverage for more than 500,000 team members and
their families to help them manage their medical needs including terminal illnesses. Use
of these benefits do not affect their employment at Wells Fargo.”
Gonzalez said part of the mix-up with his time sheet was due to the fact that he was work-
ing remotely during his daughter’s cancer treatment. “On many occasions, Gonzalez was
unable to record time when he was working, with bank approval, from a remote location,”
according to the lawsuit filed with Palm Beach County Court last week. Scarola said Gon-
zalez declined to comment directly at this point in the litigation. In the suit, Gonzalez claims
the company changed its time entry system for employees such that workers could not enter
time for work without the assistance of a supervisor. He said he enrolled the help of his
supervisor, who had told him, “everything was fine, and that he should provide his best re-
collection of the hours,” the suit stated, and “she then input the time for him.” In July 2010,
Gonzalez learned his daughter needed surgery to remove a tumor, which was later sche-
duled for August 2010 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The
suit states that Gonzalez’s wife, Susan, was contacted by Wells Fargo and his insurer, Uni-
ted Healthcare, “who asked numerous questions about Mackenzie’s surgery and long-term
care.” “Several references were made to the cost of her treatment,” the suit states. United
Healthcare did not return a request for comment. Though Wells Fargo accommodated
Gonzalez to work in other locations, even flying him and his daughter for medical care at
one point, he said his supervisor told him in late July 2010 the company was “looking for
reasons to get rid of him,” the suit stated. Also in late July 2010, Gonzalez alleges in his
suit, he received a call from a woman who said she was with Wells Fargo’s security depart-
ment, who stated she was investigating whether he falsified his timesheet.
“She accused Gonzalez of stealing from the company,” but he “pointed out that the time-
sheet in question” was one his supervisor completed for him, the suit stated. On Aug. 3,
2010, he was terminated for falsification of time records.
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