Fmla

[BrazilGrl_70]

I been working for the same company for almost five years. MY manager just left and in the transition of my new manager and upon his arrival, my Mom went in the hospital and almost died. So now I have FMLA for her and myself for BI-polar.

My new manager is pissing me off pretty bad about things..I emailed him I had a doctors appointment, he sent me a reply : We need to discuss this" Was this planned?. Then....

calls a meeting with me and my HR rep for Monday. I think hes pissed because I didn't tell him the day before about my appointment, But he only reason I didn't was because my pdoc office never called and reminded me, so I didn't realize I had the appt until I got to work and looked at my calendar. I explained that to him in email , but he still called the meeting.

I had a tiff with my HR rep about how stressed out I am.I said I feel cant even take time off to take my mother to the doctor and for a bloodtest, because I will lose my job. I have intermittent FMLA with my mom & for myself for my bi-polar. She cant take care of herself right now..and it states on the paperwork I am the caregiver. I have been busting my butt for almost five years now I feel like I am getting harassed about my FMLA,,any advice? I would like to add I have not abused my FMLA for anything but doctor

[DN]

If you have not already done so it would be a good thing to read this to see what your rights are: link removed

[Stella Sleepwalks]

Ok, you need to calm down. This meeting has probably been called to help sort out a good work/life balance for you, and for you to explain how much stress you are under for them to support you.

 

If you go in there tomorrow with an attitude, you are going to get nowhere fast. I can fully sympathize, with you, don't get me wrong, your new boss is probably doing the right thing as they haven't formed a relationship with you yet, and wants to go about things the right way.

 

My advice would be to bring someone in there with you if you feel you'll get upset, and record what was said at the meeting. Don't go in there negatively. Go in there to negotiate your working hours and come to an agreement which will satisfy both parties.

[BrazilGrl_70]

Actaully this is an old post and I reposted it..I had the meeting with my manager and my HR rep, she just babbled on about FMLA, and sat ther and stared at me..I know all MY RIGHTS wiht this FMLA stuff, and I am seeing an attorney Monday. This manager has not been very nice to me for no reason.

I have all my emails saved to my HR rep stating how stressed out I am and him wanting a 7 day notice for me to use my FMLA..thats crazy..I have intermittent FMLA whci means I can call in sick that morning , as long as I call him that is all i need to do..Now I have not called in sick for months..Even when my Mom was in the hospital and my Bi-ploar started kicking in I went to work..I might have left early but I made up my hours on my day off,,and being I have FMLA I should be alloweed to do that.

I am almost at the point, to call in alot and have him fire me, but I dont think hes that stupid. I have called my pyschatrist and already told her how stressed out work is making me so i covered my butt with her. I told her I cry everytime I have to go to woek and I am having panic attacks at work.

[BrazilGrl_70]

thnx that was helpful, and i can see now they are pushing it with me.

[lavenderdove]

I think it is in your best long term interests to try to work this out with the HR rep.

 

For FMLA, they do have to accommodate you within the legal interpretation of the FMLA laws, BUT they also have the right to swap you into an 'equivalent' job (i.e., same pay but less responsibility or different job) doing something else if your absences are causing a disruption to the work schedule or what is interpreted as undue demands on other workers.

 

So if you like your job and want to keep doing that exact job, try give advance notice when possible for things like doctors appointments, and keep a calendar so you are not reliant on someone else to tell you when your appointments are and can give your boss better notice.

 

The other thing they can do if it is a fire at will state, is wait until it calms down a bit, then let you go for some other reason, i.e., your performance ratings drop, they need to downsize and other people are also being let go, you are argumentative and belligerent with your boss etc. So FMLA does give you some rights, but in fire at will states, they can find many other reasons to let you go, and use them.

 

I have seen cases where someone goes out for cancer treatment, then gets let go within a month of coming back because the company is downsizing, and there is not a thing they could do about it.

 

So you need to recognize that those laws are to encourage companies to accommodate people, but at the same time, the company has other legal rights to what they consider a productive employee, and if you turn out to be a lot more trouble than you're worth, they can and will let you go for other reasons.

 

So try to compromise with them whenever you can, and recognize that FMLA will only protect you to a certain extent and not override other legal rights the company has.

[BrazilGrl_70]

I always have given an advance notice...if I have a doc appt. Honeslty let them fire me for performance..etc.. Thatwould be better for me to SUE the heck out of them..My last 4 reveiws were excellent and I recived two raises in one year last year.I been reading more and more about my rights. and my new manager is creating a hostile work environment which is VERY illegal and I file a complain with the State Labor Board they can't fire me. I have a legal case on both counts. I can get unemployment for wrongful firing and file suit.

