My husband is a welder for a major company that has facilities all over the world. It's obviously forced overtime. Monday-friday, overtime being Saturday. He was working second shift (2pm-12am). He worked his normal late shift friday night and was told he had to be back at 8am Saturday. He went on his break around 10, stretched, and passed out. He hit the ground landing on his face. Breaking his nose, eyesocket, and causing post- concussion syndrome. The ER doctor told him he could go back to work immediately. He tried. He tried so hard for about a week and couldn't keep up. It was clear that the fall caused very slight cognitive impairments. At this point he starts talking to HR about workman's comp. The HR guy exclaimed “what workman's comp?”. My husband hasn't been able to go back to work since April. Thers no way to prove that work caused him to pass out, so lawyer says we are basically screwed. Oh, and to top it all off, he was only one month away from a year, if he had made it to a year, we would have gotten financial help.
I work, but not enough to cover the cost of living. We were even denied food stamps. This is what happens when you work hard and pay your taxes. They don't care about you or your livelihood. They just care if you show up or not.