Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Tennessee

To whom it may concern.

This is a letter to let you know that I, Txxxx Wxxxx feel like I need to report an incident that occurred at Malibu Boats, my place of employment.

I had been sick with walking Pneumonia and had been under a doctors care on Tuesday 1/27/2015. I left work early on Wednesday 1/28/2015 due to the effects of the pneumonia. Before leaving I noticed, what I thought was a bump, I asked Dxxx Bxxxxxx "What is that" She stated it looked like a bug bite. Upon waking up the next day I noticed my right side of my face was swollen and red. I thought I may have been bitten by a spider. I looked online and read most common mistake people make is MERSA for a spider bite.

I went into work on Thursday 1/30/2015, waited in the office for my manager, Pxxxx Txxx, at which time I showed her my face and let her know that I thought it could be MERSA. I asked her to spray my desk and computer down with Lysol and left crying, going straight to the ER. At the ER I was told I did indeed have MERSA, so I felt like the right thing to do was to report this to my Manager, which I did. Had I know it would have been announced, and discussed with the open population, I would not have, and did not have to, as I was written out by a Doctor for Pneumonia.

The ER Doctor did not write me out of work due to the MERSA, in fact when I asked if I could work, and questioned what I needed to do at home to ensure I did not spread the infection, he stated "don't lick any one" not professional but he also stated he would give me some information on MERSA, which he did. The ER doctor was more concerned with my respiratory issues that the fact that I had MERSA. I made an appointment to follow up with my Doctor on Monday 2/2/2015. At this time my doctor wrote me out until 2/4/2015, also due to the respiratory issues I was having. I now had Bronchitis.

Upon returning to work on 2/5/2015 several employee's had made comments to me that I thought were odd. RxxTxxxxxxx stated, we had to stop and clean everything because you had MERSA. Jxxx Pxxxxxxx said "I'm not coming near you" I was pretty confident I was the topic of everyone's conversation, and not in a positive manner. This made me feel very uncomfortable and hurt. As I continued to hear chatter, I was told it had to be lanced, which also was not true. I finally asked an employee what was said. This employee stated Pxxxx came out on the floor and told everyone you had MERSA, at which time employees started to look MERSA up on the cell phones and discuss my medical issue with each other. There was so much commotion about this that the lead Dawn Burnett had Pxxxx and Dxxxx Txxxxxx print information for everyone. Also had everyone stop and clean. Again, I felt hurt, humiliated and broke down in tears to hear how my employees acted. I would have never handled this is such a manner. Very, Very UN-professional.

This made me distant myself from everyone. I was mortified. How could everyone act like I was a diseased leper.

I confronted my lead on Saturday. She stated that all of these things occurred and she did not say anything in order to not hurt my feelings. Well to late, I have to work with these people and I'm very uncomfortable. I'm hurt, embarrassed, confused as to why all of this happened. This should have been handled in a different way. I never would discuss someones medical issue with an entire department, well actually several departments.

On Saturday 2/7/2015 I was in Wal- Mart grocery shopping when an employee from Txxxxx Pxxxxxxx department (Big Money Hxxxxx sons girlfriend) stoped me in the middle of the isle and asked "how you feelin?" We were so worried, Peggy came down freaking out and told us you had MERSA, and gross Dawn Burnett touched it. I told her at this time I did not appreciate everyone talking about me and I was written out for respiratory issues, not the MERSA. She stated �You know Peggy� Really, Really, in wal mart. I'm glad, at my expense I was the topic of so many conversation. Again I went though all the emotions, Hurt, Humiliated, confused, and yes Mad. I have to work with these people, I feel like they all are talking about me, think I'm nasty, dirty. This is unbelievable, I would hope people would think before they speak, especially when you are discussing a medical issue that I could not control. I have pictures of a day to day on the MERSA, It never even had to be covered like the more severe cases. and caused no threat to any other employee. All of this was at the hands of a Manager that I should be able to look up to as a mentor, and once did. I have a Doctors appt. at 9:30 am and quite frankly, am worried what will be said in my absence. I am going to have someone check into the misconduct of the privacy act, and or the hippa law as well as Defamation of Character. I have worked hard my whole life to get where I am, not to have it taken away by busy-body gossip.

Thank You,

TxxxxWxxxx 2/8/2015

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