Re: Post Fibroid Surgery Work Stories - Anyone have similar situation?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

The description of what happened

to your job during your medical

leave sounds fishy at best.

Does your company observe the Family

Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Have you

thought about contacting a labor law

attorney? What kind of damages have

you sustained to your job status,

ability to move upward in the company,

skill transfer, etc?

The transfer also appears to serve as a kind of

convenient " heads up " to your colleagues

that, should they take ill and need

rightful, legitimate medical leave, they

too can end up as employee non-grata?

Your situation is probably the tip of the

iceberg...thank-you so very much for sharing.

Job transfers, job terminations, etc due

to uterine fibroid symptoms/medical procedures

that women experience if all totalled probably

total in the millions of lost promotions, careers,

etc.

> Just when you think you've done all your homework, etc., this kind

of stuff happens. Now, I didn't say I was going to lose my job. But

> apparently in the work lingo " temporarily loaned " could up as a

> permanent transfer to another department. The department isn't bad,

> but it isn't what I signed up to do. So, I suppose this is a way to

> make someone start looking for something else in the company.

>

> No, I never said what I was having surgery for--it is no one's

> business. I wasn't having problems before I left for the surgery,

and they had 30 days' notice before I had the surgery. I gave them

every notice and courtesy I could think of.

>

> The worst part is I was told one story by supervisor, and then I

went to the department I was supposed to transfer to to discuss the

help they needed, and they did not have the same story. So, for all

my honesty, I am not being given the same in return.

[Guest guest]

As weavfl mentioned, if you work in the United States, you may be covered

under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Most U.S. companies are

required to give you time off for short-term disability leave when

necessary. The FMLA says " Covered employers must grant an eligible employee

up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period

for one or more of the following reasons...to take medical leave when the

employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition. " The act

also says " An employer covered by FMLA is any person engaged in commerce or

in any industry or activity affecting commerce, who employs 50 or more

employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks

in the current or preceding calendar year. "

The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Web page about the FMLA is at:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

The aspects of the FMLA that are probably the most relevant to your

situation are:

* Section 825.214, entitled " What are an employee's rights on returning to

work from FMLA leave? " which says " On return from FMLA leave, an employee

is entitled to be returned to the same position the employee held when

leave commenced, or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits,

pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. An employee is entitled

to such reinstatement even if the employee has been replaced or his or her

position has been restructured to accommodate the employee's absence. "

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.214.htm

* Section 825.215, " What is an equivalent position? " which says " An

equivalent position is one that is virtually identical to the employee's

former position in terms of pay, benefits and working conditions, including

privileges, perquisites and status. It must involve the same or

substantially similar duties and responsibilities, which must entail

substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility, and authority. "

While it may be a company's right to reassign people when they return from

short-term medical leave, it's definitely a callous way to treat employees,

regardless of whether the reassignment was necessary for business reasons.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.215.htm

Cheryl

At 06:47 AM 12/23/2003 +0000, bmcali wrote:

>Just as we are all getting ready for the holidays and I just returned

>last week after being out for 7 weeks from abdo myo, I was told this

>Monday that I was being " temporarily loaned " to another division at my

>company for an amount of time they can't seem to tell me.

>

>Just when you think you've done all your homework, etc., this kind of

>stuff happens. Now, I didn't say I was going to lose my job. But

>apparently in the work lingo " temporarily loaned " could up as a

>permanent transfer to another department. The department isn't bad,

>but it isn't what I signed up to do. So, I suppose this is a way to

>make someone start looking for something else in the company.

[Guest guest]

As weavfl mentioned, if you work in the United States, you may be covered

under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Most U.S. companies are

required to give you time off for short-term disability leave when

necessary. The FMLA says " Covered employers must grant an eligible employee

up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period

for one or more of the following reasons...to take medical leave when the

employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition. " The act

also says " An employer covered by FMLA is any person engaged in commerce or

in any industry or activity affecting commerce, who employs 50 or more

employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks

in the current or preceding calendar year. "

The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Web page about the FMLA is at:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

The aspects of the FMLA that are probably the most relevant to your

situation are:

* Section 825.214, entitled " What are an employee's rights on returning to

work from FMLA leave? " which says " On return from FMLA leave, an employee

is entitled to be returned to the same position the employee held when

leave commenced, or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits,

pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. An employee is entitled

to such reinstatement even if the employee has been replaced or his or her

position has been restructured to accommodate the employee's absence. "

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.214.htm

* Section 825.215, " What is an equivalent position? " which says " An

equivalent position is one that is virtually identical to the employee's

former position in terms of pay, benefits and working conditions, including

privileges, perquisites and status. It must involve the same or

substantially similar duties and responsibilities, which must entail

substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility, and authority. "

While it may be a company's right to reassign people when they return from

short-term medical leave, it's definitely a callous way to treat employees,

regardless of whether the reassignment was necessary for business reasons.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.215.htm

Cheryl

At 06:47 AM 12/23/2003 +0000, bmcali wrote:

>Just as we are all getting ready for the holidays and I just returned

>last week after being out for 7 weeks from abdo myo, I was told this

>Monday that I was being " temporarily loaned " to another division at my

>company for an amount of time they can't seem to tell me.

>

>Just when you think you've done all your homework, etc., this kind of

>stuff happens. Now, I didn't say I was going to lose my job. But

>apparently in the work lingo " temporarily loaned " could up as a

>permanent transfer to another department. The department isn't bad,

>but it isn't what I signed up to do. So, I suppose this is a way to

>make someone start looking for something else in the company.