Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

[whitesatin]

Have any of you had to use FMLA, and if so, could you tell us about your experiences?



WhiteSatin

[countrigal]

I'll start us off, though my experiences are slightly different than most.  The government has grouped FMLA in with our SL and we can take up to 40 hours without any justification.  I've taken this leave in order to go to funerals of loved ones, thereby allowing me to safe my AL.  I'm hoping to some day, one day, dream day, to need to use this in order to be out with a baby, but so far this hasn't occurred. So I haven't had much need for this act.

[dragonladybug]

I haven't personally used FMLA, but have been involved in explanations and investigations of the misunderstandings that resulted from use of it and the way my company has implemented it.  



Is your interest in the short-term aspects, as in using it for sick children, or the longer-term as in a protracted illness, a series of partial days missed over a long period of time, such as caring for aged parents or chronically ill family members or yourself?  Because FMLA can be called into play in each of these circumstances, it's a little hard to answer your question the way it is posed.  Can you elaborate just a little without violating privacy (yours or anyone else's)?





 

[andrea843]

The Family and Meidcal Leave act provides for 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave in certain circumstances.



You can use paid leave time such as vacation and sick time until it is exhausted and you can finish the remainder of your leave as unpaid leave, or if you have the time banked you can take it all as paid leave, or none of it as paid leave.



FMLA applies ONLY to companies with fifty or more full time employees.



An employer is within his rights (and almost certainly WILL ask for documentation of the need for FMLA), however once that's been provided your job is supposedly safe, however there is a little known "out Clause" in FMLA that says that if there is direct economic impact on the corporation, you can be placed in a similar position. (Therefore not your identical position).



So in theory, you can leave for a qualifying medical event and your job is safe.  



In reality...welllll.... there are teeth in the FMLA designed to keep the employer on the straight and narrow, but your job is only going to be as secure as the person you report to wants it to be.  Can they fire while out on FMLA leave?



Actually, yes.  If you fail to provide documentation specified in your FMLA leave agreement,  or if you do not meet the guidelines set forth in your FMLA agreement. Otherwise, not really.  



do you HAVE to be placed back in your old position? Usually yes, unless your employer can prove that there was direct financial harm to the corporation in your position being vacant, it's generally not worth the hassle of a potential suit for violation of Federal law.



Generally when an employee is considering FMLA leave, approaching HR is the first step to find out what documentation they'll require and to determine whether or not you want to take your leave in a 12 week block, or in increments.



FMLA leave can be broken down into whatever increments the employer and employee agree too. For instance I know a case where an admin was undergoing chemo, and was worried that her continued absences would show a black mark on her employment history, so HR set up a series of mini FMLA leaves that worked around the dates of her treatments and gave her a day off to recouperate before returning to work.



In short, it's a good plan, but only as good as the company implementing it.  Work for a good company, you'll find they work hard to keep their good employees and will obey both the spirit and the letter of FMLA.  A cruddy company who doesn't value employees will find intimidation the best way to go about dissuading an employee from taking FMLA leave at all, or will make the process so long and arduous that the employee gives up in frustration.



my fourpence.

 

[bohorquez]

Well it's just as Andrea put it.  Unfornately I was going to use it but my company doesn't fall in the guidelines for the FMLA.  We're only 10 employees.



Regardless, I am able to take off as much time I want with the baby, but no pay.  Which is what I expected!



Bridget



 

[whitesatin]

Both of my parents are elderly and in very poor health.  I brought them from Ohio to California to be close to me so I could keep an eye on them and see to their needs.



Not wanting to put them into a nursing home, I have rented a house for them for eight months.  It is in a gated senior community for persons aged 55 and older.



I do not get any paid sick days.  Over the last several years, I have used most of my vacation time in order to care for my parents.  To complicate things, there is a "point system" at my work where we accumulate points every time we have an absence.  The point system runs on a rolling calendar year. Unfortunately, I have had to take time off to care for parents when I had no vacation time left.  Last year, I was given a verbal warning, which was very humiliating.  If you accumulate 12 points, you can be fired.



I have worked for this company for 13+ years and have hardly missed any days.  My boss understands completely and has no problem if I miss work.  It's HR that has this need to reinforce this rule without taking the circumstances into consideration.



Monday, I left work to take Mom to the doctor.  Tuesday, I had to take her for lab tests and pick up groceries.  Yesterday, I had to stop and pick up some more groceries that my Mom called me at work and asked me to get.  I delivered their groceries and had to shave my Dad's face because his electric razor is broken and I have a new one on order that hasn't arrived yet.  Then my Mom told me that there were three prescriptions at the pharmacy I had to pick up and three more that she had that needed to be filled.



