I was recently sick from work for about 2 months. Not sure the exact dates but I recieved a full pay check on dec 27. and attempted to return to work about 2weeks ago. Upon trying to return to work I was delayed by my employer for about a week and a half. Once I returned I was giving a different position in the company. I went from a position paying $16 an hour to one that pays $9.75 an hour (less then I made when i first started there). I talked to management to about the low pay and they raised it to $10.50 what I started at when I first was employed. My friends at work have been telling me they can't do this since I was out sick. I am curious as to if this is true? I do need to to explain that I was out sick but the doctors were unable to determine what I had. I had numerous blood tests and some xrays to test for flu, strip throat, and many other sicknesses. My symptoms were I was constantly tired, sore and had a high blood pressure. Somedays I would sleep 10-14 hours at night wake up still somewhat tired and have to take a nap to make it through the day. Being unable to function well enough in my opinion to drive safely to work and at work. (I was an in home technican so did a lot of driving at work too.) I returned to work once in the middle of my time out due to I was feeling better physically but found it still hard to function at work being able to think clearly still feeling mentally tired so I then again called in sick. I never went on medical leave since I didn't know that I qualified for it and wasn't informed I had to until I started to try and return to work. I am just curious if this is legal or not. If you need more details please ask for them. Thank you.
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Pay change in job due to sickness.
- Thread Starter PCarey44
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cbg
Super Moderator
To determine if this was or was not legal I need the answer to the following questions:
1.) How long have you worked for this employer?
2.) How many employees does the employer have within 75 miles of your location?
3.) In the 12 months immediate preceding your leave, did you work for this employer a minimum of 1,250 hours?
4.) EXACTLY how much time, total, did you miss for this medical condition in the last 12 months?
5.) What state are you in?
1.) How long have you worked for this employer?
2.) How many employees does the employer have within 75 miles of your location?
3.) In the 12 months immediate preceding your leave, did you work for this employer a minimum of 1,250 hours?
4.) EXACTLY how much time, total, did you miss for this medical condition in the last 12 months?
5.) What state are you in?
Thank you for the reply. The answers to the questions you asked are as follows.
1.) I have worked for the employer 2.5 years.
2.) As far as employees it is a retail chain store I would have to guess 25+. More during seasonal help times of the year.
3.) I am full time and I worked well past 1,250 hours.
4.) Exactly the time off leave I have no records of that but I will give the closest dates possible. Again I have no specific dates but I recieved a full paycheck for the work pay period ending on Dec 19 08. As far as coming back to work I was unable to return right when I felt better and able to work. Let me explain I called the store manager stating I would like to come back to work. She said she currently didn't have a position for me except in sales. I asked what the pay woud be assuming that would be a paycut. She said she would call me back after she figured out the pay. I never recieved a call so I called the store again to find out she went on vacation for a week. None of the other managers knew I was even coming back and said I needed to talk to her. Therefore I had to wait for her to get back from vacation to tell me when to come into work. I started back to work on training for the new position on Feb. 15 08 not knowing the rate of pay at which I would recieve. So estimate dates are Dec. 19th to Feb. 8th assuming I could have came back the day after I called to find out about my job.
5.) I live and work in Maine.
1.) I have worked for the employer 2.5 years.
2.) As far as employees it is a retail chain store I would have to guess 25+. More during seasonal help times of the year.
3.) I am full time and I worked well past 1,250 hours.
4.) Exactly the time off leave I have no records of that but I will give the closest dates possible. Again I have no specific dates but I recieved a full paycheck for the work pay period ending on Dec 19 08. As far as coming back to work I was unable to return right when I felt better and able to work. Let me explain I called the store manager stating I would like to come back to work. She said she currently didn't have a position for me except in sales. I asked what the pay woud be assuming that would be a paycut. She said she would call me back after she figured out the pay. I never recieved a call so I called the store again to find out she went on vacation for a week. None of the other managers knew I was even coming back and said I needed to talk to her. Therefore I had to wait for her to get back from vacation to tell me when to come into work. I started back to work on training for the new position on Feb. 15 08 not knowing the rate of pay at which I would recieve. So estimate dates are Dec. 19th to Feb. 8th assuming I could have came back the day after I called to find out about my job.
5.) I live and work in Maine.
cbg
Super Moderator
This is very, very important; based on your other answers the entire question of legality turns on this.
If your employer had 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your location (it does not mean only at your location but all employees total at all locations within a 75 mile radius) for 20 weeks or more during calendar year 2007, then your employer's actions are almost certainly illegal.
If he did not have 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your location (including other locations within that radius) for 20 or more weeks of calendar 2007 then his actions are legal.
So you need to be very clear about the number of employees at all locations within 75 miles.
