How to handle veterans who play the PTSD card for personal gain, causing Gold’s Gym to think twice before they hire another veteran?

1LT Jessie Koyle — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 13:45:21 -0400

I have a very good friend who was just fired from Gold’s Gym because a military veteran pulled his PTSD card over being told to “Fuck off” because he was stealing clients. Instead of letting this be dealt with in-house, this veteran goes to Corporate Gold’s Gym and demands that my friend be fired or he will sue Gold’s. Not only is this very wrong but this makes all veterans with PTSD look bad and I’m sure Gold’s Gym will think twice before they hire another veteran if all they do is cause unnecessary problems. If this had been a valid PTSD situation, then i would be all for it but this veteran just had a personal issue with my friend and didn’t have the balls to handle it like a man. Is there any way to deal with a person like this and make sure that there is some sort of consequence for pulling the PTSD card like that? He is making all veterans look bad, we are to be the more professional ones!!

Response by SPC Charles Brown made Jun 10 at 2015 1:47 PM

SPC Charles Brown — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 13:47:58 -0400

I hate to say this but in cases such as this sometimes require the "pass the buck" rule to be put into effect. Find someone else higher up to get involved and handle the issues.

Response by SSgt Charles Edwards made Jun 10 at 2015 1:55 PM

SSgt Charles Edwards — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 13:55:26 -0400

Unfortunately, something like this is just limited to this one little case. It seems that many veterans (PTSD or not) feel they're entitled to more post service. While the benefits we receive are great (free education, how can you beat that?), there have been instances where veterans push for more and look foolish in the process.

On a personal note, the only thing I've ever expected from the civilian world is for my co-workers to put in a solid day's work. Too many times I've been frustrated with the lethargic work attitude and as a result, puts more pressure on everyone else to pick up the slack.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Jun 10 at 2015 1:57 PM

Cpl Jeff N. — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 13:57:04 -0400

That sounds less like PTSD and more like bovine stool coupled with unprofessional behavior then pulling a PTSD card to cover for it. This can happen when some want to use something like PTSD to justify bad behavior. Management should manage the behavior and worry less about the cause.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 10 at 2015 2:27 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 14:27:16 -0400

This doesn't sound right. Let me understand LT, the vet was a gym member who was told to "FO" for stealing clients by the gym employee, the member then went to corporate to play the PTSD card? Just want to make sure I have it straight.

Response by CPT Bruce Beattie made Jun 10 at 2015 7:12 PM

CPT Bruce Beattie — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 19:12:14 -0400

I am willing to bet that Gold's Gym corporate is probably more upset with the employee who told the other employee to "Fuck Off!' The language itself is grossly unprofessional in the workplace. I can only believe that the employee who used that language was outraged over a perceived injustice. That language is usually associated with a person whose temper is flaring and there is probably more to the incident than was reported. If that is the case then there is much more to the story than playing the PTSD card. The PTSD card, itself, may have had little or no bearing on the termination. It is very difficult to terminate an employee who behaves professionally in the face of provocation! I chaperoned 200+ contract Security Officers at one point in time. Any client who wished an officer removed from the client's location for any reason had that wish granted. I had to investigate the precipitating incident every time. If the officer had behaved appropriately, I would send him to work for another client instead of terminating him or her. Other times I had to terminate them. Every termination for cause was investigated by the State Department of Labor before they would pay unemployment. I never lost a case. I'm sure there is similar recourse available to the employee who was terminated.

Response by SrA Vern Cox made Jun 11 at 2015 12:02 PM

SrA Vern Cox — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 12:02:37 -0400

This is the sort of thing that's making it hard for other Vets in the market place even
for simpler/ easier jobs like Retail (Walmart, Kmart, Lowe's etc...). Civilian business
owners are getting the wrong impression of PTSD/Shell-Shock to the point that they shy away from vets altogether. I've seen this from my girl friend who works for Walmart.

Response by SGT Christina Wilder made Jun 11 at 2015 3:29 PM

SGT Christina Wilder — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 15:29:07 -0400

I agree. This happens all too often.

Response by PO2 Craig Kn. made Jun 11 at 2015 5:04 PM

PO2 Craig Kn. — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 17:04:57 -0400

did this person have a gym elsewhere as to taking clients

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made Jun 11 at 2015 7:50 PM

SFC Christopher Perry — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 19:50:54 -0400

Best thing I can say is that Karma is a "B". This kind of crap will inevitably backfire on him.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 12 at 2015 7:23 AM

PO1 John Miller — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 07:23:23 -0400

Just to play Devil's advocate here. Maybe the vet felt he had to pull the PTSD card not only because your friend told him to fuck off but because the local Gold's Gym owner didn't handle it in accordance with his/hers own policies, and felt like they (the vet) had to do something drastic to get the situation resolved.

Response by SCPO Ryan Traphagan made Jun 12 at 2015 11:59 AM

SCPO Ryan Traphagan — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 11:59:54 -0400

There are always three sides to a story like this, but in general I would doubt that your friend was fired because someone with PTSD complained. They would need better justification then that. Also, if this person was a disabled veteran, PTSD alone may not get you there, then they have some protected rights, but not the power to get someone fired. So this could be a rare case of knowing the right person, but since they contacted corporate I would look into the reason that corporate put on the termination reason and dig into that.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jun 15 at 2015 3:06 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 15:06:23 -0400

I hope that companies and other employers will look at veterans as individuals and not as a group. It is not a good practice to judge a group of people because of a few bad apples. That is no different than claiming that most or all Muslims are terrorist because there are many Muslims in GITMO who are suspected of terrorism.

Response by SP5 Robert Cole made Apr 15 at 2018 8:11 AM

SP5 Robert Cole — Sun, 15 Apr 2018 08:11:19 -0400

I think we all need to be more curious and kind to each other you do not know what they have been through and yes he could of handled it better