job wont accept FMLA fitness-for-duty from different doctor

[texasgeologygir]

Texas...

If while on FMLA and required to present a fitness-for-duty certificate, but the original doctor (a specialist) stopped taking me as a patient and referred me to another doctor (a primary care doctor), can my work hold this against me?? I am no longer able to provide a fitness-for-duty certificate from the original doctor who was the specialist. I have provided fitness-for-duty certification from the new doctor who took me in as a patient on a referral from the old doctor, but my work still wants the fitness-for-duty certificate from the doctor who made the diagnosis. They say I will be terminated if I don't provide a valid fitness-for-duty certificate from the doctor who diagnosed the condition, but the old doctor said since he referred me back to a PCP, he can't comment on my status or give me a fitness-for-duty clearance. I don't know what to do.

 

[swalsh411]

Tell your employer to show you where it says they can demand a certificate from a doctor of their choosing and terminate you if you don't comply. (assuming you are in compliance with the other FMLA requirements)

 

[ecmst12]

You can also contact the state or federal DOL for help.

 

[pattytx]

Agree. However, the employer CAN require you see a doctor of THEIR choosing if they pay for it. If that isn't the specialist, then they can pick one of their own.

 

[cbg]

Since FMLA is a Federal law, I'm not sure how much help the state DOL will be.

 

[texasgeologygir]

Just to update... still no cooperation from my employer. I contacted the wage & hour division of the DOL but could only leave a message and wait for a call back so I did that and am still waiting. My job has been blatantly difficult to deal with in the process. They say my deadline is tomorrow or I will be terminated. Just to cover myself, I got a backup fitness-for-duty certification from another doctor and that got faxed to my work from his office. Both the new doctors have copies of my chart from the original doctor and have contact for one another. The lady at my work is just beligerant and sarcastic about things.

 

[commentator]

If your deadline is tomorrow, call tomorrow to confirm that you are officially terminated. Ask for something in writing, but don't get too upset if they don't give you anything. Go ahead as soon as someone with the company confirms that you are terminated and file for your unemployment benefits.

Begin this process, and they will begin contacting the employer to ask for particulars. While the unemployment approval issue is totally unconnnected to any other process, such as an appeal about the FMLA issue, it will begin to establish a trail of what is being said and done by your employer in regard to your termination.

It will also set up your unemployment claim, and if you are approved for benefits, and you have fully been released by your doctor as able and available to return to work, you will have a very good chance of being approved and ultimately backpaid on unemployment for each week since you filed the claim. This way you will have a little something coming in while you look for other work.

Now, we assume you are fully released by your current physician to return to work, right? No restrictions? You have paperwork that says this. It sounds to me like the employer just blatantly wanted to get rid of you, and trumped up this excuse to do so. In most cases, they can, and unemployment insurance is all you can get from it. In this case, I defer to those here who may know more about FMLA issues.

I vaguely remember something in the wording in the FMLA says something about "current treating physician". You have a note from him/her. Though it will definitely fall into the jurisdiction of the feds, your state DOL should be able to lead you in the right direction to them for appeals.

 

[commentator]

Additional inquiry....what was the nature of your medical condition that your specialist stopped taking you as a patient and turned you over to a regular doctor without releasing you? If your specialist was treating you for a specific condition, and this was the one that your FMLA was granted based on, and then your health issues which were keeping you from coming back to work became something unrelated to that initial condition, that could really change things.