from what i have been reading in these forums it seems a doctor note ( not a fml ) stating someone is not to work for a period of time ( 10 days or less) does not mean you have the right to take this time??? So if you are ill and need this time off you are at your employers mercy whether they see fit that you can take this time without repercussions????

If your illness is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), then you are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Does your employer have more thant 50 employees working with 75 miles of your job site? Have you worked for the employer for at least one year? Have you worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year?

yes the qualifications are there but i do not know if the illness is qualified. Anyway this illness came on quickly and no papers were filled out for fmla... just the dr's note stating time off. Regaurdless i feel ALOT of people think that a dr's note requesting time off is a big enough umbrella to secure your job for a short period while you recover . many think the fmla is for MAJOR illnesses and until reading these forums i did not know it existed. so the dr;s statement alone does not secure you employment? And how long does a person have to apply for fmla after the illness begins? How does one start to apply for fmla? thank you

If you had any idea how easy it was to get a doctor's note, you'd know why a doctor's note has no force in law.

True story. A colleague of mine (and you can believe me that she understands FMLA and how it works) missed work for a minor illness that did not qualify under FMLA, but under her company policy she needed a note from her doctor excusing her from work. So she went to the doctor's office and said she needed this note, and the doctor said, "Sure, how many days off do you want?" and waited for her to tell him how many days she wanted off from work before he would complete the note.

In case you're not getting the point, many doctors are perfectly willing to falsify notes to give employees time off they're not entitled to or in need of.

You don't have to respond on these boards very long to know that yes, many people do believe that a doctor's note guarantees automatic job protection no matter what. The problem is that it doesn't matter how many people believe it; that doesn't make it true.

FMLA is available for qualified employees of qualified employers for a serious health condition. You don't get FMLA if you have a cold or an earache. Here is the DOL's definition of a serious health condition.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.114.htm

You need to notify the employer of the need for FMLA 30 days in advance if possible; if that is not possible you need to give them as much notice as you can. Obviously if you get hit by a bus on the way to work you can't give them advance notice; in that case you need to let them know as soon as is reasonably possible. That might mean making a call from the emergency room but the circumstances will determine what is reasonable.

How you apply for FMLA is determined by your company policies, but in most cases it will involve talking to someone in HR. Most likely they will provide you with the paperwork they need completed. Once you have received the paperwork, you have 15 days to return it. If you do not return it, completed, within 15 days, they have no legal obligations to apply FMLA protections, including job protection.

thank you very much for your time and wisdom. This forum is great for info

the earache my qualify....it depends if left untreated it could turn into something worse...the 15 day time limit is not etched in stone either....many cases have been put forth, and won, were a patient tries to get his or her certification done in 15 days but couldnt because of a doctor being out of town or just failing to process it in a timely manner because he is real busy during flu season....bottom line though.....15 days is the time limit.....usually :)

the earache my qualify....it depends if left untreated it could turn into something worse Whether an illness MIGHT get worse has absolutely nothing to do with whether it falls under the paramaters of the FMLA. The actual illness or injury must meet the definition of a "serious health condition" as defined in the Act and the employee must be absent for more than three days.

If the earache DOES get worse, then it might qualify AT THAT TIME. But the fact that it might get worse and become a serious illness does not make it a serious health condition under the statute.

That's what i said......if left untreated....could get worse

You are, however, insinuating that because it might get worse, the employer is required to apply FMLA to the time off whether it otherwise would apply or not, and that is not the case. Unless it meets the definition of a serious health condition NOW, FMLA does not apply. What might happen in future does not affect the FMLA status today.

You are, however, insinuating that because it might get worse, the employer is required to apply FMLA to the time off whether it otherwise would apply or not, and that is not the case..................


no..the empoyer is not required...and u are right..that is not the case....if a doctor states that the condition if left untreated could become worse or could have led to 3 days work missed it will then qualify....call Dave Dewill at the DOL and he will straighten this out for you