work comp/ FMLA

[alittlesteph]

What is the name of your state? IA
Oct 7-Jan 2 of last year I was out on unrelated FMLA. (So used all 12 weeks and was informed had none until Oct 7 of this year. Was diagnosed carpal tunnel and treated w/ cortisone to nurse along until Oct to get surgery. (Still had intermittent leave from panic attacks of previous leave that was maybe 10 days total taken after Jan return.) This summer my hand surgeon put me on restricted duty (I work over phone cust service and type notes and change accnts for a phone company) the head of HR said could not accomodate and put me out on work comp. For 3 weeks until I got the no FMLA letter to return or consider my job abandoned. So I made the doc chng records to no restrictions and went back. I went out Nov 13 for unrelated knee scope and retured to work Nov 29 for one day and had my wrist done Nov 30th. I just received a letter to return by Jan & as that is when my FMLA expires. Near as I can figure I am being shorted 5 weeks total from leaving with knee. Even if you subtract intermittant there is no way I took 5 weeks. The leave they forced me on was unaproved for FMLA. I will not likely be returned until capable of full duty as they claimed no accomodations before for restrictions. Not to mention no more FMLA for any use for a year. How can they do this if they allowed intermittant without FMLA time and denied FMLA time when they put me out and now say I only have 7 to take? I kept them aware and filed my incident reports. I also never received paperwork from the work comp insurance co and have never received a check for any time lost due to work comp injury including doc appointments, single lost days due to pain and injections (I had 4) nor the non accomodation time. What is going on? I suspect that they have not reported this to OSHA and are hiding the claim. The head of HR has been hostile and I feel that they are looking for an excuse. I have been there and been a top preformer for 6 years. Now it's ugly and they keep in he dark about what I am supposed to do. I fear that if I request copies of my "denial of FMLA" letter from this summer and my attendance records for the last 2 years that it will get worse...help?

 

[Beth3]

Employers don't have to report industrial injuries to OSHA unless there was a death in the workplace, so they're not hiding anything from OSHA. They do have to file a First Report of Injury with their Work Comp carrier when a recordable illness/injury occurs however.

What has your employer said when you've asked about the status of your WC claim and any payments you believe you are due for lost time to date? It's not clear whether the WC carrier has accepted liability for your carpal tunnel but the place you need to start is to ask your employer about this.

As to your FMLA status, I agree the sitaution is confusing. Your employer did not have to extend any FMLA leave time to you this summer or the intermittent leave you took; no law prohibits an employer from being more generous than the law requires however. But they can't count that as FMLA. You are entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA beginning October 7, 2004, assuming you meet the other criteria.

What it appears you need to do is to contact the HR Director or your manager and ask for an accounting of your FMLA leave for 2003 and 2004 as you believe you are entitled to more leave time than they believe you are.

 

[cbg]

One thing to keep in mind is that depending on what 12 month period your company has chosen to use for FMLA, you may not get your whole 12 weeks back on October 7. There is one way of totalling time where, as an example if last year you used six days in October, then this year in October you get six days back. If this year you need eight days in October, you have overused your time by two days.

Not saying this IS what's going on - just offering it as one possible solution to the question.

 

[alittlesteph]

more info/ update

state IA
Update, I just received work comp payment bringing me current. So they have accepted the claim, also since I had to take a full 12 weeks in 03 and they had not previously subtracted any intermittent leave of absence from that 12 weeks, shouldn't they do the same this year unless we (employees) are notified of a change? They have explained that I meet the qualifications for FMLA but only for 7 weeks duration. But they have not explained yet why only 7 weeks. Just that I must return or am abandoning my job. They have always and current papers state 12 weeks in a rolling year not calandar year or broken up in any way.