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Returning from FMLA to different job duties

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staffaccnt325

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
Thank you for reading this. Here’s my situation:
Three weeks into my leave the head of my department (two layers of management above me) contacted me and asked me to dinner. Half way through, she told me that my supervisor is leaving and she is thinking about moving job duties around. She asked if I would be interested in a new position that is being created. I told her I would be interested in looking at the job description but I enjoyed the work I was currently doing. I felt there was more behind the offering of this new position and acknowledge that I had not been able to give 100% the last few months prior to my leave and that I had not been the happy with my job performance and was eager to return and improve. I asked her if she was not happy with my performance and she said “no, I’m not”.

We met one other time for lunch and she was pushing the new position most of the time. I told her I would like to know more about this position before I accepted it. I was also told that the Accounts Payable person would be leaving the Friday before I returned from my leave.
I returned this Monday to this situation:
40% of my job duties where to remain with the temp they hired while I was away
50% of my job duties were transferred to the temp hired to replace the accounts payable person

I now have:
10% duties would be retained
40% would be accounts payable (a job I performed prior to my promotion in 2009)
50% this new position that apparently doesn’t have a job description yet.

The temp doing my position was asked if she would like to stay and continue doing my job but she is moving from the area in July.
Pay and benefits (everyone in the company has the same benefits) to remain the same.

I feel this is a violation of my FMLA rights. I understand that they purposely kept the pay the same (I was told by a coworker that the new position’s salary budget and responsibilities we purposely inflated to satisfy the FMLA pay protection) but that the duties, competencies and skills portion of the protection has been violated especially since I don’t know that this new positions does and 40% of my new duties is something I was promoted away from.

Many I please receive some opinions on this? Thanks!
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
FMLA does not protect you from changes that would have happened regardless of your leave. The supervisor did not leave because you were on FMLA. The new position was not created because you were on FMLA. They did not rearrange the job duties because you were on FMLA. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the changes would have happened whether you took FMLA or not, and the changes are not a violation.
 

NEP12

Junior Member
FMLA does not protect you from changes that would have happened regardless of your leave. The supervisor did not leave because you were on FMLA. The new position was not created because you were on FMLA. They did not rearrange the job duties because you were on FMLA. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the changes would have happened whether you took FMLA or not, and the changes are not a violation.
This. However, the OP did mention that a temp was doing her old job and then left. Has the old job been replaced? It seems weird that this position would be available and the OP placed into a new role unwillingly, however without more information regarding the department structure changes (which sound significant), it's tough to tell. My gut makes me think that the temp position wasn't identical to OP's old role, since OP retained some responsibilities.

It doesn't appear as though it can be interpreted as a violation of FMLA as cbg stated, because the events described are independent of the OP's leave and seem to be reactive to a pretty legitimate business decision.
 

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