Can I be Rightfully Terminated?

Can I be terminated for calling in sick to work for caring for my daughter who has had the flu twice, 2 colds and a febrile seizure due to a high fever in the past 2 months? The past 2 weeks I have also had to take time off ( 1-2 days a week ) to bring her to have a eeg, MRI and blood test to rule out anything Neurological. In the past 2 months I have missed a total of 2 weeks because of all of this. Everything in her test came back clear and as soon as I was ready to celebrate she spiked a fever of 103 and now has a cold. Now I missed 2 days of work this week. Dont know what my laws are. I have ALL her medical records proving that everytime Ive called in sick to work I was at her Dr apts. Before this I NEVER missed work . please let me know, thank you

Guy's baby

Even though you are caring for your daughter, ask the Doctor for a doctor's note to cover your time off work. That will shut them up good!

Erin

If you have not been with the company for a year you are not covered under FMLA, and you can get fired for this. There are only two states in the US that arenâ€™t "At will". And "At Will" means you can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason at all. The only thing they canâ€™t do is fire you because of your race, religion, ethnicity, disability, or gender, and even then there are ways to get around that.

If you had been with the company for a year then you should be protected by FMLA. If they fired you anyway you can file a complaint with the DOL, and try and get compensation.

Why would you even want to work with a company that refused to sympathize with your situation? You know what their values are.

Find a family friendly company to work for. There are lots of them out there, and its becoming quite the trend now days. You are probably better off not working for this place anyway.

No name

The simple answer is yes---you could be fired for this. Most employers are "at will" companies meaning they can fire you at anytime for any reason. But if you have a sympathetic boss, and you have handed over all the bills then he will accept it. If you have been there for a year then I would file for Intermittent FMLA. I am on this right now because I was missing a lot of work due to doctors visit from a auto accident I had. What is does is cover your butt; your daughters doctor will sign off on the paperwork, and you handed it in to your HR person, and you are covered for a certain period of time. I had 365 hours available to take off from work without them saying a word to me. Good luck, hope your daughter gets better.

terlynn_1370

It depends on where you live. Typically you won't get terminated for what you describe. However, some states are "at will" employment states which means they can terminate you any time they want and you can quit any time without any reason.

Happy HBAC Mama

Yes you can be terminated for missing too much work, no matter what the reason, unless you are on disablity, which it doesn't sound like you are. Trust me, your boss doesn't care about your sick kid, your boss cares about money. (I think you are doing the right thing though, you have your priorities in the right place. )

Dart Swinger

If you've communicated all this to your employer, I don't think they can fire you, particularly if your attendance has been good otherwise, and you're a good employee.

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