Terminated after missing 6 consecutive days of work

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GVMom

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I have been sick off & on the past 4 months and just recently had a severe infection where I ended up missing 6 consecutive days of work, visiting a walk in clinic once & the ER twice in that time period. When I returned to work, they didn't even ask me for a Drs. note but after 3 days of work I was terminated stating my position was eliminated. Strange because I had plenty of work to do & no indication that my job may be eliminated prior to that. Since I was let go, I'm hearing from coworkers that the buzz in the office is that I was fired. Is this acceptable? I still haven't submitted the severance agreement they gave me because it all seems kinda fishy to me. The way it was handled being told at 5 pm on Friday that my employment ends at 6 pm was very strange considering I have been w/the company 10+ years.

Does anyone have any advice, please?
 
Take the severance package. You are an AT-WILL employee, they don't even need a reason to let you go. If you don't take the package they will likely fire you without one. TAKE THE PACKAGE. The first package is the best offer.

Believe me. Do it. Good luck.
 
Before we jump at the legality of this, let's just check.

Does the employer have at least 50 employees at your job site or within a 75-mile radius? If yes, we'll move forward with more questions.
 
Because in that case, the Family Medical Leave Act applies. This *may* have been a violation.

The regulatory agency for FMLA is the US DOL. It can't hurt to run your situation by them and see what they say.
 
even if I didn't file any FMLA paperwork? I was completely out of vacation & sick days as I explained before because I had been sick off & on. I was planning to ask if I needed to do anything & how I was going to get paid but the lady in charge of that was out of the office when I got back. I thought it was very strange that they didn't ask me to provide them with a Dr's. note or something showing that I had actually visited a Dr during that time. So how do I contact this agency you are referring to? And thanks for the advice.
 
Guys, the big thing you are forgetting is that they have not fired her, they are offering her a severance. Her being let go has NOTHING to do with the six days of sick leave, that is all a speculation in the OP's mind. She can't prove that the severance package has anything to do with her sick time. Besides, when companies let you go for too many missed days they don't give you a severance package, they fire you.

We are going to send this lady on a wild goose chase about the FMLA and she is going to miss her severance and get laid off without one. There is very little chance that she will be able to prove that her sick time is the reason for her being let go.

Let's be careful what advice we give people. We could truly hurt this lady if she goes off looking to "force" the company into giving her job back because it "looks like" "might be" "could be" due to her sick leave. See what I mean?

Her best option is to take the Severance.
 
While I see where you are coming from, jharris, I don't think it's a clear cut as all that.

It is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee, to know when to implement FMLA into the mix. She doesn't have to ask for it; they are required to offer it if they even THINK it might be applicable. They can always back off and say, no, that doesn't qualify after all, sorry. But if she, they, and the medical condition all qualify, they are required under the terms of the statute to tentatively designate the time in question as FMLA. FMLA applies until proven otherwise.

In this case, she returns from an absence that, at least with the information we have, meets all the criteria for FMLA, and instead of being given FMLA paperwork, she is told that her job is being eliminated. Now, I will be the first to point out that FMLA does not protect you from an action that would have required anyway, and I am not by any stretch of the imagination saying that she has a slam dunk case. But I can't see what harm it will do for her to ask a duty officer at the DOL for an opinion. It has been my experience that if something doesn't sound like a FMLA violation to them, they will say so, and no harm is done, she can sign the severance paperwork (when it is offered to her - she says it hasn't been yet) and all is well. But if the duty officer says she DOES have a claim, she can make the decision with a full knowledge of the facts.
 
I was offered a severance pkg, I just haven't signed it yet because they way they handled my so called "job elimination" felt more like a termination. Thanks for all your advice, like cbg said, it doesn't do any harm to ask a few questions. I will keep you posted.
 
CBG, I'm not even saying that she is wrong about the Employer firing her for the days off. I'm just doubting that she can make that link strong enough to get any traction with FMLA.

I agree that she can go talk to the Labor Department. But I would just caution her to do so with the Severance in hand so that she can take it if she has no other viable options.
 
To the OP, I would not sign anything without first contacting an employment law attorney in your state.
Although FMLA may be an issue this case, the OP's state laws for protected leave may provide greater protection than federal.
 
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