American Airlines employee fired for helping colleague

If you've heard the expression "no good deed goes unpunished," then this may be proof of that.

An American Airlines worker has been fired for donating her own tickets to a colleague in need.

Malama Scanlon is a California Correctional Officer who was shot and seriously wounded in the line of duty two years ago.

In the months since, his wife Tepa, who works for American Airlines, has been driving back and forth from Houston to Los Angeles to be with him.

When she took medical leave, Tepa's coworker, Lita Thompson, offered her personal buddy passes to help out - an apparent violation of American Airlines policy.

"So, I just kinda got called in by my manager and he asked if I was giving my buddy pass to anybody who was on leave, and I said, 'yes, I am giving them to Tepa Scanlan.' And he pretty much had me write a statement, and that was pretty much it," Lita said.

Lita says she was not aware of the rule, nor given any warning.

American Airlines has not replied to requests for comment.

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