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Doctors Note

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JamnJenn

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Mass

I have been working at a large insurance company for 2 years now. We are given a bank of PTO time in January every year. In Feburary of this year I fell Ill and was out of work, per a doctors note, for 10 days. Towards the end of the 10 days I was feeling better and phoned my supervisor to advise him that I would be coming back to work a little earlier then expected. He advised me per our Human Resources that I cannot come back to work until the date specified on the note. That LEGALLY they could not allow me to come back to work.
During the time that I was out, I had asked if I could have my doctor fill out all the necessary paperwork for FMLA so I did't have to use my PTO time and my supervisor informed me that I could not because I wasn't going to be out long enough.
Now, that supervisor has moved on to another company and my new supervisor and department heads have been reviewing all of the records kept from the past supervisor. I am now being told that I need to be given and written waring for too many 'unscheduled' absences this year. Mind you, I have 5 weeks of vacation time I am accruing through the year and have only used those 10 days.
My new supervisor has told me that I did qualify for FMLA but too much time has passed from Feburary to now and NOW I don't qualify. There is no documentation in any of the files that A) I was offered FMLA as an option or B) That I had asked about it.
I have refused to sign the written warning because I do not agree with the way this entire situation has played out. (Which they sent me home for today, another unscheduled day they will hold against me) Do I have legal ground to stand on or am I just wasting my time?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Just as an FYI, a doctor's note has no force in law.

Just as another FYI, it probably wouldn't do you any harm to clarify exactly how that PTO works. Most companies I've worked for have employees accrue vacation either monthly or per pay period; however they will allow employees to "borrow" time they have not yet earned, thus leading some employees to believe that they are given all their time in a block when that is not the case. I'm not saying it's impossible you're given it all at once, but in a state such as Massachusetts where any unused time has to be paid out at termination, an employer would be setting themselves up for higher payouts than they needed if they did it that way.

Now, to your questions:

That LEGALLY they could not allow me to come back to work.

That is not correct. The law does not forbid them to allow you to come back early. However, if you came back early and then something happened to you, the company could have some liability so they while they are not required to force you to stay out the whole time provided, they can legally require you to adhere to it in order to lessen potential liability.

During the time that I was out, I had asked if I could have my doctor fill out all the necessary paperwork for FMLA so I did't have to use my PTO time and my supervisor informed me that I could not because I wasn't going to be out long enough.

Both you and the supervisor were wrong here. FMLA only requires an absence of more than three days. However, you were mistaken that if you were on FMLA you would not have to use your PTO. Both Federal and Massachusetts law permits an employer to require you to substitute paid leave for unpaid FMLA. I don't know what your company policy says on the subject, but they can legally require you to burn your PTO EVEN IF you are on FMLA.

I am now being told that I need to be given and written waring for too many 'unscheduled' absences this year

Ten days is a lot. Many companies do not allow more than ten sick days in an entire year; you used that much all at once. I understand that PTO is different in that it is not specifically designated as sick or vacation. While I'm not saying I necessarily agree with giving you warning for one ten-day absence in a quarter as opposed to ten one-day absences, I can also see his point, and the law was not violated.

My new supervisor has told me that I did qualify for FMLA but too much time has passed from Feburary to now and NOW I don't qualify.

What he is referring to is the fact that FMLA cannot be invoked retroactively in cases like this.

There is no documentation in any of the files that A) I was offered FMLA as an option or B) That I had asked about it.

I don't like this, but it is not illegal per se. It might make a claim for FMLA violation difficult if you did not inquire in writing and keep a copy; however, I'm not going to say it's impossible either.

I have refused to sign the written warning because I do not agree with the way this entire situation has played out.

That was very unwise of you and you may have played directly into their hands if there IS any funny business going on. Signing a warning does not mean you agree that you did something wrong and it does not mean that you agree with the way the company handled the situation. It means that you have been advised of the warning. Refusal to sign can be considered insubordination which is a termination offense. While I don't much like the way the company has handled this and I believe that FMLA has probably been violated, you might have hurt a potential case with this.

(Which they sent me home for today, another unscheduled day they will hold against me)

They were within their rights to do this and while I am essentially on your side if the facts are as described, I would probably have done the same thing. Sorry.

Bottom line; I believe that your company violated FMLA but I also believe you're going to have a difficult time proving it. I'm not saying you would be wasting your time; I think that will depend on how hard the company wants to fight. Only you can decide. If you do want to take any action, the place to go is the Federal DOL.
 

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