Fired over Medical absense

[xwmstormx]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OH

I was fired because I had accumulated 80hrs of medical leave beyond a 1 year period.

I have had extensive medical problems with my heart and with my teeth.

I put in a LOT of 2hrs here 5hrs there 2 days off because of medical reasons.

Medical Reasons: I had all but 8 teeth removed, I have been working with my family physician on my sobriety as well. All of these combined acumilated at least 60 of these hours that I can prove.

I feel I was wrongfully fired. I only say this because at the meeting they specifically said that my doctor/dentist appointments was the reason.

Is this a wrongful discharge?

[ecmst12]

How long did you work for the employer, was it at least 1 year? Are there at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your location? Did you work at least 1250 hours in the last 12 months before your leave began? And IF all of the preceeding answers are yes, did you also inform your employer of your need for intermittent FMLA?

[xwmstormx]

How long did you work for the employer?
Almost 3 years: October 11th 2006 Hire date.

Are there at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your location?
Yes.

Did you work at least 1250 hours in the last 12 months before your leave began?
It wasn't a straight leave, it was 2hrs here, 5 hours there. All for appointments. Tried to miss as little work as possible.

did you also inform your employer of your need for intermittent FMLA?
We had discussed it but decided that it wasn't necessary as I would only be gone for short periods of time.

Sorry for the late reply.

[eerelations]

If you agreed that FMLA wasn't necessary, then you essentially forfeited your right to job-protected leave. Did you forfeit this right freely, or did your employer somehow coerce you into doing so - and if you're claiming coercion, please describe it.

[ecmst12]

I don't think you CAN forfeit this right. If the employee, the employer, and the condition all qualify for FMLA, then it MUST be granted.

OP, you should contact the US DOL for help.

[pattytx]

Yes, I would also like to hear who

decided that it wasn't necessary

and how that went down.

[cbg]

The key to this question is who decided that FMLA wasn't necessary.

If the employer offered FMLA and the OP said, oh, that's not necessary and failed to provide medical verification, then she forfeited her right to FMLA and the employer is in the clear. While it is true that a condition MUST be granted FMLA protections provisionally as long as the employer, the employee and the medical condition all qualify, the employee does have responsibilities where FMLA is concerned and if they do not follow through, FMLA can be denied.

If the OP requested FMLA and the employer said, oh, that's not necessary, and failed to provide the forms for medical verification, the employer violated the FMLA statute and the OP may have legal recourse.

The burden of proof is on the employer to prove that the OP voluntarily opted out of FMLA.

I agree with the advice to contact the US DOL.

[xwmstormx]

Ok, there is a lot of great info for me here and a lot that I have to take in and consider. Thank you all for the replies. I will try to answer each of them and get more detailed into everything so that we have a clear line of information.

quote: If you agreed that FMLA wasn't necessary

During Christmas of 2007 I was hospitalized and had to have surgery for an extra pathway in my heart. Now, they didn't find anything. During this time we discussed FMLA and taking time off. During a discussion with my HR rep. I had decided that it wasn't necessary since I would be back in a week later. This was under the understanding that FMLA doesn't pick up unless you are gone for 6mos or more for health reasons.

I apologize for any misdirection that may have caused. FMLA was mentioned and thats how it got in my head. I should not have mentioned it as being recent.

So, to get into the more recent:

FMLA was never offered or discussed through my 2009 surgery/doctor appointments. Though it was fully necessary to have as being in my case life threatening / and life prolonging precedures. Granted It was only 2hrs here, 6 hours there or a 2 day leave. (2 day was the main surgery for my teeth. I have 7 left and all were removed and I needed time to recover)

Regardless that the main of my absences were medical and of reason to not be able to be at work it was a main factor of my dismissal.

I actually argued with my HR rep, and a manager about this and they said it didn't matter it was still time of.

Please ask more questions and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge. Again, thank you for taking the time to reply. Even if this turns out to be nothing I am still appreciative for your time.

[pattytx]

Too late to do anything about the 2007 situation, but your understanding was totally wrong (as you probably know now).

Relative to your recent situation,

FMLA was never offered or discussed through my 2009 surgery/doctor appointments.

is the employer's error.

Contact the federal DOL as cbg suggested.

[ecmst12]

FMLA provides up to 12 weeks (per 12 month period) of job-protected leave for any serious medical condition of you or a family member that you must care for. It can be taken in a chunk or a few hours at a time. It "picks up" on the first day you are out for the condition. You SHOULD have been offered it in 2007, but since you weren't fired for the time you were out, the end result was the same. It sounds like either you or your HR rep were confusing FMLA with long-term disability insurance.

The FMLA law has been around for long enough that there's really no excuse for anyone who calls themselves an HR professional to NOT know what it's for and what it requires.