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I was demoted while on FMLA

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Siddian42

New member
What is the name of your state? PENNSYLVANIA

At the end of October I went on intermittent FMLA because I have a severe anxiety disorder. I was put on full FMLA by my employer because I was having panic attacks. I had to see Occupational Health services before I was allowed to work again. The thing is, I was demoted. I was on FMLA for about 3 months.

I went from a desk job at Quality Final Inspector(QFI)to working the floor as a Quality Assurance Inspector(QAI) which is a level or 2 below where I was.

Their reasoning, because my psychiatrist said to keep my "work duties consistent ". My employer said that because we have what we call a "switch day"(where I, or the other QFI on different shifts, switch places with our SubQFI(who normally works the floor, and covers QFI when absent), can get practice. We have been doing that method for over 2 years.

Now, they gave my SubQFI my position as main QFI and I am stuck working on the floor as a QAI.

Also, I had back surgery in 2016 and my boss put me on a lifting weight restriction of 25lbs, the QAI position requires I believe 50lb weight limit. My employer has all the documents on this from my doctor.

So, can I use them for not giving me my position back?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
You said you were on FMLA for "about" three months. It makes a very great deal of difference exactly where "about" falls. Can you give us the EXACT dates you went out on leave and the EXACT date you came back?
 

Siddian42

New member
October31 2019 is when I saw told I have to take continuous FMLA by my employer, rather than intermittent like I had been since September. Today is my first day back.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
With the information I have available I'm not prepared to carve anything in stone. However, you are still within the 12 weeks that offers FMLA protection, so you *may* have a violation. It certainly can't hurt to run it past an employment attorney.
 

Siddian42

New member
October31 2019 is when I saw told I have to take continuous FMLA by my employer, rather than intermittent like I had been since September. Today is my first day back.
B
With the information I have available I'm not prepared to carve anything in stone. However, you are still within the 12 weeks that offers FMLA protection, so you *may* have a violation. It certainly can't hurt to run it past an employment attorney.
What other information would you need? What information should I have with me when I talk to a lawyer?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
You'll want to explain to a lawyer, in more detail than you really should explain on the public internet, about the differences between the two jobs, what your restrictions are, whether they are still in force, and a lot more about what is going on within the company. Remember that you cannot be demoted BECAUSE you took FMLA but you can be demoted IN SPITE OF having taken FMLA.
 

quincy

Senior Member
AncientFurry, adding your own question to someone else’s thread diverts attention away from the original poster, which is not nice. If you have a legal question, please start your own thread.

Also, adding a commercial link to the cbg post that you quoted was very sneaky but posting commercial links and commercial messages is a violation of the forum’s terms of service. Your post was reported for moderator review.
 

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