FLMA or Leave of Absence question?

[StephanieG86 1]

Hi newbie here~

So, I have been working for my company about a total of 3 yrs. I left and came back so I have been back for almost 1 year. When I am going to have surgery I will be a little less then 1 month till my 1 year anniversary. So, I really don't want to tell my job what I am doing exactly. I think all they really need to know is that I am going in for surgery and I will not be able to work for a couple weeks. I am self pay so its not like they have to know for insurance purposes. I know that if I were to give them like a Dr.s note with my Dr.s name on it they are gonna know exactly what is going on. I think that it is personal and I think that we should be able to keep somethings personal. No one knows I will be going in for VSG and I want to keep it that way. At my job if one person knows everyone knows within the day. I don't have any more vacation days as I used it for my fathers visit earlier this year. I see him once a year if that b/c he is in another country. So PTO days is out. I am kinda stuck and wanted some advise. HELP Please! Thank you.

[Buckeye Girl 8]

Hi newbie here~

So, I have been working for my company about a total of 3 yrs. I left and came back so I have been back for almost 1 year. When I am going to have surgery I will be a little less then 1 month till my 1 year anniversary. So, I really don't want to tell my job what I am doing exactly. I think all they really need to know is that I am going in for surgery and I will not be able to work for a couple weeks. I am self pay so its not like they have to know for insurance purposes. I know that if I were to give them like a Dr.s note with my Dr.s name on it they are gonna know exactly what is going on. I think that it is personal and I think that we should be able to keep somethings personal. No one knows I will be going in for VSG and I want to keep it that way. At my job if one person knows everyone knows within the day. I don't have any more vacation days as I used it for my fathers visit earlier this year. I see him once a year if that b/c he is in another country. So PTO days is out. I am kinda stuck and wanted some advise. HELP Please! Thank you.

I made an appointment with my family doctor and explained my situation to her and she is filling out the form for me. My surgeons office provided me with a statement saying I was scheduled for the surgery, that is all my family doc needed so she could fill out my FMLA documents. I hope this helps!

[StephanieG86 1]

I made an appointment with my family doctor and explained my situation to her and she is filling out the form for me. My surgeons office provided me with a statement saying I was scheduled for the surgery, that is all my family doc needed so she could fill out my FMLA documents. I hope this helps!

I thought of that but then didn't know if it would work so maybe I will try that. Thank you so very much!

[losinmyweigh 0]

I am not telling my work place anything. I have worked and re-worked my schedule and traded and changed vacation times. I will not tell them. However, the downsize to that is that I will work up until the day before surgery and I will only have 16 days off. Not long BUT originally I would have had 6 days, work two then off a week. So, it can be done. Don't tell them. None of their business if it is a gossip mill anyway. Well, that is my opinion anyway. I'm new to the site also, but your post caught my eye. Good luck.

[54lose 0]

First time posting on this site. Was looking into the band, and doc seems to lean to the sleeve, so I have been doing some research and I think he is right! I am with you about my employer not knowing. It is none of their business!! Remember there are HIPPA laws, but they still think they own you! Good idea to ask PCP for the note to be off work. I am planning on telling my employer having hiatal hernia repaired!

[Driver Deb 10]

I feel blessed in this area... my boss's wife had the surgery last year and he has been really open and honest about the whole thing with me anyway... I feel absolutely comfortable talking about my journey with him and asking for the time off. I guess I lucked out in this department.

[MeMeMEEE 206]

FMLA is separate from your employer, usually another company, and is completely private - all the letter says is approved, the dates that are approved - that's it! Don't lose out on this benefit for fear of your employer!! Even my STD is a separate company.

[Shalon 10]

FMLA requires certain rules apply before you can claim it. All it does is protect that your position won't be filled while you are gone.

I obtained two doctor's notes, one with my diagnosis, for disability purposes, and one with NO diagnosis, to turn into my employer. All they know is I am having surgery on the 12th and that's all they need to know as far as I am concerned.

Also, my doctor's listing references him as a "general surgeon" so I figured that was good enough.

