Former Carl Edwards car chief files wrongful firing suit against Roush Fenway

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Thursday, June 11, 2009

Jason Myers, a former car chief and tire changer for Carl Edwards at Roush Fenway Racing, has sued his former team, alleging that he was wrongfully fired.

In a lawsuit filed last week in North Carolina Superior Court in Concord, N.C., Myers claims that he was fired for missing work following a suicide attempt in February.

Myers was car chief for the No. 99 Sprint Cup car from 2006 through 2008. He was replaced as car chief following the 2008 season, when Edwards’ Nationwide crew chief, Pierre Kuettel, was moved to his Cup car chief.

According to his complaint, Myers, a diabetic, ingested 25-30 Tylenol tablets and approximately 200 units of insulin “in an attempt to kill himself” on Feb. 10. The suicide attempt had followed an initial suicide attempt in March 2008 and a partially aborted suicide attempt in October 2008, according to the complaint.

Myers, who was diagnosed with major depressive disorder Feb. 16, was fired by Roush Fenway on Feb. 17, according to the complaint.

Myers is suing under the Family and Medical Leave Act and asks for an unspecified amount in damages.

“There are laws in place that permit people with depression to get the treatment they need, including the Family Medical Leave Act, which permits 12 weeks of leave per year, and the North Carolina common law, which protects people with disabilities from being terminated on that basis,” Myers' attorney Josh Van Kampen said Thursday. “We believe Roush Fenway violated those laws in terminating Jason Myers.”

Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith disputed those claims.

“We’re going to let the facts play out for themselves in court on this one,” Smith said in a statement. “This is the type of frivolous claim that exists only when times are tough.”

Comments

6 responses to "Former Carl Edwards car chief files wrongful firing suit against Roush Fenway". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    vettedude1950 said:
    Jun 11, 2009 at 4:03 PM

    Looks like Roush Fenway kept him on through two attempts to kill himself. He couldn't have been contributing much to the team. 12 weeks leave probably wouldn't have fixed his problems.

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  2. 2
    Phoenix987 said:
    Jun 11, 2009 at 8:45 PM

    If I was Roush, I would have fired him too. Two suicide attempts (where were the stories about THAT, hmm?) and they kept him until he really tried to outdo his other attempts in a third suicide attempt.

    Depression is serious, yes, but it doesn't sound like he was exactly coping with it through treatment.

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  3. 3
    Andi said:
    Jun 12, 2009 at 2:00 AM

    Yes depression is serious with that many attempts I'm surprised he wasn't committed get more thorough treatment because apparently the treatment that he is receiving isn't working. He needs help though. I had no clue about all of these attempts until I read this.

    Not sure how this is going to work out but its illegal to fire anybody when they are in the hospital. A friend of mine had complications with her pregnancy and had to go to the hospital for a few weeks and her work was aware of this and while she was out for 3 weeks they had already hired someone else for her position, and no it wasn't temporary, when she got better they fired her. They said it was because she wasn't able to do her job. She didn't know it was against the law until a year later but she could have sued them because of that.

    I know two totally different sceneios but they are alike. because you cannot fire someone while they have been out for a long time or while they were the hospital. And yes Jack was probably cutting him loose because he missed alot of work. But it should be interesting to see how it all works out.

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  4. 4
    Werner said:
    Jun 12, 2009 at 4:54 PM

    a law comes out with good intent and then people abuse it...the law does say he's entitled to time off...but it does not secure your job...even if they let him have the max time off...they could fire him on his return...

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  5. 5
    nascarnutsheeler said:
    Jun 13, 2009 at 12:58 AM

    Boy this one takes the cake.I feel sorry for the guy and it seems to me that Roush did also.

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  6. 6
    robby_7_fan said:
    Jun 15, 2009 at 6:46 PM

    This poor guy needs some serious help. I hope he does get the help he needs.

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