taking FMLA on intermittent basis...anyone done this?

[rehab nurse]

hi everybody~was doing some searcing here tonight because i know i have seen this discussed here before. i am trying to talk with other people who have successfully taken their FMLA leave in short pieces. i do qualify, (have asthma, lupus, and the biggest problem now is my herniated lumbar discs and spinal stenosis), but the paperwork is difficult to fill out. my doc did it for me, but now my boss is questioning what the days will be i need, etc. i told him i didn't know, as i filed for FMLA as a means of being able to take a few days off work if i need them after a procedure, or when the pain is flaring up, or i have a migraine and can't work. and not have to worry about attendance issues. i will start a treatment plan with physical therapy, massage, and accupuncture next week in addition to pain management.

i know there are nurses here who have done this successfully. can you tell me how you notified your bosses and why you needed to take FMLA this way? i tried looking on the website and printed off some information to keep with me at work about the rules and such. my boss is fighting me, saying i can't take just a few days at a time. i know this is not true. can someone help me here and let me know your experience? did your employer give you grief about it, try to discipline you in other ways, like finding petty things to write you up for? i already missed three days this month, and was written up today, even with doc

thanks!

[rehab nurse]

When my doc filled out the papers, he specified that it was for migraine headaches. My supervisor had actually suggested I file for FMLA to protect my job.

my ADON who wrote me up for missing three days of work in the last two months actually advised me to sign up for fmla. she said he ex husband had terrible depression and sometimes he would just not go to work, and had fmla so he was covered. there actually is no place for a diagnosis to be written, so i don't know what's going on.

[Jolie, BSN]

i got the FMLA forms from payroll lady who handles it, doc filled it out that day (i work with him), and he wrote down that it is unforseeable event for the most part (like if i have a migraine or asthma attack, or my bac pain is unbearable), the papers are very vague and nonspecific. i have taken fmla before over a year ago for two week. but yes, forms are filled out, signed by doc, and given to adminstrator and DON, who think you are not allowed to take fmla "intermittently".

You absolutely ARE allowed to take FMLA intermittantly. I have no experience with an employee taking it intermittantly without prior notice of the days off like you will need to do for acute illnesses, but it is definitely written in the legislation that it can be taken intermittantly.

It amazes me that over 10 years after this law went into effect, your facility doesn't have a written policy addressing FMLA.

Best of luck to you. Sounds like you are in an uphill battle with these idiots!

[Nurse Hatchett]

I used FMLA as I needed to when my dgtr was born. I didn't always know when she was going to be sick, sometimes we would go to a sched Md appt. and have to hight tail it down to Riley Hospital with in the hour. It also covered me for all the times I would have to literally run out of the building in the middle of a shift because something was happening. FMLA is to use to care for yourself or a family member who is ill. Illnesses do not happen to convience us and are not always predictable. My place of employment was very understanding. I had used all 12 weeks of my FMLA prior to giving birth because of bed rest and such, so after my dgtr was born they gave me an extended FMLA. I just had to take the papers to the MD office and they filled them out. If I recall correctly on my papers and my husband's papers there was a spot to check if it was going to be PRN. Hope this helps some. I am sorry your place of employment is giving you a hard time. IF you are needing FMLA for whatever reason, you clearly don't need the headache of this also. It's sad that so many people take advantage of this program, and make it hard for those of us that need it.

[Puzzle67]

yes, i read on this website a few months ago that a nurse with migraines would call in and take a FMLA day. since you can't predict when you'll get a wicked migraine, i would have not have a whole lot of notice to give, but i would call as soon as i could. now, for my PT appointments and surgeon/pain managment doc procedures and appointments, i let them know in advance. well, of course, my administrator has not yet "approved" my FMLA papers! thanks for you info about calling senator. i might just do that tomorrow morning.

I recently worked on a unit at a local hospital where a charge nurse was granted intermit. FMLA b/c she had a psychiatrist who was treating her for anxiety and depression, which was all she would admit to. She was prescribed Adderall (but she wasn't sure if it was for ADD or not!), Xanax, Lexapro, and other various psych drugs which included those for Bipolar Disorder and for mood stabilizing. Our problem, as her coworkers, was that she could call in and be granted the shift off, and all she had to say was, "I'm taking off...FMLA. Thank you." Now, as far as safe nursing care goes, this nurse was in charge of a whole unit of patients. What if she had a "spell" during her shift? Just really bugged me b/c the rest of us had to tough it out, suck up our own stressful issues as well as work-related ones and come on in and be ready to work and function appropriately! Anyone ever heard of a nurse being allowed to do this, with the govt. backing her up with FMLA? Sheesh!

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

Sometimes the first person who uses intermittent FMLA at a given employer ends up having to "teach" them about this way to use FMLA. I'm not saying that is right, it just seems to be the way it is. Many people do not get that it can be used this way.

I have a close friend who needed FMLA though cancer ...she didn't need a big block of time, just days here and there. She encountered a lot of "Huh?What?" from her employer. Her state had an EEOC ombudsman who helped explain her rights to the employer. It wasn't adversarial, just a learning curve issue.

[just1, MSN]

Sure--you are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of FMLA annually provided you complete the correct forms, have worked at a place for 12 months, etc. I have a nurse who takes FMLA a few days at a time to care for a handicapped child. She reports off "FMLA" and our HR Director keeps track of the days.

[truern]

I have FMLA for vertigo and it even covers when I have to call out because I woke up with it. I have to have it renewed yearly.

Presently I'm on an extended FMLA for CA treatment. It will certainly be longer than 12 weeks, though. I had to apply for long term disability benefits because I'm no where near ready to go back to work and won't be for quite a while.