My boss is saying he doesn't think I'm eligible for FMLA while I'm seeking diagnosis for Covid19

C

Curiousus

New Member
Jurisdiction
Arizona
On the 5th of November my girlfriend whom I share a home with came down with COVID symptoms. I experienced tell tale symptoms of COVID that weekend. She went and got tested on the 7th and received a positive diagnosis. I decided to tough it out, I do sales and my job is very demanding so I worked a half day essentially that Monday. I started to feel okay enough to tough it out, but I probably should have taken the week off because my condition only started to worsen. By Friday the 12th I decided I was way too sick to be working a sought a COVID test at a local urgent care. My girlfriend works for a large corporation and was granted FMLA without issue even though she had no sick time. I let my boss know on Friday that I was going to get a COVID test and look into FMLA. I told him my physical and mental health was struggling. He asked me if it was related to COVID or something else. I think that question is pretty inappropriate coming from an employer. I let him know tonight on Saturday the 13th that I had gotten my PCR test and asked if I should go through my HR representative to seek information about FMLA. I also told him I'd be needing to take some time off and if he could cover my appointments, to which he said he would. He told me he doesn't think that I'm eligible for FMLA, but said my best bet was to go reach out to HR. I asked him why I might not be eligible. He replied that "I think FMLA is like 30 days+, But she will know more on that". He then immediately asked to have a conversation with me about work related matters on Monday. I told him I'm minute to minute and would like to focus on my health. I want to know if I am being mistreated by my employer, if they fire me due to this will I have a strong case considering everything I've seen says I'm eligible for FMLA. I have a feeling I might be retaliated against since my company is greedy and my boss equally so. Mind you my performance with the company has been stellar and I've never had any write ups or performance issues.
 
Curiousus said:
On the 5th of November my girlfriend whom I share a home with came down with COVID symptoms. I experienced tell tale symptoms of COVID that weekend. She went and got tested on the 7th and received a positive diagnosis. I decided to tough it out, I do sales and my job is very demanding so I worked a half day essentially that Monday. I started to feel okay enough to tough it out, but I probably should have taken the week off because my condition only started to worsen. By Friday the 12th I decided I was way too sick to be working a sought a COVID test at a local urgent care. My girlfriend works for a large corporation and was granted FMLA without issue even though she had no sick time. I let my boss know on Friday that I was going to get a COVID test and look into FMLA. I told him my physical and mental health was struggling. He asked me if it was related to COVID or something else. I think that question is pretty inappropriate coming from an employer. I let him know tonight on Saturday the 13th that I had gotten my PCR test and asked if I should go through my HR representative to seek information about FMLA. I also told him I'd be needing to take some time off and if he could cover my appointments, to which he said he would. He told me he doesn't think that I'm eligible for FMLA, but said my best bet was to go reach out to HR. I asked him why I might not be eligible. He replied that "I think FMLA is like 30 days+, But she will know more on that". He then immediately asked to have a conversation with me about work related matters on Monday. I told him I'm minute to minute and would like to focus on my health. I want to know if I am being mistreated by my employer, if they fire me due to this will I have a strong case considering everything I've seen says I'm eligible for FMLA. I have a feeling I might be retaliated against since my company is greedy and my boss equally so. Mind you my performance with the company has been stellar and I've never had any write ups or performance issues.
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Please clarify: After knowingly being exposed to COVID and exhibiting symptoms, you went to work exposing your co-workers and others? Do I have that right?
 
Curiousus said:
On the 5th of November my girlfriend whom I share a home with came down with COVID symptoms. I experienced tell tale symptoms of COVID that weekend. She went and got tested on the 7th and received a positive diagnosis. I decided to tough it out, I do sales and my job is very demanding so I worked a half day essentially that Monday. I started to feel okay enough to tough it out, but I probably should have taken the week off because my condition only started to worsen. By Friday the 12th I decided I was way too sick to be working a sought a COVID test at a local urgent care. My girlfriend works for a large corporation and was granted FMLA without issue even though she had no sick time. I let my boss know on Friday that I was going to get a COVID test and look into FMLA. I told him my physical and mental health was struggling. He asked me if it was related to COVID or something else. I think that question is pretty inappropriate coming from an employer. I let him know tonight on Saturday the 13th that I had gotten my PCR test and asked if I should go through my HR representative to seek information about FMLA. I also told him I'd be needing to take some time off and if he could cover my appointments, to which he said he would. He told me he doesn't think that I'm eligible for FMLA, but said my best bet was to go reach out to HR. I asked him why I might not be eligible. He replied that "I think FMLA is like 30 days+, But she will know more on that". He then immediately asked to have a conversation with me about work related matters on Monday. I told him I'm minute to minute and would like to focus on my health. I want to know if I am being mistreated by my employer, if they fire me due to this will I have a strong case considering everything I've seen says I'm eligible for FMLA. I have a feeling I might be retaliated against since my company is greedy and my boss equally so. Mind you my performance with the company has been stellar and I've never had any write ups or performance issues.
Click to expand...
Please clarify: After knowingly being exposed to COVID and exhibiting symptoms, you went to work exposing your co-workers and others? Do I have that right?
 
