Doctor or dentist. I have an infected tooth and the pain is unbearable. I have a dentist appointment in a little over an hour and he is going to fill out FMLA paperwork for a few days to get me through it.
However my workplace says they have to be ‘approved’. I thought FMLA was federally mandated to protect workers’ jobs? My employer is SUPER strict on absenteeism and this could cost me my job if it is denied. Is this even legal?
Right now I just wat the hurt to stop.
The employer has the right to require that your health care provider certify that you have a “serious health condition” that prevents you from working. The DOL provides pretty clear guidance as to what qualifies as a serious health condition.
So your employer is supposed to approve your request for FMLA on three things:
If the answer to all of these is Yes, then you are entitled to the leave and they cannot retaliate against you for using it. If the answer to any of these is “No,” they can probably treat it as an unexcused absence.
FMLA does not protect an employee that needs to take a few days off, etc.
I don’t ‘need to take a few days off’. I have an infection. I am in excruciating pain.
The company is covered. I am an eligible employee. And I personally think this is a serious health condition. Wether or not they will agree remains to be seen.
To expand a bit on the three criteria I mentioned:
If your company has more than 50 employees working within 75 miles of you, it is covered.
If you have more than 12 months of service with your company - not necessarily consecutive - and have worked at least 1250 hours in the last year, you are eligible.
If your health condition requires you to be hospitalized overnight, OR requires incapacity of more than three calendar days along with “continuing care” from your provider (two more more treatments or a regiment of continuing treatment).
ETA: Whether or not it’s a Serious Health Condition is defined by the law, not subject to your company’s discretion.
If you are terminated “without cause”, you are most lkely eligible for Unemployment compensation. IMO, firing you for such would be without cause, that is, as far as signing up would be, although probably a legal termination, sorry to say.
Home, minus one tooth and good drugs. It was a moot point-dental procedures, even with infection, not covered under FMLA. Even tho the dentist does not want me talking excessively for 2-3 days… and I work in a call center.
Dunno what I’m gonna do.
So you are going to be off 2-3 days?
I will be off 2 days, yesterday and today. He wanted me off Friday too, but I can’t miss that much. Hoping they can find something for me to do off the phones, but there is no guarantee of that. sigh
Gotta love an employer that doesn’t give a flying fig about their employees. Wonder how they would like having an infected tooth, infection spreading into the bone? Wish I could spread the love to the Powers That Be.
Who told you that?
Look, you don’t have to take my word for it, but I manage FMLA for a company of about 100,000 workers - hundreds of FMLA claims per month. So I’m kind of familiar with the law. I’m NOT familiar with your specific claim, though.
FMLA entitles you to protected time off if you have a “serious health condition.” It can be dental-related. The definition of SHC is complicated, but generally speaking, if you are incapacited for more than three consecutive days, and require two or more treatments by your health care provider or one treatment followed by a regimen of continuing treatment (prescription medication or therapy or bed rest, for examples), it is considered a SHC under FMLA. “Incapacitated” means “unable to perform the function of your job.” It doesn’t mean necessarily that you can’t show up for work, it means you can’t do your normal job functions.
So if your dentist certifies that:
then it sounds like a valid FMLA claim to me.
BTW the FMLA specifically mentions “dentists” in its list of valid health care providers who can certify an FMLA qualifying condition.
The paperwork I was given from work specifically excluded dental on the first page. I thought it odd too… it’s not like I just went in for a tooth cleaning & decided I didn’t feel like going in to work. He had to scrape my jaw bone for infection.
I feel like I am being railroaded at work but don’t know how to fight it.
Routine dental work would not be covered; neither would cosmetic dental work (unless it was for reconstruction purposes). Without seeing the certification from your dentist neither I nor your employer can make that determination.
If you want to pursue it, first of all, here is a link to the Dept of Labor FMLA fact page: Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) | U.S. Department of Labor
If you think your company is violating your rights, you can call the DoL’s national toll-free contact center at 1-866-4-USA-DOL or email them from their contact page.
Thank you! I think that word ROUTINE was the catcher… I am going to be checking into that!
I think of FMLA as job protection should you become very ill for an extended period of time and need your job protected because I would just assume employers offer their employees sick days especially with a doctor’s or dentist’s note. Are you saying that you are offered no sick days at all either paid or unpaid or have you simply used them up already?
I may be remembering incorrectly, but I think your employer can require you to get a second opinion from a health care provider of his choice if he feels your health care provider gave you an invalid recommendation. The catch is the employer has to pay for this second opinion.
This is true. Most employers won’t bother with the expense, but they can.