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I was fired due to being in the hospital

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Mrs.carter2018

New member
I was in and out of the hospital for a week, meaning I had missed work. I have doctors excuses for all of those days and came back the day I got off my heart monitor and was cleared to come back. When I arrived, they told me I was terminated and that’s all they would tell me. Is this even legal?
 


Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
I was in and out of the hospital for a week, meaning I had missed work. I have doctors excuses for all of those days and came back the day I got off my heart monitor and was cleared to come back. When I arrived, they told me I was terminated and that’s all they would tell me. Is this even legal?
In addition to your state, it would help to know (1) whether you work for a private employer or for the government (and if the latter, whether it's city, state, or federal government), (2) if you know whether you were eligible for federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) coverage and if you were eligible for it, did you ask your employer for FMLA leave approval following your employer's procedures, and (3) were you a member of union with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), with the employer?

In pretty much every state a private employer is not obligated to tell you why you were fired. Also, a private employer may always fire you for reasons unconnected with you taking time off for health reasons even if you are covered by FMLA or a similar state law leave program. Of course, if you are covered by a government leave law and the employer fires you right after you return that's going to look like you were fired for using the leave, so if the termination is unconnected with the leave the employer had better have the evidence to back that up. If you are not covered by the FMLA or state leave law then a private employer may generally fire you for missing work, even if the reason for missing it was being in the hospital.

If you work for the government, you may have had more legal protection under the civil service rules that apply to your job.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
A note from your doctor is as about as useful as a note from your mommy. Which state are you in? How many employees are there at your location? How long have you worked there? In most cases, an employer doesn't need to tolerate employee absences for ANY reason. The only option would have been if you were allowed to and DID assert FMLA rights.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
FMLA applies when ALL of the following are true:

1.) You have worked for this employer for no fewer than 12 months
2.) In the 12 months immediately preceding your illness, you worked no less than 1250 hours for this employer
3.) Your employer has no fewer than 50 employees within a 75 mile radius of your location
4.) You or a qualified beneficiary had a serious health condition as defined by the statute.

From what you tell us, #4 was met. However, did all three of the others apply? You haven't told us that. If FMLA applied, then firing you for a week-long absence was likely illegal. If FMLA didn't apply, then it was likely not.
 

commentator

Senior Member
While working out all the other issues, file quickly for unemployment insurance. That is the one place where being fully released to return to work by a medical person with a medical excuse is very helpful. In pretty much every unemployment situation, being terminated while out with a doctor's excuse means you were out of work through no fault of your own. If you report back to your employer and they no longer have a job for you, you can, if otherwise qualified, draw unemployment benefits while looking for another job. That you do first, then you look into the legality of your termination related to FMLA.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you for providing your state name, Mrs.carter.

To repeat the question asked by PayrollHRGuy, did you inform your employer that you were in the hospital at the time of your hospitalization, or did you inform your employer only after your return to work?
 

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