If your employer had 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your location (it does not mean only at your location but all employees total at all locations within a 75 mile radius) for 20 weeks or more during calendar year 2007, then your employer's actions are almost certainly illegal.
If he did not have 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your location (including other locations within that radius) for 20 or more weeks of calendar 2007 then his actions are legal.
So you need to be very clear about the number of employees at all locations within 75 miles.
Hi CBG, thank you again for the reply. I have been trying to do some research on my own as well being that I have never dealt with any legal issues before and I am a young adult that has very little experience with serious issues like this. I mapquested the other closest location with most likely would put me over the 50+ employees mark if it counts but its 78 miles away from our store. How strict are they on the mileage? Will this count? If not does living in Maine have any effect on this number cause there barely are 50 people in any store I go into up here. I do work for a major retail chain ( name I would like to leave out ) but seems weird that if they can get away with this just by mileage and the number of employees at my store. One new question I do want to bring up is the fact that i did not go on a medical leave cause one being new to the work force I didn't know and two the managers never informed me til middle/end of my leave. Does this forfeit any of my legal battle or rights if I did not go on documented medical leave?
Oh one more question I would like to ask is if you think I do still have some legal issue that I should persue what should be my course of action. Should I go to the HR of the company since I already been to management and I am not satisfied with there fix? Or should I get other legal help and if so how?
cbg
Super Moderator
The Federal law that I was thinking of simply does not apply. The regs are very clear; ALL of the eligibility criteria has to be met or you are not entitled to any protected medical leave. If there are not 50 employees within 75 miles then you are not entitled to protected medical leave under Federal law. The fact that there may be 50 employees within 78 miles does not meet the requirement.
However, I have done some additional research on your behalf and discovered that Maine has a state law that may be of use to you. Are there at least 15 employees at your location?
However, I have done some additional research on your behalf and discovered that Maine has a state law that may be of use to you. Are there at least 15 employees at your location?
Yes i am postive there are 15 employees I can name more then that. Also I bet the other store is within 75 miles radius of our store. I did map quest to get driving directions and it was 78 miles driving from my store to theres. But driving is not a straight line. I didn't even think of that. Does that matter?
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cbg
Super Moderator
Where we're talking such a short distance it might. It certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a Federal law that entitles a qualified employee of a qualified employer to up to 12 weeks of protected medical leave in a 12 month period. By protected I mean that as long as you return to work within 12 weeks they are required by law to return you either to your own job or one that is equivalent in all respects; this includes pay rate. It is questionable if you qualify but if you do not, you are so close to it that it's certainly worth looking into. What you would do is give the US Department of Labor a call and tell them you want to determine if you've suffered a FMLA violation. (They are the ones you would eventually report the claim to if you do qualify and if you decide to go that route.)
You definitely qualify under the state law. Maine Rev. Stat. tit. 26 834 and following is the law(s) in question and it states that any employee who has worked for at least a year for an employee with 15 or more employees at their location, is entitled to up to 10 weeks of protected medical leave in a two year period.
If this is a national chain, the employer is probably thinking that you do not qualify for FMLA (and there is legitimate grounds for him to think that) and may not be aware of the Maine law. I would, in your shoes, go to HR and make them aware of the law and what has happened to you. I would also ask them to investigate whether or not you apply for FMLA.
If you are unable to get a satisfactory answer from HR (give them a week or ten days to investigate) then I would ask the US DOL about FMLA and also report the violation of the Maine state law to the ME state DOL.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a Federal law that entitles a qualified employee of a qualified employer to up to 12 weeks of protected medical leave in a 12 month period. By protected I mean that as long as you return to work within 12 weeks they are required by law to return you either to your own job or one that is equivalent in all respects; this includes pay rate. It is questionable if you qualify but if you do not, you are so close to it that it's certainly worth looking into. What you would do is give the US Department of Labor a call and tell them you want to determine if you've suffered a FMLA violation. (They are the ones you would eventually report the claim to if you do qualify and if you decide to go that route.)
You definitely qualify under the state law. Maine Rev. Stat. tit. 26 834 and following is the law(s) in question and it states that any employee who has worked for at least a year for an employee with 15 or more employees at their location, is entitled to up to 10 weeks of protected medical leave in a two year period.
If this is a national chain, the employer is probably thinking that you do not qualify for FMLA (and there is legitimate grounds for him to think that) and may not be aware of the Maine law. I would, in your shoes, go to HR and make them aware of the law and what has happened to you. I would also ask them to investigate whether or not you apply for FMLA.
If you are unable to get a satisfactory answer from HR (give them a week or ten days to investigate) then I would ask the US DOL about FMLA and also report the violation of the Maine state law to the ME state DOL.
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