Apple fires Genius for no-show after he volunteers for Haitian Earthquake Relief

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Apple’s shown some commitment to Haitian Earthquake Relief Efforts by making it easy for iTunes users to donate to the Red Cross, but according to one Genius Bar employee, this commitment doesn’t extend to letting its employees rush off to Santiagio to help facilitate relief efforts: he was fired for his troubles.

According to the ex-Genius, Apple fired him for breaking their three strike “no call, no show” policy.

Last week I was presented a time-sensitive opportunity to fly to Santiago in the Dominican Republic as part of a volunteer relief group, assisting in sending aid to Haiti. I was working with a volunteer group that was being co-sponsored by Airline Ambassadors, an N.G.O. program working in conjunction with the airlines, as well as the United Nations. I followed the standard procedure for calling out of work at exactly 4:47am on January 16th, the same hour that I was notified that I was eligible to participate in the program. I was gone for five days.

As of today, January 23, 2010, I have been terminated by Apple. I was told because I didn’t follow protocol, which requires that I call out for each day that I am absent, that three “no call/no shows”, is grounds for termination. I thought that explaining my whereabouts for this past five days would have been sufficient, clearly it was not.

I want to be clear that I am not outraged that I was fired. I am just deeply saddened that Apple lacks the compassion and empathy when it came to reviewing my employment in the context of my situation. I acknowledge and accept that I need to be held accountable for leaving work so abruptly, but to not let me make it up to them is harsh.
In a nutshell, I was fired for a technicality, my work in Santiago helping send aid to Haiti, irrelevant.

In truth, it’s hard to really fault Apple here. A major humanitarian disaster in a third-world nation, as tragic as it is, does not mean that Apple Stores get shuttered. The employee in question undoubtedly had noble motives, but he also admits openly that he violated the company’s policy on calling out: he only called out once, then retroactively explained his absence for the additional five days. It’s pretty much an admission that if he’d followed Apple’s policy, he’d still have his job.

But hey, at least it makes for a good martyr story, right? “FIRED FOR SAVING HAITI.” Too bad so many Western disaster responders do more harm than good.

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