When are intelligent, professional women with children going to stop being put through these trials in the work place?

I was recently fired by a local Murphy business. I worked as a graphic artist and received a lot of positive feedback from our salespeople and from the community regarding my work. I came in early, I stayed late, sometimes till or past 8 p.m.

I never missed a day of work until I was sent home sick by my supervisor and TOLD not to return until I stopped spreading germs. A week or so later my son's daycare called first thing in the morning after I had dropped him off and gotten to work.

I made arrangements for my mom to pick him up and keep him for as long as she could. In the middle of the day I had to run from work to pick up my middle school age children from SCHOOL and take them home so they could watch their little brother so I could get back to work. The next day, I called my office before the work day started from my 1 year old's pediatrician's office and told them my child has had a high fever and Doctor W wanted to see him first thing in the morning. I called an hour or so later and spoke to my supervisor and told her my son had tonsillitis, an ear infection and still had a high fever.

I was told I really needed to come in for an hour or so. I left my sick baby with my mom and went in for two hours. When I got there I was treated extremely badly and told by a disgusted co-worker that her son (7) was sick too but that is the way it is. I did what I could and then I had to go. My mom had to take my elderly grandma to the doctor in Tennessee as she does every week, as she is her caretaker. I picked up my son's prescription and went home. I called, baby crying on my hip and left a message for my supervisor that I would not be able to come back that day. My supervisor called me hours later and told me that because I did not come back in and that I did not ask to speak directly to her that I need not come in anymore! I would also like to comment that my supervisor does NOT have any children.

I worked very hard and sacrificed my health and the health of my family to be there. Since my firing, I have been forced to go on public assistance and Christmas is going to be very dim.

I am so fed up with the ANTI-FAMILY values in this nation, I have decided to stay home and stay on public assistance until my children can legally stay home alone. Furthermore, I plan to seek every kind of assistance the state can offer as payback for it's lack of my protection under the law as a citizen and as a woman. Please support the National Association of Working Women and The Healthy Family Act.

Sincerely, Lisa M. Rombach