disability blowback

[oneson1118]

NV
I have a question relating to fmla disability. my wife was pregnant last year and was put on disability one month prior to her delivery for stress that was affecting the pregnancy. she then took her fmla leave and near the end of that her doctor was concerned about her recovery from the C-section and post partum issues and he recommended another month. she filed the required paperwork and after 3 weeks of back and forth with the disability people they denied the claim and are now asking for the money back. In addition when she came back to work she had been moved not only off her team but to another region, losing all her established relationships with brokers and clients. while she was gone raises and bonuses were handed out. in the previous 2 years she received a 3+% raise and $2,500.00 bonuses, this year 2% and no bonus and was told "Well, I can't give everyone a bonus". during the year prior to her leave the assistant manager left, (took a promotion inside the company) and my wife was given her book of business and also mentored 3 new hires. she applied for the vacancy on her team prior to the leave and the position was given to another person on her team who had been there longer. when she came back from the leave she applied for several new openings that had been created and was unable to even get an interview to be considered. the person that got the job on her old team is now constantly coming to my wife with questions about how to do his job, (he moved with her to the new team), and others who were promoted to these new positions are not qualified per the companies written job description, while my wife is. I know this has been a long post but if it was just any one of these things it would not be a big deal but given the fact that my wife took the leave during the busiest time of the year it really seems like this is punishment. Our question obviously is do we need to pursue this???

 

[justalayman]

How long total in any one year period was your wife on fmla leave

 

[FlyingRon]

First off, FMLA and disability are two different concepts. Understand that FMLA protection runs when you are not at work even if you have other forms of leave (sick leave, disability, etc...). The employer is allowed (but not required) to overlap them.

FMLA (if you qualify and your employer is big enough that it applies to them) just says you get a substantially similar job back when you come back from the leave. It doesn't mean that the absence won't mean you'll miss out on promotions and bonuses.

I'm not seeing what FMLA issue you have here.
There's not enough pertinent details on the disability disqualification/repayment request to make an answer on that.

 

[commentator]

Yes, there's too much of a jumble in your post between FMLA and disability (of some kind.) No money comes to you through the FMLA leave, it's just 12 weeks within a certain period that you are allowed to be off without being terminated for being off.

 

[oneson1118]

I'm not seeing what FMLA issue you have here.
There's not enough pertinent details on the disability disqualification/repayment request to make an answer on that.

First ty for your reply... Second... What details on the denial/repayment would be pertinent? I will attempt to give more and then await your reply... So about 8 weeks before baby was born... The doctor became concerned about the baby and took her off work and put her on STD till the baby was born, STD then ran current with FMLA for 12 weeks. Shortly before the 12 weeks ended, at a check up the doctor became concerned about her recovery from the surgery and recommended another month... My wife talked to her boss and was assured her position was secure so she stayed out the month. The doctor sent over the paperwork required and the disability contact said they needed a little more info but was vague as to what exactly was needed. After the office lady and my wife had spent a significant amount of time on the problem resubmitting and calling and trying to get a more specific idea of what was being asked for in the middle of the 4th week she was told it was denied and now they are asking her to sign something agreeing to pay it back... If she had known it would be denied she never would have taken the extra month. They are asking us to pay 10% of her gross per paycheck so it will be about $500.00 a month for 5 months which is untenable...

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Who is THEY when you refer to the STD?

 

[justalayman]

So it appears she exceeded 12 weeks off from work. At that point the employer can terminate the employee. If they allow the employee to return the employer is not obligated to return them to their previous job or pay.

Btw: a doctor does not put a person on std. std is an employer benefit. Whether a person is covered under std and eligible for benefits is determined by the employers policy.

You mention the employer wants your wife to pay something back. What do they want her to pay back? The std payments maybe?

Something that isn’t clear to me;

Did she ever return to work? If not, was it due to the employer terminating her or her quitting or refusing to accept a position?

 

[oneson1118]

How long total in any one year period was your wife on fmla leave

12 weeks

 

[oneson1118]

Who is THEY when you refer to the STD?[/QUOTE

The disability dept at my wife's work. She has that as a benefit offered by the company. When she communicates with them it is at a company email address.

 

[oneson1118]

So it appears she exceeded 12 weeks off from work. At that point the employer can terminate the employee. If they allow the employee to return the employer is not obligated to return them to their previous job or pay.

Btw: a doctor does not put a person on std. std is an employer benefit. Whether a person is covered under std and eligible for benefits is determined by the employers policy.

You mention the employer wants your wife to pay something back. What do they want her to pay back? The std payments maybe?

Something that isn’t clear to me;

Did she ever return to work? If not, was it due to the employer terminating her or her quitting or refusing to accept a position?

 

[oneson1118]

Oh yes she went back to work immediately following the extra month. But how can they take a month to deny it, pay her, and then ask for it back. She would have gone back to work and toughed it out if they would have said in the first couple of days no we are not going to cover that. Now, 8 months after the baby she is having to have her uterus removed because something is wrong since the birth...

 

[justalayman]

12 weeks

Your statement suggests she exceeded 12 weeks.

The doctor became concerned about the baby and took her off work and put her on STD till the baby was born, STD then ran current with FMLA for 12 weeks. Shortly before the 12 weeks ended, at a check up the doctor became concerned about her recovery from the surgery and recommended another month... My wife talked to her boss and was assured her position was secure so she stayed out the month. The doctor sent over the paperwork required and the disability contact said they needed a little more info but was vague as to what exactly was needed. After the office lady and my wife had spent a significant amount of time on

You also have two issues going on and you seem not differentiate the separate issues clearly.

Fmla allows for time off from work without retribution by the employer including termination.

Std is nothing more than an insurance system designed to provide the employee with income as the rules of the policy directs.

One can be eligible for fmla and not std and vice versa.

So. Was she approved for fmla during the entire time?

Apparently she was not approved for std the entire time. That is controlled by the policy provisions. Your wife will have to obtain those rules and determine if she was improperly denied benefits.

 

[Zigner]

She would have gone back to work and toughed it out if they would have said in the first couple of days no we are not going to cover that.

This statement does not help her position on the matter. From the point of view of the payer, it's a clear acknowledgment that she was, in fact, able to return to work, but simply chose not to so that she could continue to collect disability benefits.

 

[cbg]

FMLA is leave; disability benefits are how you get paid when you are on leave. FMLA is Federal; the eligibility criteria and protections are the same regardless of where you are. Disability benefits, in 45 states including the OP's, are specific to the policy (in the other five states, the criteria are set by the state). It is possible to be eligible for FMLA without being eligible for disability benefits; it is possible to be eligible for disability benefits without being eligible for FMLA. FMLA provides job protection; disability benefits do not. For a pregnancy, the woman is entitled to take the entire 12 weeks of FMLA available to her by law; however, she is only entitled to disability benefits for the period she is medically unable to work. If that means that some of the time is unpaid, then that's what it means.

 

[FlyingRon]

You say misleading things. If she stopped going to work a month before the birth that's where you start counting the twelve weeks and it ends when she returns to work. It doesn't matter if she gets put "on disability" or not. Disability, as pointed out, just gives her money. FMLA can be paid or unpaid, it just matters how long you are gone from work and can guaranteed a place back. It doesn't matter if you have a year of sick leave you want to take, your FMLA protection ends 12 weeks after you stop going to work.