Reporter’s investigation： Who should be responsible for the dismissal of female teachers during cancer treatment

CCTV News: Born in 1984, master’s degree, English teacher in private colleges and universities, the owner of these labels is Liu Lingli. This name has aroused widespread concern in society these days, but Liu Lingli himself has never heard it again. On August 14th, due to cancer and complicated heart disease, Liu Lingli passed away at the age of 32. What makes the society indignant is that during the treatment of cancer, the Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University, where she worked, expelled her for absenteeism. What is the story behind this matter?

A female university teacher was dismissed for absenteeism when she took time off to treat cancer.

In August 2012, Liu Lingli, a graduate student, entered Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University and became an English teacher. One day in June 2014, Liu Lingli, who had been working for three years, suddenly felt uncomfortable. After a preliminary examination in the hospital, the doctor said she had a lump in her body.

As it was the end of the term, Liu Lingli planned to wait for the students to take a vacation before checking. In July 2014, Liu Lingli, who had just celebrated her 30th birthday, was admitted to Gansu Provincial People’s Hospital and received further examination. The diagnosis was ovarian cancer.

Liu Shuqin (mother of Liu Lingli):She has just entered the society, and she is a sunny child. Do I dare to tell her such great pressure? I dare not tell her. She said, Mom, you tell me what it is. I said, people say your ovaries are a little uneven. Let’s keep them here for a few days first.

After she was discharged from the Provincial People’s Hospital, her mother Liu Shuqin took her to Beijing for examination, and asked for leave from the director of the Foreign Languages Department where Liu Lingli worked.

Liu Shuqin:He said how long will you take it, and I said I would take it for six months. This director Liu may not be very clear about asking for leave, and he didn’t say anything. He said that you should treat the disease first, and we left.

On January 12, 2015, Liu Lingli received a phone call from Bowen College on her way back to Lanzhou from Beijing.

Liu Shuqin:We got a call on the train and asked if our daughter could go to work. My daughter said that she would make a decision after discussing with her family.

Liu Shuqin introduced that they returned to Lanzhou on January 13th, and went to the school with Liu Lingli’s diagnosis certificate and related medical records on January 14th, and found Jiang Xueyun, director of the Personnel Department of Bowen College, to fill in the leave formalities.

Liu Shuqin:Director Jiang asked me what’s wrong with your daughter, so I copied my daughter’s medical records in Beijing to her. She read it all. I gave her the note and she didn’t want it. She said that her school has a radish and a pit, and there is also a shortage of English teachers next semester, and they have to recruit English teachers. I also know that your daughter is excellent. Your daughter wants to work. We will give priority to your daughter.

Not long after, Liu Lingli received a document from Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University, the content of which was that Liu Lingli was dismissed due to long-term absenteeism and terminated his labor relationship. The reporter noticed that this document was issued in the name of Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University, signed on January 19, 2015, and signed by Chen Ling, the dean of Bowen College.

The school involved responded for the first time: I don’t know if it is cancer.

The decision to fire an employee who is undergoing cancer treatment is not only chilling, but also makes the society indignant. After many contacts, the relevant personnel of Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University responded to the media for the first time.

Chen Ling, Dean of Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University:Around January 15, 2015, because the school had to assess the teaching staff at the end of the year, the department suggested that Teacher Liu Lingli had not been to school for more than half a year since she took leave, which seriously affected teaching. There is so much preparation that the teacher can’t finish the class. On or around January 15th, 2015, a decision was made at the president’s office meeting to dismiss Mr. Liu Lingli. When she asked for leave, she issued a certificate of pelvic inflammatory disease from the provincial people’s hospital. We always thought that she was suffering from a general disease and didn’t come to work at school, thinking that she had found a job outside.

Chen Ling said that the reason why she always thought it was pelvic inflammatory disease was because Liu Lingli had asked someone to issue a certificate in Gansu Provincial People’s Hospital during her stay in Beijing. The reporter saw that there was indeed a handwritten pelvic inflammatory disease on this certificate. Regarding this certificate, Liu Shuqin, Liu Lingli’s mother, said that it was Liu Lingli who asked for leave at that time, and she didn’t know the cause of the leave.

Liu Shuqin:I don’t know what I wrote. If I don’t know, I just don’t know. I can’t talk nonsense.

Reporter:Did your daughter know what disease she had at that time?

Liu Shuqin:She didn’t know and didn’t tell her.

Reporter:She didn’t even know what was wrong with her when she sent the note.

Liu Shuqin:She didn’t know. I didn’t tell her it was cancer. I didn’t tell my daughter until I needed chemotherapy after the pathological report.

