Is this legal?

P_RN, ADN, RN · Jun 16, 2004

I only did light duty work once after a shoulder injury at work. They had me filing and answering telephones.....at a clerk's pay rate. Most of the time they just tell you to stay home and take the W/C money.

As far as FMLA goes :If you are employed by someone who has 50+ employees within a 75 mile radius of your workplace, and you have worked there at least a year you may apply for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. If they offer health insurance you may have to pay the entire premium.

jodidax · Jun 17, 2004

hi everybody! i am currently 31 weeks pg and started having pre-term labor when i was only 23 weeks along.to make a long story short i had to be off work for about 4 weeks. i finally got the ok from my dr. (around 27-28 weeks by then) that i could go back to work for 4 hours a day up to 20 hrs. a week with no heavy lifting. i talked to my don and adon who said they didn't have a problem with that and that i could do "flex" -which is basically calling dr's and writing orders, faxing labs, etc. which is a big help to the charge nurse. the don told me he would have to talk to the administrator first and get the ok. this was on a wed. and he told me to give him a call back on fri. to see what she had said. the next day the don called me and told me that the adminisrtator said for me to just "stay home and take care of myself and that the baby should be my #1 priority." well, for any of you that know me by now- i have had problems with the administrator for a while now b/c the baby has been my #1 priority all along and she never cared about my unborn child's well-being before. my question then is can she do that? can she not let me come back to work even though i have a dr.'s note saying that it's ok? it just does not seem legal to me. any insight would be great! thanks!

yes they can do that i just had the same problem i have always seemed to have problems with my nurse manager for some reason i just cannot ever do anything right, anyway i had surgery on both hands and post op time is six weeks but, i could not stay off work that long with no pay, so my doctor told me i could work lite duty basically do everything except lift pts. my nurse manager told me that same thing stay home and take care of yourself, even with doctor permission she won't let me come back, but she did let someone come back and work lite duty, just politics, i had to work at staffing agengies in order to pay my rent just sucks doesn't it. my heart goes out to you i know what you are feeling sorry jd

IamRN · Jun 17, 2004

My nurse manager told me that sam thing stay home and take care of yourself, even with doctor permission she won't let me come back, but she did let someone come back and work lite duty, just politics

Maybe the person that did work the lite duty was a workers comp. situation????

P.S. Writing in all caps is considered screaming and bad netiquette

:imbar

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 17, 2004

I wish you the best in whatever happens and I hope you have a healthy, happy deliver and baby. Just concentrate on what counts now. You and that baby. And if things are that bad, maybe consider moving. Small town politics mixed with poor family relations make for bad news all around. I could not live with it, myself. Best wishes, whatever comes!

jodidax · Jun 18, 2004

Maybe the person that did work the lite duty was a workers comp. situation????
P.S. Writing in all caps is considered screaming and bad netiquette
:imbar

thanks for emailing, i heard i was kinda upset with someone when sent the message sorry, i kinda new at this, i suppose they could have been workmans comp i never thought of that, it just seems that with a shortage and we always are working short she would want me to come back asap, anyway, maybe i can get unemployment for awhile to make up lost paycheck, anyway i was just getting home and answering emails so have a good night and thanks for talking

jd:rolleyes:

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2004

After i had back surgery and the doc released me to go back with light duty, i was told they didnt have light duty. They couldnt keep me from coming back but would make me sign a release so if i were to get hurt trying to break a patients fall etc., any injuries i sustained OR the patient would be my responsiblity. I assume that meant that if the patient broke a hip anyway i would be responsible for the bill just as the hospital would have been had i been cleared completely. Needless to say i didnt go back on light duty. Look at your employer handbook and question HR people very carefully and if there is any question of your position being available when you return get it clearified in writing. Some non union facilities dictate how long they will keep a position open before they fill it, and if you are going over that allotted time you may find yourself in a different position/shift when you return. If you dont have a union backing you up she could fill your position and you may end up with the crappiest shift/job in the place when you get back. After a certain amount of time off all they may have to do is provide you with a job, not necissarily your previous job.

This should be a happy, joyous occasion for you and your family, dont let a wrench get thrown in by finding out later you dont have the job to go back to you thought you would due to a technicality they didnt bother to inform you of.

Congrats on the new baby and good luck.

kids · Jun 18, 2004

anyway, maybe i can get unemployment for awhile to make up lost paycheck

As far as I know (it may be different in your state) you have to be unemployed to get unemployment. Even tho your employer does not currently have (light duty) work you are still employed by them.

Plus, to collect unemployment you have to be making an active search for work in your field.