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tphillips

Member
Joined
May 13, 2009
Messages
16
Location
springfield, mo
Hey all. My surgery date is October 30th for a bicuspid aortic valve, severe aortic insuffieciency, and ascending thoracic aneurism. My left atrium and ventricle are starting to enlarge and I am having shortness of breath, chest pains, and swelling in my legs and feet. I asked to postpon the surgery until after the first of the year, so that I would have enough sick days built up at work. My cardio informed me that I NEED the surgery before then. Sooo, I am needing to apply for care leave from my employer. This leave is for people who have a life threatening or catastophic injury or condition, that have exhausted their sick time and vacation time. I will exhaust all of my sick and vacation time before I am recovered and able to come back to work. I called the HR lady today and she stated that I could apply for this leave but she had someone else a few weeks ago to apply for the leave with a similar medical condition and it was denied!!!! Can you believe that???? So I am starting to research the internet for information about this condition that I can submit to the care leave committee. The information that I need, should be in-layman terms (because no one on the committee is a medical person) so they can fully understand the condition and the consequences of not having the surgery done in a timely manner. If anyone has a good website that you recommend or a journal article about this, please let me know. Thanks so much for letting me vent!!!!
 
tphillips said:
I called the HR lady today and she stated that I could apply for this leave but she had someone else a few weeks ago to apply for the leave with a similar medical condition and it was denied!!!! Can you believe that????
Click to expand...

So unfortunate that the HR woman at your business is making this unconscionable decision based on another case. Go get 'em Ross..!!

Best of luck to you Tammy...!!!
 
Does your employer employ 50 or more employees that work within a 75 mile radius of your office? (Isn't that an awkward sentence? :p) If so, and you have 12 months of service with that employer, you are entitled by law to 12 weeks leave through FMLA. Here's a link to the law. http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

My post and Ross's overlapped, but he left out an important detail about FMLA:

If they have fewer than 50 employees, it doesn't apply, so you'll have to see if your state has any laws for that.
 
The HR lady did tell me that I was eliglbe for FMLA (Thank goodness). The leave that I am talking about is sick days that other employees can donate to you when you run out of your own. This way you can still get a paycheck. I have had several other employees to already ask about donating to me...but the committee has to make a decision as where I qualify with my heart condition and surgery...is it life threatening or catastrophic??? I have to prove to them that it is.
 
That's a decision made by your company, and I'm not sure if it's subject to any laws, so you would need to get their qualifications and have your physician write something that states why you qualify. Obviously it's life threatening, but it depends on their exact rules.

If they make the choice to deny your participation in the donated leave program, you have the right to file a grievance.
 
I agree with Lisa. It's definitely life-threatening.

What level of congestive heart failure are you in? Sounds like you ARE in CHF already, since you have swelling in your feet & legs.

Get your doctor to write a letter to your HR department, explaining why you can't wait until Jan. 1 for surgery. Have him outline your escalating symptoms.
 
I concur with the suggestion to have your Doctor (PCP, Cardio, or Surgeon) write a letter in plain English explaining the severity of your condition and the consequences of postponing surgery.

'AL Capshaw'
 
Aren't you a nurse? Do you work in a hospital or something smaller like and agency or doctors office? What about short term disablity?
 
I agree with Ross The American Family Medical Leave Act is the way to go. Unless you have a Disability for long term and short term leave, that is what I used. Then tried to return to work did not work out for me and went on my disability for 18 mnths. Good Luck! They should approve it with a letter from your doctor, but you will see the employers only think of the company they might act concerned but when push comes to shove be ready. I was a accountant and I had to go out in November, the end of the year work I felt bad about but my life was much more important to me and my family!
 
Isn't life threatening and catastrophic something decided by your Cardiologist and Surgeon? How is it up to a HR person to override the opinion of your personal physicians who have specific knowledge of your individual condition?

If they say it is urgent for you to have surgery without undue delay, how does this HR person think she knows better? :confused:

Sending best wishes and hope this goes smoothly for you. The last thing you need is stress that could be avoided.
 
Ross is right - Family Medical Leave Act is there to protect you from employers like yours. There is no way they can deny you leave for this surgery and still have a job when you return. What else could be a better reason than your "life". This kind of thing just really frustrates me....sorry this HR woman makes me angry. You should also have your doctor write a letter explaining the urgency of your surgery and you can't wait until next year.

Best of luck to you, I'll be praying this gets worked out for you.