According to the reporter’s investigation, when Liu Lingli sent the application form diagnosed as pelvic inflammatory disease to the school, Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University approved Liu Lingli’s 59-day sick leave from September 2 to October 31, 2014. The reporter saw from a teacher attendance sheet provided by Bowen College that since September 2, 2014, Liu Lingli’s attendance record has always been a triangle indicating sick leave. From November 1, 2014, when Liu Lingli’s first leave expired, her attendance record was a circle representing absenteeism. According to the contents of document No.14 issued by Rambo Institute [2015], Liu Lingli has been absent from work from December 1, 2014 to January 19, 2015.

According to the third point of Article 5 of the Regulations on Leave of Staff in Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University and the agreement in the employment contract signed with Liu Lingli at the beginning, a teacher who has been absent from work for more than 15 days can be removed from the school and the labor contract can be terminated. So, is Liu Lingli’s behavior absenteeism? Does the school really don’t know the true condition of Liu Lingli? After Liu Lingli’s first leave expired, did he go through the formalities of renewing his leave?

Jiang Xueyun, Director of Personnel Department, Bowen College, Lanzhou Jiaotong University:Under normal circumstances, when it comes to vacation, or when it is coming soon, our attendance clerk will contact each other in advance, and we will inform you to renew your vacation when it arrives. Our relevant personnel informed Mr. Liu, and after the notice, they got a reply that they were seeing a doctor and could not extend their leave.

Reporter:Can I renew my leave on the phone?

Jiang Xueyun:There is a set of strict procedures in our regulations, not that you can ask for leave from the personnel department yourself.

Liu Lingli’s mother also confirmed that the school had called in mid-October 2014 to ask about the extension of leave.　

Liu Shuqin:My daughter said that we are all in Beijing and there is no one at home. He said he knew, so forget about the extension of leave and you don’t have to worry about it.

Liu Shuqin introduced that although the phone said that it was not necessary to extend the leave, Liu Lingli issued a leave-filling note at the Cancer Hospital of China Academy of Medical Sciences. The reporter saw that this fake note indicated that the diagnosis result was double ovarian serous breast cancer, and the date of issuance was September 2, 2014, but there was a small line next to it, which read "I have been treated in our hospital for nearly three months, making up a fake note", and the date of payment was October 17, 2014, and it was stamped by the hospital and doctors. Liu Shuqin said that on January 14, 2015, she took this sick note to find Jiang Xueyun, director of the personnel department of Bowen College, to make up for the leave.

Liu Shuqin:At that time, I gave her the note, saying that it was written by us in Beijing, and she wouldn’t accept it. I said to her with tears in my eyes, Director Jiang, can you buy my daughter’s insurance for me? Jiang Xueyun said that the school has school rules and regulations, but I said it doesn’t count. I cried at that time, and she said it was useless for you to cry for me. The school has school rules and regulations, and I have seen many such people.

For Liu Shuqin, Jiang Xueyun denied it.

Jiang Xueyun:I think she may be mistaken. I haven’t seen the relevant personnel during this period.

Reporter:Are you sure that Liu Lingli’s mother didn’t come to see you at school on January 14th?

Jiang Xueyun:I really haven’t seen it.

Reporter:Including what was said in the report, these things have been seen a lot, so don’t cry?

Jiang Xueyun:I definitely didn’t say that.

However, Liu Shuqin said that on January 14th, 2015, when she went to the school to go through the makeup leave formalities, her colleague Wang Meixia accompanied her. Wang Meixia confirmed this statement to the reporter.

Wang Meixia (colleague from Liu Shuqin):First, go to see the director of the Foreign Languages Department. He said that I can’t be the master either. I’ll take you to the personnel director Jiang, a woman. I forgot which floor. At that time, she said that she had to ask for leave if she was sick, and then ask for a period of time off. She said that would not work. We are a radish and a pit.

Reporter:She said you’ve never been there.

Wang Meixia (colleague from Liu Shuqin):Oh, why is this man like this? I just went, how could I not go? It was so far, and we reversed.

The final dismissal decision of the two-level court is invalid.

In the face of the school’s expulsion decision, Liu Lingli and his family filed arbitration and prosecution with relevant institutions. After the trial of Yuzhong County People’s Court and Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court, it was found that the decision of Bowen College to expel Liu Lingli was invalid. Although he won the lawsuit, Liu Lingli’s most concerned problem has not been solved.

On April 7, 2015, Liu Lingli submitted an arbitration request to the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Committee of Yuzhong County, Gansu Province, requesting arbitration on the expulsion decision made by the school. On April 17, 2015, due to insufficient evidence, the Committee made a decision not to accept Liu Lingli’s arbitration request. In May, Liu Lingli filed a lawsuit in Yuzhong County People’s Court where the school was located. The first instance ruled that the decision of expelling Liu Lingli from Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University was invalid and the two sides resumed labor relations. After the verdict, Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University refused to accept it and appealed.

