Alright, short story here: I'm a waiter, 24 years old. I DO qualify for FMLA. November of '06, I had an inpatient hospitalization (was on disability) and was out of work for about a month - I had enough medical leave for that. Had major back surgery last May and was out of work for about a month and a half (disabled again) - No problem, I had enough medical leave still (Not FMLA). Now, this January, I became disabled due to panic attacks and heart problems. I couldn't perform my job duties and was once again placed on disability until March 1st. My employee terminated me (without notifying me) on January 19 because I didn't have any medical leave left. 1) I was never offered FMLA (nor ever took FMLA). My manager said that when I applied for the job, I signed an agreement not allowing any kind of FMLA during my employment. 1) Is this legal? I thought it was a federal law and if you qualified for it, you could use it. By the way, I reside in California, if that helps. 2) How can they terminate me if I'm legally disabled? I have plenty of documents from docs saying I CANNOT perform my work duties right now. Isn't this a form of disability discrimination? Well, that's about it - any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
JesseF83
Thank you in advance,
JesseF83