unemployed mom

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

I had surgery on 12/31/08 several days later my one boss called and said that the director didnt want me to come back to the site but she told me not to worry they would place me somewhere else. I was supposed to go back to work on 1/28/09 but my boss along with her boss called and said since i couldnt go back there they had no where else to place me and they fired with with a termination date of 1/20/09. Now the problem with the director stems from a situation in reguards to another employee who is a very close friend of mine who also works in the dept was very ill went to the er and i told her i would keep an eye out on her so to speak. We work in the medical records dept of a hospital. A few hours later after talking to her and her husband she had a heart attack and they were admitting her to icu and then transferring her to another hospital for better treatment. Her husband said he would get back to me but later i couldnt get a hold of them and the er wasnt picking up so i called the dept i work in to see if one of them could just let me know if she was still there. A yes or no question. The night shift refused to give me the info and emailed the director that had that been one of them they would have been fired and wanted me fired. So that is the backround. They felt i had looked her up even though i had a verbal and even after she was discharged a fax request came from her doctor but of course the dept can not find that to back me up. Do they have the legal right to let me go? I even told my boss that he should write the termination date as 1/28/09 and he apparently didnt listen. Any thoughts???

Since you state you work in a hospital, I assume there at least 50 people that work there? How long have you been employed there? and did you work at least 1,250 hours in the last year?

It is important you answer these questions becuase not only my answer, but the answers of others will depend on them.

I dont work for the hospital i work for the contracting company. They handle release of information but the company has employees all over the country and yes i have worked more then 1250 hours.

You didn't answer the other two questions. Does your employer have 50 employees in a 75 mile radius and how long have you been employer with this employer?

I'm sorry i worked for the company for a total of 4 and a half years. I did leave in the middle for about 6 months but i went to work for the hospital so i was a desk away from the roi area and continued to help the ladies there. Since it seemed i was doing more of the old work and not new i went back and that was 9/2006.

i am not sure exactly how many employees the company has the main building is in Alpharetta, Georgia. I would have to say they do though.

You need to know for sure. If there are 50, that's one answer for you, and if there are 49, that's a completely different answer.

Can i please have the answer for both??

If it's 50, you can complain to the DOL. If it's 49, there's nothing you can do.

There is more then fifty i forgot they have a branch not far over the bridge in PA.

As long as the more than 50 employees are within a 75 mile radius, then it appears you might a claim of an FMLA violation. You need to contact the U.S. Department of Labor to be sure and if so, file a complaint.