On June 21, 2016, the final judgment of Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment. According to the judgment of Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court (2016) Gan 01 Min Zhong No.992, the court found that the Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University recognized Liu Lingli’s telephone conversation with Bowen College, and Liu Lingli stated that he and his family were in other places for medical treatment and could not fulfill the leave formalities. After returning, the leave formalities were reissued, which did not belong to the situation of leaving the post or absenteeism without authorization as stipulated in the Employment Contract for Teachers of Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University.

Although the lawsuit was won, Liu Lingli’s biggest concern has not been solved. Since March 2015, Liu Lingli’s social security has never been paid, which means that she can’t enjoy the reimbursement of employee medical insurance.

Liu Hong (father of Liu Lingli):The proportion of medical insurance reimbursement for employees is 80%, 85%, and some even reach 90%. Suddenly stopped medical insurance, there is no way. The regulation of Lanzhou City is to buy residents’ medical insurance from July to November every year. After November, it can’t be bought, and it will take effect the next year.

Reporter:That is to say, for Liu Lingli, there is no insurance from April to January of the following year?

Liu Hong: There is no medical insurance.

The prices of medicines used by Liu Lingli are very high, and some medicines cost tens of thousands of yuan at every turn. These medicines can only be borne by themselves. Even if you join the residents’ medical insurance, the lower reimbursement amount will make this family worse. Liu Lingli’s father was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2012, and most of his monthly salary of 1,700 yuan was spent on taking medicine, while her mother’s monthly retirement salary was only 2,000 yuan. In order to raise money for medicine, Liu Lingli even put up a stall to sell clothes for a while. Liu Lingli’s attorney said that the reason why Liu Lingli wants to go to court is also for her parents.

Cai Xiang, lawyer of Gansu Jingtiandi Law Firm:She kept asking me, if I die, can you still help me recover some economic losses and help our family? I told her that according to the law, they should compensate for the losses caused by Bowen College. She was quite happy at the time. In the end, she thought more about her parents.

In the interview, Bowen College has always stressed that it is human, and the decision to expel was made because it was not known that Liu Lingli had cancer.

Chen Ling, Dean of Bowen College of Lanzhou Jiaotong University:Our school is very caring for teachers.

Jiang Xueyun:We are also humanized management.

However, Bowen College, which stresses human feelings and humanized management, still chose to appeal when it was known in the first instance that Liu Lingli had cancer and the court had ruled that the expulsion decision was invalid, which made Liu Lingli’s social security unable to pay because the judgment could not take effect.

Reporter:Why did you know that people had cancer and didn’t correct yourself for this kind of illegal behavior that the court had ruled?

Jiang Xueyun:At that time, I thought it was simple.

Reporter:You think it’s just simple?

Jiang Xueyun:It’s really a bit inappropriate. Because we didn’t think so seriously at the time, it was a bit inappropriate to handle another one.

For Liu Lingli, apart from the economic loss, what makes her unacceptable is the mental blow. After the verdict was pronounced in the second instance, Liu Lingli’s father told her the verdict, but her first concern was not financial compensation.

Liu Hong:She was very happy. She said that maybe the unit leader should come to our house to express condolences. After all, it has been such a long time. More than a year, nearly two years.

Chen Ling, Dean of Bowen College, told reporters that the personnel department of the school once wanted to negotiate with Liu Lingli after learning that she had cancer.

Chen Ling:I thought about negotiating with her and the school would give some compensation.

Reporter:When was this negotiation settled?

Chen Ling:I’ve been doing it all the time. From the first trial, the personnel person has been negotiating with her, but the other party doesn’t agree to negotiate. The second trial was held and negotiations were held, but the other party still disagreed with the negotiations.

Reporter:After the expulsion decision was issued, did you get in touch with the school until the judgment of the second instance was issued?

Liu Shuqin:No, no one has contacted us.

In a fact sheet written by Jiang Xueyun, director of personnel department, provided by Bowen College, it was also indicated that the personnel department of the school only asked for a visit twice during the leave period in Liu Lingli, which was rejected by Liu Lingli, who was sick at that time, and never asked for a visit again.

At 8 am on August 14, 2016, Liu Lingli died of cancer and complicated heart disease at the age of 32. On August 18th, Bowen College sent a text message to Liu Lingli’s father to discuss the solution. On August 20th, Liu Lingli’s "first seven days", a vice president of Bowen College met with Liu Lingli’s family for the first time. But all this, Liu Lingli can no longer see. (CCTV reporter An Wenjian Wang Peng Ma Lingfeng Yang Qingbo)