TRAVERSE CITY -- It's been a tough couple of years for Carole Bull and her family.
She lost her husband, Terry, to a massive heart attack in May 2006. And through her grief she waged an 11-month battle with his former employer, Sara Lee Corp., over a $33,000 life insurance benefit denied by the company.
Bull said she's moved on from her loss, took a second job to help make ends meet and received plenty of support from friends, family and co-workers to help her cope.
But she still doesn't understand why Sara Lee wouldn't pay a relatively tiny insurance benefit to the family of a longtime, loyal worker whose home was adorned with numerous company-issued employee service awards.
"I still harbor some anger over it toward Sara Lee," Bull said. "You had a 28-year veteran. That's what bothered me the most. They just disregarded him as nothing."
Terry Bull took a voluntary layoff from his job as a maintenance worker at Sara Lee's plant in Traverse City in December 2005, and was called back to work in May 2006. That month, the couple took a trip to New York to celebrate his 50th birthday, and he scheduled some vacation time over a scheduled orientation session that would allow him to return to work on May 22.
But the day before, he was stricken on a busy New York highway and died at a nearby hospital. The family didn't realize his company-paid insurance lapsed 30 days after his temporary layoff, and the company wouldn't pay the benefit because he was "not actively at work."
Bull appealed the company's decision to Sara Lee's Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Appeal Committee, but the committee denied the request last April.
"Because an employee on a voluntary layoff is not actively at work, he or she loses eligibility for coverage ... while on a voluntary layoff," read a letter from Mark Jacobs, the company's vice president of global benefits.
Sara Lee spokeswoman Sara Matheu described it as "a very difficult situation," but said the company is bound by agreements with both its insurers and employee unions.
"We really have to be very diligent and not violate the conditions we have with our unions and our life insurance companies," Matheu said. "We could put our entire benefit system at risk."
The denial letter said Bull could pursue a civil lawsuit against the company under federal labor laws to challenge the company's decision. But Bull said months of telephone calls and back-and-forth correspondence left her too exhausted to continue the fight.
"I just don't have the energy for that," she said.
But Bull said she'll persevere. She's taken a second part-time job at Munson Medical Center as a registered nurse administrative supervisor, where she also works full-time as a nurse in utilization management.
"I'm thankful that Munson lets me work two jobs," she said.
Support from her friends and co-workers comforted Bull during the ordeal. Several told her they won't buy Sara Lee products because of the company's action.
"That verbal reinforcement has been worth its weight in gold," Bull said. "Even though it didn't change anything, it still makes you feel better."
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