So thanks for your advice, but I will not be trying to work things out with my HR rep. What they are doing is just wrong, and this is a HUGE company. I am sure an attorney would love to take my case.

[lavenderdove]

It is harder to sue on these grounds than you think, or should I say sue and win.

 

To be considered a 'hostile workplace' they have to be either engaging in sexual or racial harassment, and this isn't about that.

 

And to be violating FMLA, they have to actually deny you the leave, which they haven't done. They're asking you to try to work with them to find a solution that works for both the company and meets the law. Asking you to try to be consider and give notice in advance of doctor's appts. is not a violation of the law.

 

Most large corporations have lawyers on staff themselves, and if they see you as a big problem because of your attitude (unwilling to try to work with them to accomplish your job and while satisfying the requirements of FMLA laws), they most likely won't fire you for performance, they will just wait until the next layoff cycle and let you go along with other people. I've seen this happen too many times and am just warning you of what might happen if you don't try to work with them. If you are in a fire at will state, they are within their legal rights to lay you off if they are downsizing, regardless of your medical condition.

 

If you are unable to function in a work environment due to your own medical condition, you actually have a better chance of qualifying for disability than you do of suing the company for violating FMLA laws. But you will have to prove that you medical condition is so severe you are unable to work.

 

Or perhaps this boss and job are stressing you out to the point you need to think about another job. The law says they have to make reasonable accomodations for your disability, but their interpretation of reasonable may be different than yours (and not necessarily legally actionable). But perhaps they have a job that is more flexible than your current one where your absences won't cause they problems, and they could put you into it. Perhaps you could talk to the HR rep about that now.

 

A good lawyer will tell you that it is best to negotiate first and bring out the big guns (threats of a lawsuit) only when you have a good chance of winning. And most people i know who resort to lawyers end up impoverishing themselves to pay the lawyer, and then in the end don't win the suit. Don't let emotion rule you because you are angry at them.

 

You just have to understand that a large corporation will be able to afford a lot better lawyer than you can too. Most lawyers will charge you at least $5,000-$10,000 to start taking on a case like this, and that is just the beginning. And a BAD lawyer will take on your case knowing in advance they would lose, just to get the billable hours from you.

 

So really, i am trying to help you here having had years of experience at management level in large corporations. I know how they work. Try to work it out with them first, find a solution that you, your boss, and the HR person can live with, i.e., specifics as in, for scheduled appts. you will give your boss one week's notice. If you get personally ill and have to go out on no notice, then so be it, and take the FMLA leave or your regular leave to do so.

 

They are not being unreasonable to ask you to tell them about scheduled appts. with a weeks notice. You can tell them the same day the appt. is scheduled with the doctor in fact, which may be weeks or months in advance, and then you have fulfilled their requirements. So don't turn this into a huge war over something that is simple for you to do.

[avman]

I always have given an advance notice...if I have a doc appt. Honeslty let them fire me for performance..etc.. Thatwould be better for me to SUE the heck out of them..My last 4 reveiws were excellent and I recived two raises in one year last year.I been reading more and more about my rights. and my new manager is creating a hostile work environment which is VERY illegal and I file a complain with the State Labor Board they can't fire me. I have a legal case on both counts. I can get unemployment for wrongful firing and file suit.

So thanks for your advice, but I will not be trying to work things out with my HR rep. What they are doing is just wrong, and this is a HUGE company. I am sure an attorney would love to take my case.

 

I think you really need to look at the law and it's interpretation. And also you need to really understand that employers (and others) do things they "can't" do all the time. And I mean ALL the time. Just because you have a legal case doesn't mean you'll win, and that it won't take many years to come to a conclusion, and that it won't cost you a fortune in legal fees, or that they won't whisper about you to other employers so you don't get hired in your field.

 

A hostile work environment involves harassment or other environments cultivated by the company. Having a jerk for a boss doesn't qualify. Especially if all he's doing is trying to get the work done, but then you frustrate him by not showing up.

 

You are going to have a much easier time of it if you try to work something out with HR rather than go on a crusade. Employers don't like troublemakers and they WILL find a way to get rid of you.

[BrazilGrl_70]

Most large corporations have lawyers on staff themselves, and if they see you as a big problem because of your attitude (unwilling to try to work with them to accomplish your job and while satisfying the requirements of FMLA laws), they most likely won't fire you for performance, they will just wait until the next layoff cycle and let you go along with other people.

 

First my compnay is not going to lay people off..trust me. Second I am not "(unwilling to try to work with them to accomplish my job)"

I am being harrassed I really feel I am at this point. I have a million email I have sent to HR stating my concernsI never recived ONE back. I have them all doucmented.

