Sick leave for mental vs physical illness

[Anonymous]

Just to be upfront about this I did start a tread on a different topic yesterday. So, yes, I’m the same person. Different question, though.

I was in Dominion Hospital for a bit and then the Partial Hospitalization Program. I missed some work, but I had a couple weeks of sick leave saved, so I used some of that. I also worked evenings and weekends to get the most critical part of my job done. I used about 25 hours of sick leave total and I got my work done.

My boss emailed me Wednesday that he wasn’t going to let me work part time any longer. He told me I could only work my regular hours. I often have to adjust my schedule because experiments require weekend or evening work, and my coworkers have been allowed to take off time for physical health reading like a colonoscopy without using leave. I put in for sick leave but my boss is refusing to approve it.

I feel singled out and this feels unfair. Do I have any protections?

I checked out against medical advise yesterday so I could go back to work on Monday. I really regret checking out, but I don’t know what else to do.

[Anonymous]

FMLA

[Anonymous]

You can use sick leave for physical or mental health. The issue is that you want to work different hours than your scheduled hours. Your manager does not have to approve that. If you have more sick leave you can continue to use that or you can take up to 12 weeks unpaid with FMLA.

If you need to work part time you will need to work with HR to see if that is a possibility, but your manager has the right to ask you to work your scheduled hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can use sick leave for physical or mental health. The issue is that you want to work different hours than your scheduled hours. Your manager does not have to approve that. If you have more sick leave you can continue to use that or you can take up to 12 weeks unpaid with FMLA.

If you need to work part time you will need to work with HR to see if that is a possibility, but your manager has the right to ask you to work your scheduled hours.

But my boss has specifically asked me to work weekends and evenings in the past - and he has already asked me to work a Sunday in December. Why is he having me do that, but not allowing me to work different hours now? Also, if I don’t work at all, my long-running experiments will fail.

On top of that, he allows my coworkers to work different hours for physical health issues, but isn’t letting me do it for mental health reasons. I feel discriminated against.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like discrimination to me.

[Anonymous]

Go to HR and leave out the hysterics

[Anonymous]

You have to apply for FMLA to make it job protected. FMLA can be taken intermittently. Apply ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Also look into an ADA accommodation. Given that alternative hours are permitted and even requested, that accommodation sounds reasonable.

[Anonymous]

If you’re forced to use leave because you’re working a different schedule, it seems like you should be paid overtime for the work you do outside working hours. But I am not an expert in this area so hopefully someone else who knows more can chime in.

[Anonymous]

I took FMLA for mental health last year, I provided a note from the PHP to document that I had a health problem. You can also have a doctor write a note.

I’m sorry this is happening to you, in my experience mental health was more debilitating than any physical health issue I have endured. Take good care of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to apply for FMLA to make it job protected. FMLA can be taken intermittently. Apply ASAP.

But FMLA is unpaid leave, which is different than what OP is saying. Plus, PHP is often all day daily during the first 6 weeks. Then, all day 2-3x a week. That 12 weeks of leave will go fast that way.

It seems like if a person cannot work from say 9-5 as they are in intensive therapy. But they could work say 5:30 to 8:30 (3 hours) and 5:30 PM to 10:30 (5 hours). They would still be working 40 hours a week and be able to stay current on duties, but earn an income. Both would be important stabilizing things for a disabling mental health condition and the employer benefits from extended flexibility by not having to hire a temp or pile tasks on other workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also look into an ADA accommodation. Given that alternative hours are permitted and even requested, that accommodation sounds reasonable.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can use sick leave for physical or mental health. The issue is that you want to work different hours than your scheduled hours. Your manager does not have to approve that. If you have more sick leave you can continue to use that or you can take up to 12 weeks unpaid with FMLA.

If you need to work part time you will need to work with HR to see if that is a possibility, but your manager has the right to ask you to work your scheduled hours.

But my boss has specifically asked me to work weekends and evenings in the past - and he has already asked me to work a Sunday in December. Why is he having me do that, but not allowing me to work different hours now? Also, if I don’t work at all, my long-running experiments will fail.

On top of that, he allows my coworkers to work different hours for physical health issues, but isn’t letting me do it for mental health reasons. I feel discriminated against.

Well there is an obvious difference between something like a colonoscopy, that takes one day, and what is going on with you. Very few employers are going to let you just set your own schedule. Just because your boss wants you to work on a Sunday in December doesn't mean you can work whatever hours you want. At any rate, I agree with the other posters who have suggested looking into requesting an ADA accommodation.

[Anonymous]

Does your boss actually know you've been hospitalized? Not saying you should tell him. I can imagine though, if you're working these strange hours and he's not aware of your situation (since your issue is mental, he's not seeing physical symptoms) he might think you're just being difficult or flexing because of personal responsibilities or even a second job.

If he's aware, then I think he's kind of a jerk.

Regardless, all I would say if I were you at this point is I have a medical issue and I need to speak to EEO about FMLA and reasonable accommodation. Your situation sounds serious and I would imagine your doctors would able to explain why you need to work off hours/take time off intermittently.

[Anonymous]

My coworker didn’t take just one day off for her colonoscopy. She took off 3.5 days and left me a ton of work for me to do.

My boss knew I was in the hospital and then a partial hospitalization program.

My coworker knew I was on leave and didn’t offer to help me; on the contrary, she asked me for help multiple times - while I was on leave!

It’s so unfair.