Anyone here familiar with FMLA?

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
07/23/2019 at 12:20 • Filed to: None

According to the absence management department at my company I have exhausted all of my allowable FMLA time. I’m waiting to hear back from them as to what my options are at this point. I was out a month for surgery and then in the hospital for pulmonary embolism, all cancer related. I do call off frequently due to nausea and fatigue, but I only have about a month or so to go on chemo and then I should be back to normal. As harsh as this is to say, I’ve had many co-workers go on FMLA for cancer, but sadly most of them passed away before they exhausted their allowed time. I’m a survivor and will beat this illness, but I don’t want to end up on the street and without insurance...

DISCUSSION (13)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 12:34

Federal law is 12 weeks per year, but individual states can allot more than that.

https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla

Des your state have any sort of earned sick time law? That's separate from FMLA and might get you some extra time

Ash78, voting early and often > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 12:37

To my knowledge, FMLA just guarantees your job when you return, even though (after your vacation and sick time are used up) it’s still just unpaid leave with at least partial benefits.

However, most companies should make accommodation beyond that to let you take a leave of absence. It’s the right and decent thing to do. The federal law just says they don’t HAVE to give you the same job back. You might have to pay for COBRA, but that’s better than being uninsured.

Think of FMLA like the building code — it’s a bare minimum. Most companies with actual human beings in charge will do a lot more than that.

I’ve worked with coworkers who have had strokes, cancer, you name it. None of them were fired or disallowed to return to work.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 12:51

What Ash said…FMLA is just a bare minimum. Might be worth confirming what your state laws are on top of that? But yeah FMLA is pretty weak – you should start talking to management up the chain you work with and explain your situation, would be pretty horrible of them to not work something out for you, even if it means going no pay and covering your insurance costs until you’re back.

And great job with your attitude about kicking that sucker out, keep it up!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
07/23/2019 at 12:57

Thanks. I just talked with a few departments and they're going to do a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, and I should be able to qualify for short-term disability. The nice thing about working for such a large organization is that they have the people in various departments that are prepared to deal with these situations. It sounds like the person I just spoke to in Absence Management is also a survivor, so she gets it. I think this is all going to work out.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Ash78, voting early and often
07/23/2019 at 13:02

I work in a department of a large public transit agency that specifically deals with the handicapped and disabled on a daily basis, so it would be quite hypocritical of them not to be understanding in this situation. I’ve talked to a few people already and they are being quite helpful and understanding regarding my situation. After talking to them I don’t think I have anything to worry about.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
07/23/2019 at 13:04

No such thing in my backwater state, but my employer is being supportive and understanding and has plans and policies in place to help me. After talking to a few departments I don't think I have anything to worry about.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 13:10

That’s awesome!

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 13:54

Very glad to hear that, hope it all works out without much hassle - you’ve got plenty on your plate to focus on already.

RacinBob > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 17:18

I always thought that if you were unable to continue, you went on disability and that the benefits continued to flow. Th at is the case for one of my co-workers. Do you have disability insurance as a benefit?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RacinBob
07/23/2019 at 17:24

I do. I’ve started the process and will probably take a few weeks off at 60% of my salary.

RacinBob > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/23/2019 at 18:46

You may want to review this carefully just so you get it right. I think once on disability, you tend to stay on it until you are really well and that your condition is verifyably is behind you.

Your employer bought the insurance and if you use up your sick leave they want you to take advantage of it. So I don’t think you have a choice. I would make sure I talked to someone who really knows disability law . You are eligible for years of coverage, you don’t want mistakes or surprises to work against you. As an example, you come back early while not cleared and then relapsing. Then finding out there is no second disability coverage within the same year.

I have a friend with leukemia that has been out for 6 years. He now has the cancer licked but some lingering associated issues related to chemo continue. He looks really good and even went to europe to meet his marrow doner. My understanding was that he can’t do even an email while on disability as it jepordized his disability coverage. Because he can’t be sure he is cured, I expect he will not come back to work and will do the disability until retirment kicks in.

The lesson I took was that the insurance company’s interests are not your’s. If they can avoid 12 years of disability payments, don’t be shocked if they try. Be Careful.

Baderab > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
07/24/2019 at 17:55

Request an accommodation under the ADA. Additional time away from work can be requested as a reasonable accommodation.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Baderab
07/24/2019 at 19:31

They’ve granted me that under reasonable accommodation. I'm still going to take a few weeks as a LoA just to get back to full strength. I'm in the home stretch now and don't want to derail my recovery so close to the end.