Throwaway because this is a very specific situation but I'd like some outside opinions on this.
I worked for a security company for several years. In November my sister who lived 500 miles away was diagnosed with cancer and was scheduled to start chemo at the end of January of this year after surgery. Told my boss that I'd likely be quitting to move and take care of my sister. The other option would be personal leave but it turned into a headache so I opted to simply quit and reapply to my position when I got back to New York later this year. My last day was meant to be 1/18
I ended up being diagnosed with COVID during the last few days of December. I'm asthmatic so my doctor got nervous and told me to quarantine for at least 10 days instead of the standard 5 or 7. Told my boss and brought up my sick time and how I'd like to use it. I had about 16 hours piled up. They told me via text that the company would simply pay me the sick time in my last paycheck once I left after the 18th. Since I was horribly sick I didn't push it, I only wanted to rest. I had jobs in the past that did this so I didn't question it.
The entire week they would periodically message me for miscellaneous work stuff, that's a whole other thing I won't get into. I sent them screenshots from my smartwatch stating I had oxygen readings of high 80s and occasionally as low as high 70s (I checked it against actual oxygen readers and it was always accurate). I got sick 12/31 or so, meaning I'd return to work around 01/10 at the earliest, stay one week, then leave.
Around 1/3 (after sending these readings and my other stats) they told me I'd be working a Friday shift to cover a coworker “upon my return”. I typically only worked Sundays/Mondays and those were my designated days (my mother also had cancer in 2020/2021 so I was taking care of her and cut my hours, also I'm high risk so I was lessening my exposure to COVID). My husband was angry saying they were trying to squeeze days out of me before I left the company. Two days later they texted to ask if I'd be returning that Friday (which was the 7th, still within the 10 days I was meant to stay home). I stated I was confused as I had assumed they meant the following Friday and that I was still sick. I also pointed out how my doctor ordered me to stay home until the following Monday. My boss pushed back anyway and insisted.
Friday morning comes and I still feel awful. I was finally eating again and noticeably more lucid but still had a fever. I took another COVID test and it came back positive. I texted a photo to my boss stating I didn't want to come in for my shift as I needed to get better. I felt that I was recovering well and shouldn't push myself. I then reminded her that my last day was on the 17th and I was to take care of my sister, I needed to be better by then. Also, I have asthma and it was going to be 14° during my shift, my job is meant to be outside 90% of the time and I'm notorious for getting lung infections in this weather, hence my doctor being worried. They pushed back saying “everyone was sick anyway, just wear a mask”
I went in and it was clearly a mistake. By the time I clocked out my chest was severely tight and I felt like death. This was also the first time I left my house since getting sick. I also felt completely awful being near anyone knowing I was still positive. I spent almost my entire shift locked in the security car and driving the property, talking to people over the phone or a crack in the window.
The next morning I woke up and was noticeably worse. I started having random coughing fits where I actually couldn't breathe and it was really frightening, I considered going to the hospital. My family said they could immediately tell I declined and yelled at me to stay home as my boss scheduled me to come in that day as well (it was a Saturday, so again not my usual day). They also scheduled me for days in a row and gave me an almost 40 hour week up to my last day, which is a stark contrast to my usual 16 hour weeks. I wasn't asked if I could do these extra days.
I texted my boss saying I wouldn't be coming in because my fever returned and I was worried I'd now have to postpone leaving for my sister's, which in turn could postpone the start of her treatment. In my company you have to call out at least 4 hours prior to shift start, I did it 8.5 hours before shift start, so well within the allotted time, thus I had no further obligations with the company for the day. If no coverage was found then it wasn't my problem, essentially.
I went to sleep and woke up to my boss stating she couldn't find coverage. My husband said she should call in the coworker who's shift I was covering, especially because she gave them the time off at the last minute, they didn't request it. Hours later she texted me a photo of my activity log from my shift the night prior and it showed I did essentially nothing on paper. The day before my shift I had told them I'd be doing practically nothing (documentation wise) because I was still sick. I simply have to be present for the public, which I was, only I wasn't documenting it, so my sheet was barren. Documenting entails I go around the property on foot in the cold, so I opted not to do it. But I still responded when needed. I've done this in the past when I was previously unwell and my boss approved it, there was a precedence. They always stated that they allowed it because they knew I was a good worker, even if undocumented. I saw this as extremely petty, specifically because they have told me in the past that they show employees their sheets as a form of punishment (assuming the sheet isn't up to company standards).
I realized I had to put my foot down if I wanted to get better so I quit outright the following day. Emailed my boss to say I was leaving the company immediately and restated how I have to care for my sister, I can't afford to continue being sick. I then blocked their phone number so if they wanted to contact me it'd have to be on the company email server, thus on record.
Anyway. I got my last paycheck and my sick pay wasn't there. I also found out my company is supposed to pay when you quarantine for COVID but that's a whole other headache.
I emailed my local branch and they said that my boss was supposed to file paperwork in order for me to receive my sick pay with my last check and they did no such thing. They said that nothing could be done and I lost the sick pay. I went above my former boss and emailed their superior and he has yet to email me back, I only stated that I wasn't paid, nothing about the finer details yet.
So after I forced myself to work that Friday I ended up being sick for almost an entire month. I couldn't leave for my sister's until the second week of February. Her husband returned to work the week I was originally meant to arrive and my sister ended up hurting herself trying to do chores. This resulted in emergency surgery, which then resulted in her chemo being postponed. I know it's not my fault but I also know it wouldn't have happened if I had been here as planned, and before I had pushed myself I was making strides in my recovery every day.
Does anyone have any advice I can follow? At this point I don't see it being just about the money. This ended up affecting my entire family because my boss wanted less of a headache for coverage. I was thinking of emailing additional people further up to totem pole and pressing the issue. My sister thinks I should contact the department of labor but I'm unsure. I fully see this as retaliation for pushing back. This isn't the first time I lost a paycheck because of the company's ignorance, either.
Some details:
My company states you can return to work with a positive COVID test if you don't have symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, etc which I all still had and told my boss when they forced me to work. At that point I had still intended to return to the company later this year, which is why I ultimately agreed to come in.
My boss added all the extra hours after I handed in my official two weeks. My husband submitted it for me around New Years Day since I was in a stupor (he works for the same company at a different site). So they did it knowing I'd possibly still be sick.
tl;dr:
I had saved up sick time. I told my boss I wanted to utilize it when I got COVID and they didn't. They told me the company would pay it out when I quit. They didn't. Now they're ignoring me. I think it's retaliation because I refused to work while sick with COVID. Lots of other details in post, apologies for not surmising well.