W
wdavninja
Guest
Texas... I was injured on the job (hernia) and taken to the hospital by ambulance. It took three doctors including the company doctor two months to diagnose the problem.
I was scheduled for surgery in early January due to the holidays. My company does not have light-duty (this I was told in a meeting with HR). But after they found out that I was enrolled in a college, I was suddenly offered a light-duty position that I accepted. My light duty assignment lasted for two months until my scheduled surgery.
This two months, as I was told by HR had reset my short-term disability time back to zero. I came back to work again on light-duty after my surgery.
I developed complications during the healing process and was told by a surgeon, recommended to me by HR, that I may have to undergo another operation. The surgeon wanted to try other methods first. Mind you I was required to maintain contact with the company doctor and HR every 30 days...which I did..and which was later changed to only having to keep in touch with Medical and that HR was out of the loop - per HR.
I was taken off of my light-duty assignment after about 3.5 months because the company does not have a light-duty policy - per HR. I was told by HR that as of the last day of my assignment I had approximately 3-4 months left of STD. A week or two later I got a certified letter in the mail that stated I was on FMLA (which was not in our handbook- oops we didn't have a handbook to my knowledge at that time).
I went to the company doctor and let him know that I would be released by my doctor in 2 weeks. While still at the plant, a fellow employee informed me that HR had met with my shift and told them that I had been terminated. I didn't believe him and shrugged it off, but was stopped by the Safety Manager a few moments later and was told that HR did not want me on site and that I was to be escorted off site. So I left confused, this was on 9-22-2001.
I called HR to find out what was going, and I explained to them what had happened. I was told that there was a certified letter in the mail, which explains that I was terminated on 9-11-2001, and that they would mail me all of my belongings and there was nothing that they could or would do. I asked why didn't my STD reset, and how could I be terminated if I was on FMLA for a portion of the absence. No direct answer, except that I should have kept in touch. I informed HR that I was told only to report to Medical (which I did), and that HR was not to be contacted. This HR rep on the phone was the same person who told me this "new policy" earlier. I believe that I was the first and only person actually put on and not offered FMLA at my worksite.
Note: I was not put on Workman's Comp. because the plant doctor said that this injury could have happened anywhere. I told him that I felt fine at 5am (shift change) and at 10am I was in an Emergency Room. I did not argue this because: 1.) We get bonuses based on safety (alot of guys depend on this, including myself), and my injury would have put us at or over the limit. 2.) I never thought my injury would have kept me out of work for so long. 3.) I never - ever thought that I would've been terminated for my injury due to their lack of maintenance.
Due I have any recourse.
I was scheduled for surgery in early January due to the holidays. My company does not have light-duty (this I was told in a meeting with HR). But after they found out that I was enrolled in a college, I was suddenly offered a light-duty position that I accepted. My light duty assignment lasted for two months until my scheduled surgery.
This two months, as I was told by HR had reset my short-term disability time back to zero. I came back to work again on light-duty after my surgery.
I developed complications during the healing process and was told by a surgeon, recommended to me by HR, that I may have to undergo another operation. The surgeon wanted to try other methods first. Mind you I was required to maintain contact with the company doctor and HR every 30 days...which I did..and which was later changed to only having to keep in touch with Medical and that HR was out of the loop - per HR.
I was taken off of my light-duty assignment after about 3.5 months because the company does not have a light-duty policy - per HR. I was told by HR that as of the last day of my assignment I had approximately 3-4 months left of STD. A week or two later I got a certified letter in the mail that stated I was on FMLA (which was not in our handbook- oops we didn't have a handbook to my knowledge at that time).
I went to the company doctor and let him know that I would be released by my doctor in 2 weeks. While still at the plant, a fellow employee informed me that HR had met with my shift and told them that I had been terminated. I didn't believe him and shrugged it off, but was stopped by the Safety Manager a few moments later and was told that HR did not want me on site and that I was to be escorted off site. So I left confused, this was on 9-22-2001.
I called HR to find out what was going, and I explained to them what had happened. I was told that there was a certified letter in the mail, which explains that I was terminated on 9-11-2001, and that they would mail me all of my belongings and there was nothing that they could or would do. I asked why didn't my STD reset, and how could I be terminated if I was on FMLA for a portion of the absence. No direct answer, except that I should have kept in touch. I informed HR that I was told only to report to Medical (which I did), and that HR was not to be contacted. This HR rep on the phone was the same person who told me this "new policy" earlier. I believe that I was the first and only person actually put on and not offered FMLA at my worksite.
Note: I was not put on Workman's Comp. because the plant doctor said that this injury could have happened anywhere. I told him that I felt fine at 5am (shift change) and at 10am I was in an Emergency Room. I did not argue this because: 1.) We get bonuses based on safety (alot of guys depend on this, including myself), and my injury would have put us at or over the limit. 2.) I never thought my injury would have kept me out of work for so long. 3.) I never - ever thought that I would've been terminated for my injury due to their lack of maintenance.
Due I have any recourse.