Your boss did the appropriate thing in telling you to speak w/HR.

And Blue reached the same conclusion any reasonable person would absent knowledge of full-remote work.
 
stealthy1 said:
Your boss did the appropriate thing in telling you to speak w/HR.

And Blue reached the same conclusion any reasonable person would absent knowledge of full-remote work.
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No, no, Stealthy1. Totally my fault. I forgot to utilize my mindreading skilz so I would know that OP was working from home. My bad.
:rolleyes::p
 
Curiousus said:
Do you have any legal advice for me? or are you just seeking to jump conclusions and assume the worst about someone?
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I didn't "jump conclusions". I asked you to clarify and then posted what I thought happened based on your opening post. You didn't state in your opening post the VERY pertinent fact that you were working from home.
 
justblue said:
I didn't "jump conclusions". I asked you to clarify and then posted what I thought happened based on your opening post. You didn't state in your opening post the VERY pertinent fact that you were working from home.
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Well you know what they say about assumptions.
 
stealthy1 said:
Your boss did the appropriate thing in telling you to speak w/HR.

And Blue reached the same conclusion any reasonable person would absent knowledge of full-remote work.
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Any reasonable person would simply ask. Why is it not also reasonable to assume that a large percentage of the work force is working from home these days in the middle of a pandemic? Kind of a mute point and overblown, but I feel I have a right to defend myself from undue scrutiny from keyboard pundits.
 
Curiousus said:
Any reasonable person would simply ask. Why is it not also reasonable to assume that a large percentage of the work force is working from home these days in the middle of a pandemic? Kind of a mute point and overblown, but I feel I have a right to defend myself from undue scrutiny from keyboard pundits.
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Many reasonable people would include such an important piece of information in their original post. Most reasonable people who failed to do that wouldn't get snippy when someone makes a perfectly reasonable assumption based on what was actually shared.

If you don't want to be scrutinized, then don't post on a public forum.

Lastly, it's "moot", not "mute".
 
Curiousus said:
I am definitely going to be doing that. Thanks.
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Did you speak with an HR Rep?

What guidance or information did you receive?

To be eligible for FMLA benefits, you must: Work for an employer to whom the FMLA applies. Have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months (one year).

Have worked for at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period right before the start of the leave, IF granted and appropriate.

Work > Family Medical Leave Act > The Family Medical Leave Act

Family and Medical Leave for Arizona Employees

Your state, Arizona, has created what I term FMLA+:

What it is: Employees may use EFMLEA to care for their child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons. This is an expansion of FMLA that provides an additional qualifying reason.

Which employers are covered under EFMLEA?

Private sector employees with fewer than 500 employees and public agencies. For federal employees, please note there may be additional restrictions.

What sort of benefits can I get with EFMLEA? Y

You can get up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave with continuous health insurance coverage. For the first two weeks, the employee will not receive pay, but for the remaining 10 weeks, the employee can receive pay at a rate of two-thirds the employee's regular rate of pay. Pay is capped at $200 per day, or $10,000.

Who is eligible for EFMLEA?

All employees, full-time and part-time, who work for a covered employer are eligible for EFMLEA, if the employee has been employee has been employed for at least 30 days.

Do I have to use my paid leave concurrently with EFMLEA?

The DOL regulations state that for the first two weeks, the employer may ask the employee to take paid time off or personal leave, to be paid at the employee's normal rate. For the remaining time, the employee will be compensated at the rate stated in answer 2.

Here is more information about EFMLEA?

EFMLEA expands FMLA by adding a qualifying reason.
If you have already used 12 weeks of FMLA time, you are ineligible for EFMLEA.

More info here:

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) - Arizona Center for Disability Law
 
Curiousus said:
Any reasonable person would simply ask. Why is it not also reasonable to assume that a large percentage of the work force is working from home these days in the middle of a pandemic? Kind of a mute point and overblown, but I feel I have a right to defend myself from undue scrutiny from keyboard pundits.
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At the end of the day, the volunteers responding to your question(s) rely on the information you choose to provide. You came to us, we didn't search you out. If you don't like what you get, consider yourself free to consult a lawyer.

And yes, the proper word is "moot", as Zig pointed out.

So - what did HR tell you?
 

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