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Truck driver says he quit job because of ‘betrayal’ from employer regarding COVID-19 virus

Adam Hale presently has a lot to deal with; supporting a girlfriend who's unemployed because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, a belief that he may have contracted the virus and an upcoming move to Texas.

As if that wasn't enough, he recently quit his job as a truck driver after only three months on the job.

"I felt that I was betrayed," he explained, after approaching a KRDO NewsChannel 13 crew to discuss the situation.

Hale said he began experiencing symptoms of the virus last month, while transporting passengers on his second job as an Uber driver.

"I was in a dilemma," he said. "Should I tell (my trucking company) about it, or shouldn't I? I finally decided to tell them because they have a sick leave policy that pays employees to stay home when they have symptoms. Between the advice of my managers and my doctor, I stayed home for 8 days."

Hale said high demand for testing made him unable to receive a test but he recovered from his symptoms in a few days.

"My doctor cleared me to return to work," he said. "That's when I was shocked."

Company management, Hale said, decided he didn't qualify for sick leave pay in this instance because he was never tested.

"I turned in my notice and told them I was quitting," he said. "They understood. I felt that I didn't want to work for a company that wouldn't stand by me for trying to do the right thing."

Hale said he decided to speak out because his co-workers -- and countless other employees -- are in the same situation.

"They have concerns about being at risk, but they don't say anything because they don't want to lose their jobs," he said. "The result is people are going to hide their symptoms and spread the virus. It shouldn't be like this. It shouldn't all be about money."

Hale confessed that he wouldn't have spoken out on the situation if he hadn't quit his job first.

"People need to be careful and aware of what's going on," he said.

Hale's last day at the trucking company is Thursday; he'll then move to Texas for a similar job.

"Truck drivers are in strong demand down there," he said. "I'm hoping that what happened here doesn't happen there."

Article Topic Follows: Health

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Scott Harrison

Scott is a reporter for KRDO. Learn more about Scott here.

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