Can My Employer Fire Me? (Hope: insurance, unemployment benefits, wage)

[Mamie727]

I was in the hospital for nearly a week due to pancreatitis. I called in every day. But my surgeon will not give me the proper papers to go back to work. He is not giving me papers saying what days I was ill and could not go back to work. Now my employer says they will fire me cause I do not have the paperwork they need. Can they do that?

[Lizita]

Do you qualify for FMLA? If not you don't have a right to time off for medical reasons and you can be fired. If you do qualify you do need to be able to prove that you were in the hospital or was sick and couldn't work. If you can't provide that they would most likely be allowed to fire you. If you want to use FMLA time you have to be able to show that you qualify. I'd start getting on the doctor if I were you to get the papers you need.

If you are fired you would most likely qualify for unemployment so do file for it. Either way it doesn't cost anything. Hopefully it won't come to that though.

[CSD610]

Call the Dr.'s office and tell the office manager you need the paperwork and get a copy of the records from the hospital to prove that you were there as well.

[Torn2pieces]

Why can't you get it from the Hospital?

That would be part of you discharge papers.... It would show the dates you were in the Hospital...

[Mamie727]

I am eligible for FMLA.

I spoke with the doctor's ofc manager and was basically told "This is what doctor does. Nothing we can do.

It isn't the hospital stay days that is the problem. It is the days prior to the surgery. My GP says those days are the surgeon's responsibility to write my excuse for. The surgeon says it is the GP's. So no one will take responsibility for me being off work prior to the surgery. And it isn't even the entire time that I don't have doctor's excuse for. It is 1or 2 days out of 3 weeks off work. And for this the boss says he will fire me. I am left stuck in the middle of these doctor's fight with the result being I am losing my job.

I am eligible for unemployment benefits, but my boss says he will fight me every step of the way to prevent me from getting any unemployment benefits at all. I can't win!!

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by Mamie727

I am eligible for unemployment benefits, but my boss says he will fight me every step of the way to prevent me from getting any unemployment benefits at all. I can't win!!

Getting fired from this cold compassionless tyrant of a boss's job might be a blessing in disguise, and at the very least an inevitability as this cretin of a boss has it in for you.
Sorry state of affairs whereby if you ever get sick you lose your job..
I'll assume there are no workers rights departments in the state you live in as the situation certainly sounds unfair..
Bit of research comes up with this depressing law
http://www.kclabor.org/wrongful%20termination.htm

an employer can fire any employee at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by Mamie727

I am eligible for FMLA.

I spoke with the doctor's ofc manager and was basically told "This is what doctor does. Nothing we can do.

It isn't the hospital stay days that is the problem. It is the days prior to the surgery. My GP says those days are the surgeon's responsibility to write my excuse for. The surgeon says it is the GP's. So no one will take responsibility for me being off work prior to the surgery. And it isn't even the entire time that I don't have doctor's excuse for. It is 1or 2 days out of 3 weeks off work. And for this the boss says he will fire me. I am left stuck in the middle of these doctor's fight with the result being I am losing my job.

I am eligible for unemployment benefits, but my boss says he will fight me every step of the way to prevent me from getting any unemployment benefits at all. I can't win!!

Get professional legal advice and in the meanwhile, document, document, document.

I have to wonder why an employer repeatedly "threatens" to fire someone instead of just firing him/her. Sounds very odd to me.

[SPonteKC]

That's what happens when you live in an "at-will employment" state without strong unions to advocate for working people.

In Kansas, with its historic hostility to organized labor and workers rights, nearly all rights of the employee are ceded to the employer, including the right to fire someone without justification or due process. The only exception is where an employee is operating under a labor union contract with due process provisions, or when such firing violate civil rights laws.

You should contact your local wage and hour board to file a complaint and seek advice, but under no circumstances should you voluntarily quit your job. Voluntary separation will disqualify you from unemployment benefits in most instances, and it is likely that your employer is threatening to fire you in an attempt to make you quit voluntarily and avoid the unemployment insurance claim.

Best of luck. Your best long-term solution would be to move out of Kansas into a more labor-friendly environment, where your rights as a human being and a worker are respected and protected.

[Drewcifer]

The Americans with Disabilities act stipulates that you cannot be fired for physical conditions including sickness. If you were fired for pancreatitis you would have a strong case to sue.

[Mamie727]

The boss says I will be fired if I don't have a doctor's excuse for EVERY day I was not at work. Out of 3 weeks I can't get Dr's excuse for 3 days. All the other days are accounted for, either by Dr or hospital papers. The company is the biggest plant in the city.