Dead Man Sacked After Not Turning Up For Work

A man who failed to turn up for work for 18 months was rightly sacked - although he had been dead the entire time.

Geoffrey Toliver died of cancer in December 2014 and his death was even announced in an online obituary.

But officials in New York, where Mr Tolivar worked as a Medicaid-eligibility specialist, didn’t seem to be aware and set up a hearing to approve his firing.

The fact he had not been at work for a year and a half did not seem strange to the Human Resources Administration.

The judge at the hearing approved the firing - also noting that Mr Tolivar had failed to turn up to defend himself.

After realising their blunder, HRA spokesman David Neustadt said: “We did everything we could to contact him and his family.

“This employee was not paid when he wasn’t working, but we left his job open in case he recovered.”

Friends of Mr Tolivar criticised the handling of the case.

Pal Ted Willbright told the New York Post: “How do you fire a man who is already dead?

“He deserves better. The agency itself should have known.

He’s dead, and they’re saying he abandoned his job.

“He didn’t abandon his job, his job abandoned him.

“He was a good man. Truly, truly a good man.”

A family member also claimed that they had informed Mr Toliver’s supervisor of his illness and death.

The HRA said that they would take no further action now that they know of Mr Toliver’s “unfortunate death”.

Pics: J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home