Terri Estepp worked for Huntington Bank in Michigan for nearly 30 years. Her clients and coworkers liked and respected her. Estepp was a loyal employee, but she was a mother before anything. When her 31-year-old daughter, Samantha, received a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis in 2023, Estepp knew she had to care for her.
She used her sick and vacation days to visit and care for Samantha. Eventually, Estepp, branch manager of one of the bank’s locations, took advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act and used four weeks of leave. She never thought she’d wind up jobless days later.
Estepp told WDIV her tenure at the bank had its perks. “I used a lot of PTO time because I had vacation time. I’d been there for almost 30 years, so I had plenty of time,” she said. “I would go out there and help her with the chemo treatments and different things.”
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She told the news station that she took some days off through Huntington’s Caretake Time Off Program before taking time via the FMLA. But sadly, Samantha’s condition worsened, and she needed even more time.
Huntington Bank allegedly fired Estepp after she invoked the FMLA, and now she’s suing. Estepp told WZZM that her daughter, Samantha, lived in California while battling breast cancer, and she needed her mom’s help. After using up all other resources, she took four of the 12 weeks of leave protected under the FMLA. But it wasn’t enough, and Estepp needed to get back with Samantha after that time was up.
“I told my employer I needed to go back to my kid. She needed me, and they showed up that day, and they fired me,” Estepp told the news outlet.
Huntington Bank fired Estepp two days after she returned.
“I was in complete shock. I was not ready for anything like this. I requested medical leave or Family Medical Leave Act,” she said. “My previous boss had recommended that I do that, just in case I needed to take any spur-the-moment time off to care for my daughter.”
She shared the news with Samantha, whose heart broke. “It really hurt her. She started to cry on the phone. She said, ‘Mom, you lost your job because of me.'”
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Tragically, Samanta died within 10 days of her mother’s firing.
Estepp filed suit against Huntington National Bank, alleging the bank violated the FMLA. Her attorney, Sarah Prescott, from Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, told WZZM that Estepp dedicated her career to the bank and her profession.
“She represented through her bank, 6,000 plus different businesses, families at any given time,” Prescott said.
Huntington National Bank denied wrongdoing in a statement to WDIV, writing, “We were saddened to learn of her daughter’s passing and extend our condolences to Ms. Estepp and her family. While Huntington Bank does not comment on active litigation, we are committed to compliance with all employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, and we acted appropriately in this matter. Ms. Estepp’s departure from Huntington Bank was unrelated to an FMLA leave of absence.”
