Please help! I need advice!

[Mitzi]

As most of you know, I have a 26 year old son who is disabled because of a benign brain tumor that left him with epilepsy. He has temporal lobe seizures that cause him to blank out and it really affects his memory.
He made a big mistake last week and it looks like he may be fired. I fel so bad for him.
He has been informed there will be a mediation between, his boss, the head boss and a person from Human Resources Thursday.
He has a real personality clash with his boss. The head boss isn't much better. I, of course, hear only his side of the story. But he thinks he is going to lose his job because of the personality clash with his boss and mistakes he makes because of his memory problems.
I have never been to a mediation and wonderd if anyone had any advice for me to give him as to how to handle a mediation.

[shooter1201]

Have you contacted an attorney regarding the info I PM'd you...specifically Florida labor laws?

[Mitzi]

My husband is calling a lawyer when he gets home. We are hearing our sons side of the story and don't know what their stance wil be. They have made the workplace a living hell. His boss refuses to speak to him unless it's about work. The others don't talk to him if the boss is around.
The boss is only 2 years older then our son. He has definite issues, coming from a very dysfunctional family. He's a real snake. Our son said he has seen him go to the head boss many times thse last few weeks. The worry is that the HR woman is sitting in on this. It's the same one that witnessed just how verbally abusive his boss was to him though.
It's just that our son has worked there for 7 years. This boss is a workaholic and he and my son have clashed before. I'm sure, if they fire him, they will be for something not connected to his disability.
My sons therapist feel the workplace is too hostile for him and he should quit. But he HAS to have his insurance. If he is fired, he can pay for 18 months of insurance then it's good-bye Mayo Clinic unless he finds a job with insurance which will be hard with his disability.
They have called the mediation for Thursday and it's agony for my son. It's just horrible how they have treated him.

[wonderwoman]

There are many varieties of mediation as i can speak having been one many many times.

Mediation simplified is where a third party person helps a situation come to a resolution that is beneficial to all parties.

There is mediation that occurs with all parties in the same room and mediation that occurs where one party is in one room and another party in another room and the mediator goes back and forth to help resolve the situation. (Mediation and Negotiation are different but many mediations contain negotiations.)

For example, perhaps the person mediating in your situation is the Human Resourse person, who will try find a win-win resolution to the situation. It doesn't always work but I believe it is an excellent option.

Mitzi, there are tons of books, courses, studies on mediation. It is one of the fastest rising "money-making" themes for consultants.

[Mitzi]

I think this is because of a problem a couple of weeks ago. The boss had been on vacation and when he came back, he screamed at our son for making a mistake he says costs the company thousands of dollars. This boss is extremely verbally abusive and only 2 years older then our son.
He did not realize that a Human Resorce person witnessed this. He screamed so loud at my son, my son said he (my son) couldn't stop shaking. This is the same HR person that is going to sit in on the meeting wih our son, his boss and the head boss.
This is so hard on our son. He deals with a medical problem and the boss won't speak to him unless it's about a job they are doing. He took everyone out to lunch, leaving our son alone in the room.
If he does get fired, it may be a blessing. This guy is so emotionaly and verbally abusive, our son dreads going to work every day. He's losing weight he doesn't have to lose and is skin and bones. The only ace he has in his pocket is this HR woman. Usually, both bosses will gang up on our son and he's realy outmatched. But at least one other person will be there. I think this HR woman is really sharp. The head boss is just about as abusive as the other one and I think she is reading between the lines here that our son is ganged up on.
Thanks, WW, for your wonderful advice. I do think this woman realizes that something needs to be done.