Public library worker battling cancer says she was denied sick time donated by co-workers

By Brandon Truitt

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Employees at the Boston Public Library (BPL) want to donate their sick time to a co-worker who’s battling cancer. But the union says the city is blocking their gift of compassion.

Eve Griffin, 44, has worked at the library for more than a decade as the curator of fine arts. In 2019, doctors told her she had stage four breast cancer. It was a terminal diagnosis. In the years after, Griffin balanced treatment and her job at the library where she still works.

Extended sick leave fund

The BPL utilizes an extended sick leave fund, a “bank” of sorts where employees donate unused sick leave to a pot where people can apply to access it in certain cases.

Griffin used that leave fund when her own time off had run out. But, late last year, she claimed she was denied leave for the first time and ended up taking unpaid time off for treatments.

Now her coworkers, many of which have donated time to be used by Griffin, are trying to change that. They claim the administration at the library has changed their view on a longstanding policy.

Employees “thoroughly disgusted”

“I have been here for over a decade at this point,” said BPL employee Bryce Kieren Healy. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen everyone so collectively and thoroughly disgusted. I really don’t know how you can get up in the morning and look at a woman with terminal stage four cancer, who is fighting to come to work every day, and make the decision they’ve made. It really boggles my mind, but it really appalls me to the core frankly.”

“We don’t know where this is coming from,” said BPL Professional Staff Association president Allison Hahn. “This is very out of the blue and out of the norm for us. We all get sick sometimes and Eve did not ask to be this kind of sick. So, being in the building is just not possible for her all of the time.”

Griffin spoke about the denial at a Board of Trustees meeting on February 4. Overcome with emotion, Griffin passed her remarks off to a coworker to finish reading. Half a dozen other people spoke on the issue and asked for the BPL to reconsider its decision.

The board cited policy that it does not comment on “personnel matters” and the meeting was adjourned.

“We as librarians and library workers are always here for everyone, and we’re always here to trying to lend a helping hand,” said BPL employee Amy Layton. “It is only right that they do the same thing for us.”

An online petition to help Griffin now has thousands of signatures. She was too sick Tuesday to talk to WBZ-TV about this story.

Boston Public Library statement

The Boston Public Library sent WBZ this statement in response to the allegations:

“Out of respect for the rights of the public employees who work here to confidentiality and to the privacy of their protected health information, it is our longstanding policy to not comment on personnel matters — even when those issues have entered the public domain.

That said, as a department of the City of Boston, we are required to implement the City of Boston’s policies for sick leave and paid time off, which ensure employees access to the many benefits to which they are entitled. These benefits are available regardless of race, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, diagnosis, or other issues.

We are also committed to abiding by both the spirit and the letter of the contracts we sign with our unions. These agreements, agreed to by both the BPL and its unions, provide the appropriate framework within which we address complex employment issues.”

WBZ reached out to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office but there has been no response.

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