booted from er job while on general medical leave

Nurses General Nursing

Published

hello all

2 questions-has this ever happened to you and what would you do in my shoes

the background---

had meniscus surgery in august-forced to work while on fmla leave for hurricane gustav--hospital knew this-had second tear of meniscus while working-doctor refused to call it work related-md works for hospital-had second surgery in oct--ran out of fmla-pto and sick time and was put on general medical leave till i could return-received letter in mail in mid december that i was "termed"-called to see what that meant and was told i was taken out of the system-spoke to head of human resources who had no idea of this and also had no idea why i was released--

in the hca corporation you get 3 months fmla leave and 3 months gml leave before any question of terminaton is considered-i had 2 more months--so-here i am unemployed and still not cleared to work-

has this ever happened to you

and what would you guys and gals do--i am stumped--i loved my job and had no complaints about me or my work

thanks---beaujacques

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

Are you sure you're terminated??

I went out in March on medical leave when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After three months of NO pay my long-term disability kicked in, but in the meantime I received a letter from my NM that unless I was back to work by a certain date then I could be terminated from that unit. I couldn't go back to work by then because I was busy having a bilat mastectomy, tissue implants placed, back to surgery to clean up a bleed, a port put in, expanders removed and implants placed, port removed, and a complete hysterectomy. Oh, and figure in chemo somewhere in there. So I'm making about half what I used to make plus I pay cobra instead of insurance which is three times what insurance cost! I'm no longer guaranteed my position I left BUT I continue to be an employee of the hospital system and can be transferred to another unit if I decide not to ask for my old position back.

Take another look at the paperwork :)

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I am soo sorry for your situation. I have heard of this in quite a few other industries. Most of the time the medical is termed as personal then when you don't return to work, you are termed. Lawyers I chatted with say that it is a way for the facility to terminate you for a reason when they can't get rid of you for other ones. Get all of your paperwork and legal stuff in order and get a lawyer!

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Do you have a union? If you do contact a steward. I would also call your NM and try to have a friendly chat to see if you can resolve this amicably. You could also consider filing a WC claim. (Get copies of the treatment records before you do this. Documents have a way of "disappearing" in medicolegal situations.)

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

How could you be "forced to work" during family and medical leave?

Working without medical and supervisory approval during a scheduled medical leave can void the legal protection offered by FMLA. That may explain why the physician refused to certify your second injury as being work-related.

Please consult an attorney.

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No matter what the cause is for being off work ill, I have never seen anyone in nursing treated the way they should...how ironic huh

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I cant really address the FMLA stuff since I have no clue how it works, but I will adress the work related part. Part of what the doctor says is true, the "original" injury is not work related and will always be considered pre-existing. BUT the fact that you reinjured your knee and it 'may' be due to work, there is a provision under workers comp that will cover "agravation of pre-existing condition". It is also within your rights if you are trying to claim under workers comp to receive a 2nd opinion from another physician that the workers comp agency or hospital will cover. Im sorry this happend to you, but its important that you continue to follow up on the injury even if you are still not employed by them. Having worked in that area I often find that future insurances will not cover an injury or reinjury if there is any question it was work related. As far as them terminating you, well if the policies clearly state what you are explaining then I would demand an emplanation. Again sorry this happend and Good Luck to you!

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Just tying both threads together: https://allnurses.com/nursing-activism-healthcare/booted-er-job-360532.html

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