Employment and depression

[Snowflake]

So I work full time. A great job that I love, however lately I’ve been super overwhelmed with life and considering inpatient. Regardless, I’ve been taking off about 1 day a week to sleep. My question is can my employer terminate me for my depression or if they thought I was suicidal? Should I consider getting FMLA Incase I need a day off here and there to stay home?

 

[piratelady]

I truck every employee and state is different. But if you’re willing to disclose what necessary, fmls coverage would be smart to protect your job

 

[Snowflake]

I truck every employee and state is different. But if you’re willing to disclose what necessary, fmls coverage would be smart to protect your job

I agree. I just don’t know what would be disclosed.

 

[piratelady]

I’m not sure either, I bet someone else will have gone through this though. When I was a manager and one of the people who reported to me applied for it for a different medical reason the doctor wrote a letter to the employer with the justification. I never saw it though, was just told if it was approved.

 

[whiteraven]

My question is can my employer terminate me for my depression or if they thought I was suicidal?

Yes. If you are an at will employee, they can fire you for looking at them funny. That won't be the reason they give, but they will manufacture their own reason, one that doesn't violate anything.

Instead of firing you, they could put you on leave and make you see a psychiatrist. At my last job I was pulled out of a position I loved because they had two of us and only needed one. I didn't speak Spanish, so I was the lucky one. :-( I lost it. I had been there 14 years and the other girl only not even 2. After I made arrangements with my manager to take the next day off, I sat at my desk and cried most of the shift. I also doodled on a pad I had - doodles that my employer thought indicated I was suicidal.

I didn't go to work the next day as planned and the police came to check on me. Work had called them because I didn't show up for my shift. I told the cops I had arranged to take off and the "doodles" were simply a way to make it through the day. They came in and looked through my apartment, then left me alone.

After that, I was forced to take leave and eventually was terminated (before I could even go back). That was a baaaaad time.

My advice is to be very careful what you say and do with regard to your depression or suicidal thinking.

 

[Snowflake]

Yes. If you are an at will employee, they can fire you for looking at them funny. That won't be the reason they give, but they will manufacture their own reason, one that doesn't violate anything.

Instead of firing you, they could put you on leave and make you see a psychiatrist. At my last job I was pulled out of a position I loved because they had two of us and only needed one. I didn't speak Spanish, so I was the lucky one. :-( I lost it. I had been there 14 years and the other girl only not even 2. After I made arrangements with my manager to take the next day off, I sat at my desk and cried most of the shift. I also doodled on a pad I had - doodles that my employer thought indicated I was suicidal.

I didn't go to work the next day as planned and the police came to check on me. Work had called them because I didn't show up for my shift. I told the cops I had arranged to take off and the "doodles" were simply a way to make it through the day. They came in and looked through my apartment, then left me alone.

After that, I was forced to take leave and eventually was terminated (before I could even go back). That was a baaaaad time.

My advice is to be very careful what you say and do with regard to your depression or suicidal thinking.

Thank you

 

[FauxLiz]

@Snowflake this time last year I was in your position. Overwhelmed at work, considering inpatient and terrified of losing my job. I submitted for FMLA, but only my HR department had access to the form with the information related to the reason for my leave. As protected information under HIPPA the HR department can't disclose the reason for your leave only that the leave has been approved. Legally, they can't fire you as long as you have time remaining on the 12 weeks of protected employment.

It is important however to be make sure that you understand your company's FMLA policy. They can make you use all of your accumulated sick, vacation, personal days and/or paid time off concurrently with the FMLA time off. In other words if you 5 days of sick time accrued and 10 days of vacation the first three weeks of your leave would be paid good for you, the other nine weeks unpaid unless you have a short term disability policy that covers your condition. Heads up some commercial STD polices through your employer will cover behavioral health issues but I have yet to find a consumer purchased policy that covers behavioral health issues. I was very lucky and my policy through my employer covered behavioral health so I was able to take the entire time off paid.

Another thing is that the 12 weeks that are covered are "rolling" meaning they do not follow the calendar year they are the 12 months from the date you are approved ie: December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2019. If you have other questions I can try to answer and I hope that this has been helpful.

 

[Snowflake]

@Snowflake this time last year I was in your position. Overwhelmed at work, considering inpatient and terrified of losing my job. I submitted for FMLA, but only my HR department had access to the form with the information related to the reason for my leave. As protected information under HIPPA the HR department can't disclose the reason for your leave only that the leave has been approved. Legally, they can't fire you as long as you have time remaining on the 12 weeks of protected employment.

It is important however to be make sure that you understand your company's FMLA policy. They can make you use all of your accumulated sick, vacation, personal days and/or paid time off concurrently with the FMLA time off. In other words if you 5 days of sick time accrued and 10 days of vacation the first three weeks of your leave would be paid good for you, the other nine weeks unpaid unless you have a short term disability policy that covers your condition. Heads up some commercial STD polices through your employer will cover behavioral health issues but I have yet to find a consumer purchased policy that covers behavioral health issues. I was very lucky and my policy through my employer covered behavioral health so I was able to take the entire time off paid.

Another thing is that the 12 weeks that are covered are "rolling" meaning they do not follow the calendar year they are the 12 months from the date you are approved ie: December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2019. If you have other questions I can try to answer and I hope that this has been helpful.

Thank you. I was on FMLA two years ago when I had cancer. I just can’t remember who is informed way I had FMLA. If it was just HR or if it was my manager as well? I rarely take PTO. I get 27 days a year. However they monitor how often I am using my PTO so if I start using it quickly and often it might raise a red flag that’s what I’m worried about. I have 13 days of PTO left this year since I have been using 1 to 2 days a week lately - they haven’t question me yet because it’s My PTO. But I’m worried they will.