fired because of FMLA

[drymist]

What is the name of your state? VA

Hello, I have a question, all most 2 years ago my husband was fired because of me being on FMLA!
We had the doctors sign the document for the reason I need to be on fmla and every year after I have to renew the document , which I didnt mind doing because at least my husband wouldnt get in to trouble with his work for not getting a doctors note everytime he needed to take me to the appointments.
I was put on intermittin leave through the hole year because I was on pain mangment and phisical therapy for my lower back , plus I have alot of female problems , I had aleast 5 appointments almost every month, My husband is a avation mechanic and he was in the union and the company put in a thing called a no fault policy, if you got 12 points you were going to get a warning on if you miss another day they will fire you.
well they had called my husband in to the main office and told him he was going to be fired if he misses another day with out a doctors note saying why he wasnt there.
He had made it clear to them that I was on fmla and that I didnt drive and that most of the appointment were after 3:00 or later , they didnt want to here this so the DAM human relations ass hole made me take another document to my doctors telling them why I needed to be on there and if it was serious enough to has my husband take me to these appointments.
need lease to say my doctor was mad because the company made it seem that the doctor was lieing about why I needed to be on it, But my doctor did sign it again and gave them very good reasons for me to be on fmla, We all thought it was good enough for the company and so the next day my husband gave them my new fmla document and the HR person gave my husband a dirty look and put it in my husbands profile.
that next month I had to go and have a spinel uperdural and my husband had to take me, he called the company to tell them he wouldnt be in that day do to my appointment , so we went to the appointment and the pain mangement desided to take me of hydrocodone because my body was getting amunde to it , they didnt TELL me that I was going to be cut of cold TURKEY !!!!!!!
that night I started to have withdraws from the codien and it lasted 5 days my husband and my teen daughter stayed by my side helping me cope with the withdraws.
My husband had called them to tell them he was going to be out for about 4 to 5 days because of my withdraws from the drug and that he was going to use some of the 12 weeks from the fmla you are aloud to have.
SO he woudnt get fired !!!!!!!!
RIGHT
wronge
he went back to work on 9\11 and I was feeling a little better so I turned on the tv and saw the 2 towers blow , 6 hours later my husband calles at a pay phone and tells me he was FIRED for not having any doctors notes for him to be out that many days.
The company WAS never using the 12 weeks from the fmla and desided to use the no fault policy on my husband !!!!!!
he was past his 15 days of the no fault policy and they told him to take his tool box and leave the grounds!
So because of this my husband and I and are kids had to move in with my parents because we had no money and no medical insurence, no my husband is working for a company make crappy pay and they dont have medical insurence, my husband had been in the army for 8 years and he put in to the gi bill so he desided to inrolled in a avation college and now he has 5 months to go
then he will graduate with a a&p lisence with 16 years of avation behind his belt. the problem is this firing that happend will be on his records AND WE NOW FOR A FACT the firing was wronge ,we had called a lawyer about this and he told us we can take them to court and get some money BUT we are scared he will be BLACKED balled from any company in the avation industries.
They will think he is a trouble maker and wont hire him.
What should he do ?????????
thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

 

[Beth3]

Since some of the volunteer responders here are "dam human relations ass holes", including me, you might want to think twice in future posts how you refer to people.

The fact that you were on FMLA does not mean your husband's employer had to allow him to regularly be absent. However it appears that your husband should have applied for and/or been offered FMLA where he works in order to provide necessary care for you. I expect the attorney you saw is correct in saying you have a claim against his company. However, the statute of limitations for the federal FMLA is two years; willful violations have a SOL of three years. Unless your husband can demonstrate that his employer willfully violated the FMLA, that ship may have sailed.

I doubt your husband will be blackballed if he takes legal action. Blackballing means that an employer contacted other employers and told them not to hire that individual, which quite frankly just doesn't happen. Nor are there any secret lists of "no hire" individuals. The issue actualy is what kind of reference your husband will given when he applies for jobs and what effect that would have on his employment prospects. It would be perfectly truthful for his former employer to say he was fired for excessive absenteeism. Since you're having discussions with an attorney, it may be appropriate for the attorney to contact his former employer and see if they can come to an agreement on their providing a neutral reference on your husband when they're contacted.