FMLA for the birth of a child

• FMLA for the birth of a child - kennamt
  • What they are doing is legal and normal... - sm
  • MTSOs have a unique loophole in the FMLA Federal - requirements. Check with with State you live in.
  • There is one loophole to their benefit. - sm
    • sorry should have put an average of 24 hours per week. - Poster from above. NM
  • go to their Portal, put FMLA in Search box, click FAQ. - says can use all 12 weeks at once or increments. n
  • Kennamt - Happy Webbie
  • Spheris is wrong - Tired MT
    • Thank you for the replies - kennamt
      • If it were me... - MT
    • FMLA - missmt
      • Loved your assessment (sm) - Tired MT
  • Found this (did not read though) - .
  • Found the link listed inside in google - ht

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Is this part new?  I worked for a national and had FMLA 3 times between 2006-2008 and none of the paperwork said anything about the below.

 *Are employed at a company that employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles.*

Laurie, First I want to offer my since condolences on the loss of your father.

I lost my mother 5 years ago. I don't have much good to say about my former employer, Spheris, but I will have to give them credit regarding their 3-day bereavement policy. My mom was in the hospital about a week before she passed.  At the time I was working M-F, 2nd shift  My brother called me the night she went into the ER, thinking she might pass that night. I emailed my supe and went to the hospital. When she did pass a week later, it was just after midnight between F-S, so I had the weekend off. The funeral was on Monday. I took my 3 days M-W and even asked for an extra day and got it as regular PTO. This was at a time when there were 3-4 hurricaines in Florida, where Spheris was based at that time and they had a lot of employees fleeing for their lives and the work volume was super high. I felt a little bad leaving them in the lurch, but I certainly took the time allotted.

As far as your FMLA, why wasn't it approved?  By federal law they have to approve it. If you have PTO, you have to use that first and then any additional time is, of course, unpaid. Last year, my son was in a near-fatal accident and I applied and was granted full-time FMLA for the first week and then intermittent FMLA thereafter. Of course, I had a ton of PTO accrued so getting paid wasn't an issue for me. At that time, I worked a split a.m. and evening p.m. shift. I tried to work in the a.m. and p.m. and go to the hospital in the afternoon. However, if I needed to go in the a.m., I just emailed my supe. My son lived, thank God, and when he came home from the hospital he had many followup Dr. appts and many of them were in the a.m. due to Dr's office scheduling. I used my FMLA as needed with approval. Occasionally I made up time.

I don't really have much advice regarding what to say on job aps after quitting.

I know this is very long, but I just wanted to tell you that you have my sympathy for your ordeal. Maybe it wasn't the best to quit, but I would still like to know why they didn't approve your FMLA?  Email if you want to talk further.

Sincerely, Lorie

might pay.  I remember reading NJ just passed FMLA with up to 12 weeks pay (you'd have to be employee status though because it's taken from state disability funds you're paying into) and I think CA also provides for paid FMLA now.  My state doesn't pay for FMLA, but does temporary disability and maternity is covered under that.

· Have completed at least 12 months of service with the company, and

· Have a minimum of 1,250 hours of service during the 12 month-period immediately preceding the

· Are employed at a company that employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles.

MTSOs have a unique loophole.  I got caught up in it a couple of years ago when trying to use medical leave for my personal medical illness. 

Here are the Federal Requirements:

 EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must:

• work for a covered employer;

• have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months;

• have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and

• work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.

The loophole for MTSOs is the last one …”50 employees… within 75 miles.”  MTSOs can interpret that to mean “50 employees who WORK FOR SPHERIS” within 75 miles of EACH OTHER.  So, if you live in the middle of Wyoming, there may not be 50 employees within a 75 mile radius of your home.  Thus, the loophole, which some MTSOs actually do use.

HOWEVER, some employees do have a counter-loophole.  States also have FMLA requirements, and the State that you live in supersedes Federal requirements.  In my case my Sate does not have the “75 mile radius” requirement, so after I contacted my MTSO and informed them of that, they backed down and approved all the leave I wanted.

Check out your State requirements to see if they are different.  If they are not, if you can survive with 6 weeks and want to keep your job, I would not rock-the-boat any further.  Personally, I would use those 6 weeks to find another employer who is more employee friendly, if there are any left out there. 

Good Luck and Congratulations on the new Baby. 

But just think how much easier it'll be to look at that electric bill!  I keep ours over 80, but I'm the opposite...65 and lower and the heat is ON!

our work so that one person can't do lots and lots of minutes and there not be any for the others.  Usually there is plenty of work for everyone to do lots and lots of "extra" minutes.   There have been rare days where there wasn't a lot of extra work, usually due to the hospital system being down, and I may be a couple of hundred lines short because there needed to be some work for everyone, but usually the next day there was plenty to go around.  Unfortunately most companies just want the work done and doesn't care who does it.  If someone stays up all night to work that is better for TAT, which is a major concern with most companies these days.