I commute at least three hours per day, work full-time and have a husband at home.  Mom fell down in the bathroom and hit her head on Saturday. She's had nine back surgeries, has aplastic anemia, bladder problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis and has great difficulty walking.  She gets dizzy spells.  Dad has Alzheimer's, has had multiple mini-strokes, has trouble walking and sometimes has problems with incontinence.



They lived with me for most of the year last year.   Went back to Ohio for 4 months.  Husband doesn't want them living with us anymore.  What a Soap Opera.  Sorry this got so long.



I can see that I am going to probably need to take time off here and there and want to be prepared for what to expect.  I do work for a good company.  I have asked HR to send me information on what I need to know and what I need to do.  It looks like there are a lot of variables from company to company from the responses I've seen so far.



My company employs 300+ employees, so I am eligible.  I appreciate all of your responses.  Thanks for listening, nothing in life ever prepares you for all of this.  You TAA members are the BEST!



WhiteSatin    (Trying to keep smiling in Northern California)  



 

[bohorquez]

Wow!  I'm sorry to hear that you're going through so much.  In case you need a number regarding the FMLA, just let me know.  I can get that for you.



I'll keep you and your family in my prayers!  



Bridget

[laundryhater]

I know you would rather not put your parents in a nursing home so I will not suggest that.



However, I do think you should consider hiring a full-time nurse to live with your parents because it sounds like they require a lot of care and you can't provide that because you work.



It's better than losing your job because you take "too much time off" to care for them.



This way you can rest easy knowing they are getting the attention they need by a professional.



If you don't, your marriage may suffer. You're spending most of your time looking after your parents when you have a life to live too.

[phoenix55]

WhiteSatin,



I'm so sorry you're experiencing this stress and trying to deal with what's going on with your parents.  I was in the exact same situation and had no problems with taking leave under FMLA.  In fact, my bosses encouraged me to do so.  



CountriGal,



What you're referring to is the FFLA (Family-Friendly Leave Act) which is separate from the FMLA.  The FFLA allows you to use your sick leave as you correctly specified, up to 40 hours without question or up to 104 hours per year if you can leave at least 104 hours banked.  I work for the government as well.  In days of yore, we were only able to take sick leave if we were sick.  If your family members were sick, tough.  The only exception was if you were caring for your children who were suffering from a highly contagious disease and you could prove that (in other words, something that was somewhat of a public health threat, like measles).



                                       Karen

[countrigal]

Phoenix, thanks for the clarification.  Something tells me I should start triple checking anything my HR department tells me since they're the ones who told me that it was FMLA.  Just reinforces my thoughts that the HR personnel here is non too bright.

[andrea843]

WhiteSatin, care of elderly parents IS A qualifying event under the FMLA, get with your HR department ASAP to get this time off married to your FMLA benefits! That way time off won't count against your employment record...

[whitesatin]

Thanks for all of your good advice everyone.  I tried to hire someone to come into my home when my Dad was living there, but he insisted that he didn't need any help. ARGGGHH!  I got one of those devices to notify a medical response team if he fell down or needed help.  It had a button incorporated into a necklace, where he could push the button to call for help.  It had a main call box where the person on the receiving end of the call could hear a cry for help no matter where it was coming from in the house.  He refused to wear the necklace.  ARGHHH!!



When he was in Ohio (I'm in California) I tried to get Human Services in his county to evaluate him and give him the help he needed.  (Meals on Wheels, transportation to medical appointments, etc.) The first three times the Social Worker went to his house, he wouldn't answer the door. (Of course, I had told him she was coming, duh!).  I finally convinced him to let her in.  He put on a great Dog & Pony show for her to convince her he didn't need help.



This is a man that ocassionally gets lost in the house.  At times, needs to be shown the way to the bathroom.  Asks me if I'm dating anyone (I've been married for almost 19 years!), calls my husband my Dad, insists it's snowing outside when it's 86 degrees, etc.



I have contacted my HR department, but haven't received a response yet.  This situation has taken a toll on my marriage is why I ended up renting a house close by for them.  I'm checking into Assisted Living homes now.



Maybe with Mom there now, she can convince him to have extra help come in.  She does have a housekeeper come in every two weeks and a gardner does the lawn care.



Once again, thanks for all your well wishes.  It makes me feel not so all alone.  I love you all!  



WhiteSatin