Question:
If you have the sick leave built up
can your boss deny you the time off. we are short staffed and I am scared of this happening. — Kim N. (posted on December 31, 2002)
December 31, 2002
Everyone is entitled to up to 12 weeks of medical leave a year. It's
called the Family Medical Leave Act or FMLA.
Hope this helps!
— Lisa H.
December 31, 2002
You have to be employed with the company for a year before FMLA will
protect you. Actually its a number of hours, 2080 I belive. But that is
what 40 hours per week for a year equals out to. It has nothing to do with
the amount of sick time you have accumulated. But if you think you have
enough sick time to cover you after surgery, I would have to assume you
have been there for over a year. FMLA gives you 12 weeks per year of
unpaid protected leave. Meaning they cant fire you for being gone for
those 12 weeks.
— RebeccaP
December 31, 2002
Like the others said your boss may not like it but doesn't have a leg to
stand on. You want to use sick leave for medical related stuff it does not
matter that it is an elective surgery. If you run out of sick leave then
the Family Medical Leave enters in. I would plan that however long you
plan to take off that you plan your first week back as half days. That way
you can ease back into the routine and maybe even come back a week earlier
and make your boss happy.<p>My 2nd level boss - reports to the head
honcho, won;t be happy when he finds out because of the time I will be gone
and I'm head of a department and we are always very busy. But my immediate
boss knows and is 1000% in support of this and said he will deal with the
big guy. I have great staff and as long as I leave them with a list of
projects to tackle things will be fine. He really will freak when he find
out I will be gone for at least 3 weeks starting the end of June for
vacation. But the bottom line is I have tons of sick leave to cover way
more than the surgery and I am entitled to my vacation. Again my immediate
boss knows and says go for it all! It really helps to have that support.
— zoedogcbr
January 1, 2003
I, too, was very worried about this. I actually had my boss ask me to wait
until the first of the year due to staffing issues, but you need to stand
your ground and remind them that this is medically necessary. (You don't
even need to tell them what it is. For all they know, it's just abdominal
surgery.) Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (federal law), if you
have worked at least 1,250 hours at this job, you are entitled to 12 weeks
of leave. Let me know what happens and good luck!
— RedHeadBeauty
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