[BrazilGrl_70]

You know what maybe your right , i should go out on Disablity..I really cant deal wiht working period anymore. But that doesnt mean I dont do a good job in what I do..Trust me there is not ONE person that can do my job, they know that. The lwayer I am goign to is a diabilty lawyer also maybe I should ask him about this.

Thanks for your input.. I aprrciate it.

[avman]

Disability might be a reasonable option if you qualify.

 

Trust me there is not ONE person that can do my job, they know that.

 

Please be careful with thinking like this. I promise you that no matter what job you do you are virtually always replaceable. It may take them time to train someone or find the right candidate, but in this economy where so many people are looking for work they can find someone to fill your shoes. You may do a fantastic job indeed, but thinking you are irreplaceable can give off an attitude that many employers and coworkers find very distasteful.

[lavenderdove]

I am not passing judgment at all on your work performance... just trying to help you understand how corporations operate. HR department's purpose is to protect the company's interest, and in my experience, they will ALWAYS side with the manager unless the manager is doing something illegal (and they get their lawyers to determine that).

 

The reason they are not responding to your emails is that they know that once something is put in writing, it can and will be used against them in court. They may well be collecting your emails and storing them in a file to build a case that you are unstable, argumentative, unreasonable, whatever. (And I am making absolutely no judgment against you because i don't know you or what is in the emails or how your boss is behaving). But bosses can be mean, tough, unreasonable, nasty, whatever, as long as they don't violate they law. They don't have to be kind or nice to you or make your life easy. They can set a high standard and penalize if you don't meet it, or change the standards anytime they want as long as they are within the law.

 

So if they have changed the environment to the point it is triggering your illness, then you might indeed trigger the right to get disability, because most disability laws say you can get it if you cannot meet the requirements of your job due to your illness.

 

BUT once you get on disability, the disability company will do everything they can to get you off it again, and that is a whole other topic. But I would really try to compromise with HR and your boss, and if that doesn't work, then talk to your shrink about whether she would agree to certify that your job is making you ill and you cannot work it. The first thing the disability company does is require you to get a statement from the doctor saying you need to be on disability.

 

It is fairly easy to stay out 3 to 6 months on disability, but once you cross from short-term to long term disability plans, the insurance cos. get touch and really watch you to make sure you are not faking it or just don't want to work. But the good news is disability plans will frequent let you stay on while you retrain yourself to a less stressful job that is more suitable for someone dealing with bi-polar issues.

 

So rather than casting the corporation as the big, bad wolf, try to work with them first to perhaps get a new job/boss with less stress, then if that doesn't work, pursue the disability potential, or even better, look for a job outside the company that is less stressful and a better environment. Large corporations can be quite impersonal, so perhaps a smaller/calmer setting would work for you.

[BrazilGrl_70]

Ok..well here is what I did do....

I applied for a part-time position within the company two days after this "meeting" with my HR rep and manager took place.

It is alot further drive but I still get to keep my benefits, and my vaction will be prorated.and perhaps my sanity.

 

After reading your posts, I am getting a much clearer picture of what is going on. And I did not think they would be saving my emails and putting them in a file, to show I am unstable. That is scary. Even though I am Bi-polar I have always been a very productive worker. I feel at this point if they are looking for some other reason to fire me, they need to look really hard, unless surfing the internet on my lunch qualifies..

I just would like to metion I have not called in sick in a while months..and I do have FMLA..I am so burnt out with this place, I actually thought to call in sick just to piss my manager off more, but then what good would that do?

As far as my pdoc signing a form for STD,,I am not sure she would do that, as for I have been stable on my meds for a few months now. And that is just a band-aid to my issues.

I am stuck, because I cant find another job making what I am here. And ,i really feel I need a break mentally from this job, I am having a really hard time concentrating, not sure if its my meds or I am just too stressed out to focus. I do appreciate your time to answer my posts I find them very informative. How do you know all this?

[lavenderdove]

Many years spent in a corporate environment, and at a managerial level... I had an illness myself that required me to be on disability for 6 months, and i had a boss who sexually harassed me! As a manager, you also get the 'inside scoop' on how they operate, since managers attend meetings that other employees don't.

 

So you can never predict exactly what they will do, but it is best to try to compromise first rather than make waves. They will put up with a lot if they think you're a valuable employee, but if your boss hates you or they see you as someone who *might* sue them in future, they might try to unload you to protect themselves before you do.

 

So i'd really try to work with them, and don't put anything down on paper, even company emails to other employees, that you don't want them to know about becuase they can and do snoop email if they think it will serve their purpose to protect the company.