Legal question? - Noisy Boss - what to do???

[yattila05 0]

I've been banded since Nov. 2006 and I haven't had any problems other then with my boss... He's asked me straight out several times why I go to the doctors once a month, I told him it's none of his business. But lately it's becoming more of an issue, he actually wrote me up for having a doctors visit once a month - is this illigal? Is it like diabetes that's protected by law if he tries to stop me from going to the doctors on a monthly basis?

[jbtullis 0]

I am not a lawyer or anything but I am a Manager at a company. If he is asking for a specific reason why, you should tell him it is an on going medical condition and if he needs to vaildate that is where you are going, you can provide some sort of documentation from your Dr. but that you don't want to disclose your medical history nor are you required to.

I would probably bounce this off my Human Resource person to. The problem with the above is that if the Dr. signs the note, a lot of the barriatric doctors have commercials and the name might be well known so that may be a give away.

[TracyinKS 7]

I am an HR person and it is illegal for him to require you to disclose your personal medical history/issues, as it is against HIPPA regulations for your Docs office to disclose the info without your consent. (EVEN TO YOUR SPOUSE)

That said, he does have a right to approve or reject your requested time off for the appointments. (Especially if it is paid time off) If possible I would try to make your appointments at a time that is less noticeable (I.E. lunch, before or after work, weekends) I know this isn't always possible, but you could try.

If your doc is not all over the TV you could ask him/or nurse to write you a letter stating that you are under his care and require followup once per month for a year. (Being careful not to disclose what you had done) I would make copies of this letter, and give one to your supervisor, one to your HR office and one for your home file. Also you could provide a copy of the HIPPA statement. (that should let him know it is none of his business) The other way to go is to tell him that you are having issues with your PERIOD because you are bleeding too heavily (like a stuck pig) and each month they have to monitor your progesterone level!!!!.......... (this should shut him up.. because no man wants to know about a womans period..

I will be in the same situation, as my boss (although HR Director) he is VERY involved in my business.... sometimes he thinks I'm his daughter. I have not told him about my procedure because I just don't want to discuss it with him daily............

[Elisabethsew 50]

HIPPA laws protect your rights to privacy. What concerns me is how does your boss know you're going to the MD once a month? Many companies have policies that allow a manager to write up an employee for excessive time lost from work. You can check in your personnel policy manual or with Human Resources.

[TracyinKS 7]

From the Department of Labor website (dol.gov)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave.

FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. It also seeks to accommodate the legitimate interests of employers and promote equal employment opportunity for men and women.

FMLA applies to all public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. These employers must provide an eligible employee with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for any of the following reasons:

• for the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee;

• for placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care;

• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or

• to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of service is determined according to FLSA principles for determining compensable hours or work.

Time taken off work due to pregnancy complications can be counted against the 12 weeks of family and medical leave.

Special rules apply to employees of local education agencies. The Department of Labor administers FMLA; however, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers FMLA for most federal employees.

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[Daisalana 33]

It may be illegal to try to force you to disclose it, but they can fire you for it.

We had a CSR with cancer, who was almost fired because she took too much time off.. and another girl who broke both arms from a rollerderby thing, and she is getting fired..

[Wheetsin 714]

Technically your boss isn't even allowed to ask why you're taking the time off. PTO is a non-disclosure absence, meaning while you can be required to submit for approval X time ina dvance, and your request can be denied, they cannot ask, "Why, what are you doing?" Bosses don't know this and do it all the time, but it's a liability.

What, specifically were you written up for? What's the exact verbiage for reason/cause?

You can be written up for excessive absenteeism, but not if your absences are approved.

FMLA is unpaid time that you cannot be fired or replaced for taking. However, I don't think that recurring monthly appointments constitute an FMLA cause. It's geared toward providing for others, not yourself, except in extreme cases (e.g. a peer of mine once used FMLA so that she could undergo dialysis, which took recurring appointments of 7 hours each). The "self" instances is what STD and LTD are for, but a monthly appointment would not fall into either of these. And both require most or all (depending on the company) of your PTO to be expired before their benefits kick in. And your time would have to be consecutive.

So technically, if you do not have the PTO, and continue to miss work, I think you could be held accountable. However, if you have the PTO, you can not be questioned on why you're using it... and if you have the PTO AND your manager is approving your use of it/absence, then there's no grounds for corrective action based on absenteeism.

I'm not a lawyer nor an HR rep. This info is worth exactly what you paid for it.

[TracyinKS 7]

I would suggest you take some time and really read the FLMA laws on the DOL.gov website........

FLMA does protect your job if you meet the qualifications, it does however disclose the "medical necessity" and if you don't want your boss to know what you had done that could be an issue for you........

and as for the CSR getting fired for having Cancer..... if that is the sole reason, then it sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. FLMA would protect that kind of crappy employment practice.

<<<threadjack>>>>>>>>>> Wheets, I've been wondering where you've been! Good to see you. <<<endthreadjack>>>

[juliegeraci 7]

What a jerk. Good luck.

[kyethra 0]

I've been fired before for being sick. I had gotten really sick and needed to take a month off ( I got the ok and everything before hand). Then I came back to work, but I requested accomodations while I was recovering. Sure they said. Then they picked an excuse and fired me. And I could have complained or whatever but I didn't want to work with those people ever again.

[yattila05 0]

Update - Thank you all for your advise it has been very helpful, I went back to the HR dept and they let me know that he is not allowed to inquire about my medical issues... I am allowed one to two hours twice a month for medical appointments with it not effecting my personal days allowance... and Monday I'm to have a meeting with him and the HR rep. Thank you guys again for the info, now I can go into this meeting knowing what some of my right are. I'll let you know how it goes.

Surgery date: 11/6/06

Dr. Fielding, NYU, NY

248/208/135

40 down 73 to go

[juliegeraci 7]

That is fantastic news. I knew there was something you could do. Good for you! Congrats on being banded. You are doing great. Julie