Lori
 
Read the follow up posts guys. She knows she gets FMLA; it's the employer's sick time donation program that she's worried about. I don't think those programs are governed by law and it is up to the employer (or a committee) to decide. I've had employers with this type of program, and they didn't pay until your optional short term disability expired, whether or not you participated in short term disability. Mostly they were for people with cancer, bad accidents, problem pregnancies, or other things that kept you out of work for 3 or more months, as opposed to 8 weeks.
 
Boy, if that HR person would have said that to me, I could feel the chest pains coming on right on their premises, or in her office.... . Sorry, just needed to put my 2cents in. Your company should not be causing you undue stress about this....
Wishing you a smooth ride.
 
Don't you have a short term disability plan at your job? Sure it wouldn't be a full pay check but it would be 65 % of your pay. Your doctor will fill out the forms stating that you are in need of time off because your cannot work because of your condition and you can get that along with fmla. You would need to have notes sent into the company outlining your condition like your echo report and any letters from your cardiologist but I had no problem getting short term disability. Might want ask your HOUR person about that.
 
From Pairodocs-Laura

From Pairodocs-Laura

Lisa is right about the ability of the employees to donate their PTO and whatever to other employees. It depends on the company, and most of them have a rule about how much time can be donated and what conditions qualify. The hospital in our area allows a maximum of 120 hours to be donated. When I was in Anchorage, Chris and I were able to pay our rent only because of donated PTO when I was going through a problem pregnancy and was hospitalized. I don't know much about Missouri law. In Idaho, you would qualify for FMLA, but your employer doesn't have to pay you a red cent unless you have a disability policy through your company or on your own. There is no short term disability in this state. Unemployment kicks in after 6 weeks if you lose your job in Idaho. After twelve weeks, if you can't come back to work, they can give your job to someone else, since Idaho is a right-to-work state. There is also something about the company being able to keep your replacement on permanently if they do a better job than you, but I am not a lawyer. It can be very confusing, and so I recommend a personal visit to the Social Security folks who can acquaint you with the state laws as well. If you can afford it, ask a lawyer.

As a physician, I have written hundreds of letters for folks in your predicament. It is very helpful if you tell your doctor what to write. For instance: "Failure to have the appropriate surgery by such-and-such a date can result in permanent disability or even death". Or "Adequate recovery will be impeded by delay". Make sure the letter is peppered with the words "serious", "life-threatening", "increased morbidity and mortality", and, well, you get the picture. Make sure your doctor makes a statement about your value to the company and your impressive work ethic and the like. Of course, there are companies that will state that they are not preventing you from having the surgery. Legal recourse is the last resort, since it tends to piss people off, but if that's what it takes, it may be worth it. I'm just not sure I could continue to work for a company that I had to threaten legally.

There is very little you can do if you have already been on a reduced schedule but continued to work. The employer has the right to require you to use your PTO or whatever for those days that you miss on a reduced schedule. That is how I got bilked out of my disability payment from AFLAC. Our lawyer felt that between his fees and plane fare, etc, that I would have very little net, if any, if I pursued it legally.

Many folks here have to resort to things like church or fraternity benefits, like dinners and auctions. It is an option if all else fails. Remember, nothing is worth your life or your health; not your house, job, computer, or anything.

Freezing our buns off in Idaho,
Laura
 
I'm pretty sure that Missouri does not have a state disability benefit for short-term leave and if you do not have a short-term plan with your employer it looks like your only avenue for paid leave is the sick time program you were describing. Hopefully if you have your doctor write that letter you can get this approved through the committee. You could also see if Missouri has any program that can help with food or expenses while you are out, something like the resources if you were unemployed.

And like Laura said you can turn to your community and church for assistance. It is amazing how many people are out there that are willing to help when they know someone is in need.

Best of luck to you in resolving this matter and for your surgery. My prayers will be with you.

Lori
 
The information that I need, should be in-layman terms (because no one on the committee is a medical person) so they can fully understand the condition and the consequences of not having the surgery done in a timely manner.


I cannot believe an employer would have a committee to make these type of decisions but no one is a medical person!! Unbelievable!! Prayers for you.....let us know the outcome!
 
You sound like I felt when finally diagnosed, symptom wise. My surgery was in early September, less than 10 days from diagnosis. Based on the progression from March when I first got ill, and April when the valve apparently failed, I'd have been DEAD by Christmas without the surgery in September. How's that for plain English!

My choice was between immediate surgery and becoming another project for our probate practice here at the law firm. Got it??? Sounds like you have the same choice.

Tell that to your committee. But with or without compensation for the time off, get the surgery done NOW, if you want to see January.
 
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