Good luck.

[gracemarie 6]

FMLA requires certain rules apply before you can claim it. All it does is protect that your position won't be filled while you are gone.

I obtained two doctor's notes, one with my diagnosis, for disability purposes, and one with NO diagnosis, to turn into my employer. All they know is I am having surgery on the 12th and that's all they need to know as far as I am concerned.

Also, my doctor's listing references him as a "general surgeon" so I figured that was good enough.

Good luck.

Main thing if you are using Family Leave is to be sure you are covered, if I am not mistaken, you have to employed for a year.

[Fusilli66 22]

I told my boss and co workers because I felt that they would figure it out anyway and I didn't want to be a liar. I was originally going to say I was having surgery for "female issues" (when you say that no one asks questions) but then I figured if I suddenly lost all this weight after a surgery, they are smart enough to figure out I was lying or at least speculate that. The truth is nothing to be ashamed of so I went with that. It was easier for me. I am lucky that I work in a very small office so it's only a few people so no big deal.

[Lisa :) 231]

Hope this helps!!

"An FMLA eligible employee is an employee who has been employed by the employer for a least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours. The 12 months do not need to be consecutive. You are only an eligible employee if your employer employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the worksite"

[Tai29 17]

I had been trying to think of how to work this out myself. Unfortunately for me, in my area I work for one of the most popular hospitals and the surgeon I am using also works for this hospital. Soooo my claim is bound to come across one of the billers desks and all they need to see is this doctor's name with the V code for obsesity and they will know. And of course they're not supposed to disclose my information like that due to HIPAA, but they will ... so in my case I have just just I told my immediate management and left it at that and stopped stressing about it. This is supposed to be a happy time where I can finally look forward to acheiving personal health goals. Besides, I figured a lot of people will put two and two together when I start loosing a lot of weight rather quickly.

[TheSkinnyCow73 72]

I am in the same boat with my employer. If my BOSS finds out what I will be going in for, the whole office will know!

I went ahead and emailed my HR person and made if very, very clear that this surgery needs to be confidential due to HIPPA, etc. and that I didnt want to be judged by anyone since it is a very personal decision. I figure if I put it in writing that it is CONFIDENTIAL and it leaks out, someone is going to pay!!! I also explained that i had witnessed other co-workers' personal business being discussed improperly in my department and that I didnt want that happening to me. They assured me that I didnt need to disclose the reason for my surgery to the company, just that I was going to be under a physician's care and the dates and that my Boss wasnt to see any of the paperwork. However, the disability insurance company that I will be using needs full disclosure in order to cover my pay for the weeks that I will be out and that is fine because they have NOTHING to do with my employer/Boss. I was also told that when you use FMLA, you cant get fired, laid off, etc.. your job is secured by medical necessity whereas if you take a leave of absence, you could get laid off legally.

I would suggest bringing up HIPPA with your HR Department and definitely using FMLA. My Boss is going to be livid when I wont tell him why I am going to be out for 3 weeks but tough sh*t!

[dreynolds05 10]

I took 7 vacation days that I had left plus the 4 weekend days and then I'm back to work. I told work that I'm having a surgery done and I will be totally unavailable for those days. I'm hoping this is enough time for me, if not I'm in trouble. I handle a lot at work, and there is no one cross trained to do my job, therefore I have a LOT of prep work to do to get ahead.

[Fusilli66 22]

I just feel like if your office knows your out for surgery of some kind, or even if you just take a leave of absence and don't say surgery, and you refuse to tell them why, it lends itself to more gossip than if you tell the truth. People will be thinking boob job or Tummy Tuck or even worse, that you have some kind of serious disease. I just think Water cooler gossip is bound to happen more so when the field is wide open to all kinds of speculation and whatever they are talking about is worse than the truth.

But once you come back and you start losing mega weight, they will probably figure it out for themselves anyway. It's easier to hide from people you don't see often, but people you see on a daily basis are going to put 2 + 2 together. Not just the weight loss, but the change in food habits and all that. People notice everything. Just my opinion.