Teresa Danford works for Crane Interiors, a small Tennessee company that makes seating and soft trim for premiere boat manufacturers. She is also the mom of a soldier that left his Woodbury, Tennessee home six months ago to serve his country in the desert of Afghanistan. As most military moms know, calls from their sons and daughters in the Middle East are infrequent and very precious when they occur.
When her cell phone began ringing last Monday at work, she was faced with the decision of answering the phone and breaking company policy or ignoring the call and missing a chance to talk to her soldier son. She opted for the former and answered the call. “You don’t want to miss a word because truthfully that might be the last time you hear from them,” Danford said when speaking to Tennessee’s News Channel 5.
Danford returned to work the following day and was met with a three-day suspension for her policy-breaking phone call. She was reportedly told that this was the penalty for the first offense and she would be fired if it happened again, regardless of the extenuating circumstances behind the call. A HR spokesperson for Crane Interiors confirmed with News Channel 5 that,
“It is our policy that there is to be no cell phones used during working hours due to safety concerns within a production environment. Employees are allowed to use cell phones during breaks and lunches. We have a communicated policy for all employees to be reached in case of an emergency.”
Danford went public with this suspension and the story has spread like wildfire. The Associated Press as well as the Washington Post has picked up on this tale. With all the media attention now placed on Crane Interiors, the company has reportedly apologized and has re-paid Danford for the time she was suspended. All’s well that ends well, no?
[Via News Channel 5]