Rights as an employee.
Meiz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey gang,
I'm starting to get some pressure from my employer regarding my recent absenteism due to medical reasons. This is starting to get me worried and as a result I've started backing up the days I'm not in with medical notes.
Now what I was wondering is what kind of rights do I have when it comes to ones own personal health? Can they up and shit can me? A lady from the HR department wants to meet with me in order to "find a solution". I'm guessing this isn't good.
I'm starting to get some pressure from my employer regarding my recent absenteism due to medical reasons. This is starting to get me worried and as a result I've started backing up the days I'm not in with medical notes.
Now what I was wondering is what kind of rights do I have when it comes to ones own personal health? Can they up and shit can me? A lady from the HR department wants to meet with me in order to "find a solution". I'm guessing this isn't good.
Meiz on
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I know it's fun to make sweeping generalizations, but it depends largely on your state.
Arizona, for example, is an "at-will" state, which basically means you can be fired at any time. However, this works for the employees as well, as you can get up and walk out if you feel like it, assuming there are no specific contracts signed.
Cat pretty much hit the nail on the head on this one.
Really, it depends on what state you're in, who you work for, if you are under contract or an "at will" employee, what kind of health insurance your employer offers, what kind of health insurance you have personally on top of that, how many days you've missed, what your health condition is and how you go about requesting off your sick days. In other words, we need more information, but most likely you're screwed.
Yeah, they can't outright fire you for "that" reason here.... but depending on the job and the state he's in (especially if he's in a retail job) there is no real thing as guaranteed employment unless you have a written contract saying as much (then they can still fire you but they need to do it via the terms of the contract).
Most retail places can fire you at any time they want with no explanation given, and unless you can prove otherwise (like racially motivated or something) there isn't much you can do.
In the OP's case, they could pretty much just fire him and say they needed someone who was better able to cover the shifts/hours (provided he's retail).
If he's in a job that has a more robust HR policy (basically he's a full time employee with benefits) he will have a certain number of days he can take off as sick, and then he will have short term and long term disability days.
If he's going over the maximum then issues start to crop up. I'm assuming since you keep going back to work you aren't ever out of work for more than a few days... this basically means that at best, short term disability days are being eaten up, but more likely it's just sick days/vacation days being used.
We have a guy like that here (full time employee) who had to keep going on disability, coming back, going out again, etc... and used all his disability jobs. He's barely been here over this last year at all. They simply removed his position while he was out, and got him another job when he came back. But they made it clear that if he goes out again for another significant chunk of time, he will no longer have a job as he's used all his time up and has not gone for any kind of permanent disability.
Been ill for aproximately 8 days in the month of June due to anxiety issues. The most, the week I took off was documented.
Work as an IT for a company that provides private support.
They also stated that one of the days I took off would be used as vacation.
Well, I'm out of my (national) element on that one.
However, I'm sure there are differences there, like here, between types of jobs... so I'm sure a bit more info would help... like are you just working at some local food/retail place or is this a big company that provides more benefits to an employee than just "here's your hourly wage, have a nice day"?
Salary with benefits.
Don't actually say that, though. They'll just find some other petty violation of a minor inane rule to sack you for if you let them know you're fully aware that canning you for valid health reasons will result in you (rightfully, for a change) sueing their asses.
[Edit] I should say, it depends COMPLETELY on your state. The federal US statute on this is basically....there isn't one, so you're fucked if the state doesn't back you up.
Thats a tough illness...my wife had some traumatic events happen to her and she had anxiety real bad afterwards. Because she was out of work for less than a week she lost her job, and was denied for unemployment when she applied.
FWIW, my wife was told basically the same thing. When she went in there, they laid out all of her options, and worked to find the best combination of disability leave, reduced hours, and so on for her medical needs. They were, in short, extremely kind and helpful. So no need to freak out just yet.
But yeah, your best bet is to look online for your province's (or for Canada's) medical leave policies.
Good Luck though...
Some places are better than others, at the end of the day. I'm in the UK of course, but not all employers want to get rid of poorly employees if they're an asset to the company otherwise.
Can you give us a province as well? Many (most?) details are areas of provincial jurisdiction.
I know in BC that they can dock you paycheque for a missed day due to illness, but they can't make you take a sick day as a vacation day.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
My office also recommends a doctors note for more than 2 consecutive sick days (they don't often ask for the note though unless it goes on quite often).
If you have the doctors note, thats a great start. Also though, you should look up your short and long term disability benefits (if any) and find out if that is a route you might need to take.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and just provide the other side of the coin.... I completely understand that medical issues keep people out of the office. However, companies aren't always "being mean" when they try to come to some kind of agreement. It's extremely frustrating for team mates to have to take on the extra work. Just as an example, we've had one person out on disability for A YEAR and we can't replace them because of Canadian law and the way the headcount is assigned. So, just saying that if the company is trying to meet with you, just keep in mind they want to make things bearable for everyone working there, you included.
Also spent the night in the emergency room for dizziness.
I don't care, they can fucking fire me if they want to at this point.
Man this sucked beyond belief. I was dizzy to the point of puking over and over and over again.
Hospital gave me a note. I can see their side of things. Just sucks that this had to happen on the day where I was going to have my talk with the HR person.
I went on a two week leave and had to work from home (which sucked having to VPN in every day, a few times a day, when I could barely stand). I found out that I should not have even been asked to work in such a manner, and after my employer postured a bit I not only got back pay but a small settlement to boot. Mileage may vary. When you're exempt status (I.E. salary and more of an intellectual/design job and not hourly) it's easier to take your employer to court and win early.