Two Sides Of The Randi Kirshbaum Saga
Kirshbaum’s staff email and companion Facebook post, read, in part, “After 38 years of exemplary service, Saga Communications has terminated my employment. The reason they gave is that I cannot effectively do my manager’s job without being in the office, although I have been successfully working remotely for the past six weeks. Due to a serious medical condition that would make contracting COVID-19 very dangerous, if not fatal for me, my doctor has recommended that I continue to work from home in order to avoid exposure. I am not willing to ignore my doctor’s guidance and put my health in jeopardy.”
Kirshbaum added, “Saga gave me an ultimatum, saying that if I did not show up to the office today, I would no longer be employed. I love my job, but I’m not willing to die for it.” Kirshbaum’s story quickly went viral, and was also picked up by the hometown Portland Press Herald.
Forgy’s email continues, “After discussion with her we reached an agreement allowing her to work remotely but with assessments every two weeks to determine whether such arrangement was successful. We both agreed that it would be Saga’s decision as to when Randi would report back to work. If we could not reach an agreement on this issue she would have to return to work at the stations. We started discussing her return to work several weeks ago and even extended the agreement allowing her to work remotely until today when employees at the Portland Radio Group would be beginning to come back to work. We instructed Randi to return to work today and she refused. As a result, we placed her on layoff and continued to pay for her health care benefits. Randi’s current status is laid off. Again, she has NOT been terminated. I hope this helps clear up any confusion that may have existed.”
Randi Kirshbaum can now be contacted at randi@kirshbaum.com.