Mom Loses Job After Kidney Donation

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia mother ready to return to work after giving her son a kidney finds out she doesn't have a job to return to.
If you're a mom, chances are you'd do anything for your child.
Claudia Rendon didn't hesitate when her son needed one of her kidneys.
But she didn't think she'd have to choose between her child and her job.
She's smiling now, but make no mistake, this has been the toughest year of Rendon's life.
"It was the hardest thing i ever had to go through, bury my mother," Rendon said.
Even as Rendon mourned her mom, she found out her father had leukemia, her uncle passed away, and her son's kidneys failed.
"Everything was coming down all at once. I felt like the best thing that happened to me this whole entire year was that God gave me the blessing of being able to give my son my kidney."
Through it all, Rendon showed up to work at the Aviation Institute Of Maintenance, in Northeast Philadelphia.
The company teaches would-be mechanics how to fix planes.
Rendon used her vacation time to be with her mother. But she needed a leave of absence to donate her kidney to her son.
"She saved my life basically,” says Alex Rendon. “Who else can say their mom gave them life two times?"
Before she left, she says her boss made her sign a paper, saying her job would not be guaranteed.
Sure enough, late last week, her supervisor told her he had hired someone else.
Fox 29 tried to find out why the Aviation Institute Of Maintenance fired someone the company itself describes as a good employee.
"I have no comment and I'll have ask you to leave," said Rendon's former boss.
The company had the right to terminate her employment under FMLA, or the Family Medical Leave Act. FMLA covers an employee for 12 weeks and Rendon took off less time than that. But she also worked for a small company with under 50 employees, and those companies operate under different FMLA rules.
A company representative also said it was in its legal rights to let Rendon go.


You know Obama will be all over this one for the sympathy points.

Posted on myfoxphilly.com