Involuntary medical leave for being pregnant with a doctors excuse

[britterz17]

Hello I am from Pennsylvania. Heres my situation. When i was 13 weeks pregnant I was given a doctors excuse for no lifting over 25 lbs. I worked as a CNA in a nursing home, so pretty much the only thing I couldnt do was lift a resident up in bed, everything else I could do. I took my doctors slip into my employer and they told me they could not give me light duty and I couldnt work there anymore. I asked them why they couldnt give me light duty when they gave it to people on workmens comp, and they told me it was a totally different situation. So pretty much they can give a CNA thats on workmens comp a desk job for a pulled shoulder but they cant let me do no lifting. They informed me the only right I have is to file for unemployment, and which I did. This incident went down in July 2010. I also contacted the EEOC and never heard anymore back fromn them but some paper work and that was several months ago. SO recently my unemployment 26 weeks were up, and I qualified for EUC. So today I get a letter from my employer stating that I exhausted my 26 weeks of medical leave, and was being taken off the payroll and I needed to turn in my name badge and time card. So now I am pretty much fired. What should I do, this isnt fair to me at all I couldnt work because they wouldnt let me so I get fired for something that is not my fault?

 

[Beth3]

It's perfectly legal for an employer to provide light/altered duty only to those employees who have restrictions due to a work related injury and not to accommodate anybody else - as long as they are consistent in their practice except for those situations where reasonable accommodation is required under the ADA (which doesn't apply to pregnancy.) Your employer's policy on this is fairly commonplace.

Your employer was free to put you on leave if you were unable to perform the full duties of your job. Under federal law, your employer is only obligated to provide 12 weeks of leave time so if they gave you 26, they were considerably more generous than the law dictates. If you were unable to return to work after 12 weeks (or in your case, 26), your employer is free to terminate your employment.

What should I do, this isnt fair to me at all I couldnt work because they wouldnt let me so I get fired for something that is not my fault?

It's not your employer's fault either. I suggest you look for another job and/or apply for employment with your current employer after the baby is born and the restrictions are lifted.

 

[Betty]

Even if you qualified for federal FMLA (which we don't know if you did),
you would have only been entitled to 12 weeks of job protected leave &
Pa. doesn't have a law regarding pregnancy that goes beyond the federal
law.

You got more time off than would have been required by law.