Employee faces forceful resignation after questioning policy that requires sick people to work

One thing that the Covid pandemic has taught the world is to not take contagious diseases lightly. If someone is sick, they should stay home or work from home instead of contaminating the workplace and putting everyone at risk. However, a medical facility did not follow this and asked its sick employees to still show up at work. When they were questioned about it by Reddit user u/headab0vewat3r, things took an unusual turn. So they turned to the platform to ask what potentially could be their next course of action.

The employee shared, "I work for a medical facility. I was made aware that people who were contagious were made to come to work." Like anyone concerned about their own health and the well-being of those around them, this user expressed their concern by stating, "I expressed my concern as I have a compromised family member." The employee was then made aware of the same. They said, "[I] was told that clinic policy requires you to find coverage unless you are febrile, so despite being contagious since management wouldn't find coverage for them, they would have to work."

Getting upset with how this conversation was moving ahead, they decided not to continue having this discussion. They told their employer, "I understand you have policies for a reason and have to uphold them. That being said I do not see there being any positive outcome to this conversation, so I am removing myself." In their post, they also mentioned how their boss was "toxic" and not worth messing up one's mental health. However, they chose not to go into more detail as to why.

The employee also happened to state all their work correspondence happened via WhatsApp. In a message their boss sent them, it seemed as if the boss wanted to explicitly say they were resigning. After seeing the text, the employee replied: "I am not resigning, but I also do not have anything else to say." They then went on to ask users on Reddit, "I know Texas does not have many employee protections, but would it have been considered wrongful termination to have told me that I'm resigning?"

A lot of people came to the employee's aid to assist them concerning what should their next step be. One user, u/Northern64, asked them to visit a lawyer: "Consult an attorney. You are asking if this is 'retaliation for refusing to work under unsafe conditions.' You did the right thing in refuting that this is a resignation, you are not quitting." Another person, u/Bo_Jim, provided him with some substantial legal advice with a legitimate link, "Your actions can serve as a resignation; i.e., walking off the job or not showing up. But your actions cannot serve as notice of resignation. That requires a written or verbal message coming from you. Your employer cannot construe your silence as notice of resignation."

u/Mojojojo3030 applauded their response to their employer's message and said, "It likely would not have been wrongful termination in Texas, as I don't think they have the good faith requirement implicit in contracts, so much as simply not a resignation. You did a great job establishing that you're not resigning and also heading off the need to respond to any other attempts to get you to resign. That said, there is a good chance you have to follow the policy or be fired for cause and therefore lose unemployment (although I have to question whether the policy is ADA compliant)."