As long as you have doc excuse you ahould be ok .Tipper of course gave you good advise hugs minnie

I was a certified HR professional before I had to quit working. Below is a summary of employment law on this situation; it is not what I think or feel. I am not an attorney, and I don't even play one on TV (LOL) so be sure to check with one before pursuing any action.

There are a lot of misconceptions about FMLA. Not every job is required to provide it, and not every employee is entitled to receive it. If the company is a small privately owned place, depending on the number of employees, they may not even be required to provide FMLA. If they do have to provide FMLA, you have to be employed for 12 consecutive months before you can use it. And; even if they do have to, if your absence creates a problem with covering the schedule because it is a small operation; they may look for ANY and EVERY reason to let you go. Even though in a Right To Work state, no reason is needed, most employers will make sure to document performance issues to cover their behinds. Excessive absenteeism IS a legitamate reason to terminate you if you do not have FMLA protection. Above and beyond that, even employers that have to provide FMLA can claim a job is a key position and it would be a business hardship to give the employee time off.

As for the ADA, yes, they have to provide reasonable accomodation, but you also have to be able to meet the physical requirements of the job. They are not obligated to restructure a job, or create a different job just because you have a medical condition. For example, if you are wheelchair-bound and apply for a position as a roofing repair person or a firefighter, they are allowed to ask if you can (and require you to) be able to climb ladders, carry X amount of weight for X amount of time, etc. A company does not have to hire someone. or continue to employ someone who cannot do the essential elements of the job.

All this to say, please be careful in how you proceed. Now, if you are experiencing true harrassment, that is covered under a completely different set of laws. So, take all advice (even mine) with a grain of salt and check with a legal professional before taping, threatening, assuming, or otherwise risking your job. Unless of course, you are just wanting to quit anyway..

Good luck in all this, and if you have any questions that I may be able to answer, I'd be happy to try to help.

Well everyone, I just got fired!

I am sorry you got fired!!

I have a disability, and my boss has been harrassing me for almost 2 years. I work for a big school district, so I am Union. But, my Union can't, or won't protect me anymore. So, I went out on sick leave, and I'm trying to get Disability.
My boss harrassed soooo much he caused me to have a break down.
I would still like to try working, but they won't transfer me to a different school. The school district wants me to quit, but I'm not going too. And, they can't just fire a Union worker without the proper proceedure.
My life is a real mess.

Consider yourself lucky that you are out of that toxic environment, where people treat you badly and talk about you behind your back.
I have been going through that for years.

Sorry to hear the news. I will say that a business is about making money, not friends. A harsh reality that is better than the alternative exemplified by Marxist societies where this is not the case

Our laws here in Australia are very different - but I hope that you can get this sorted and that the boss stops the threats...
One thought - is HE the head of the company? If not that might be something to consider, go over his head, or talk to a female who is in a management position.
Be careful with what you do and good luck with this.

Thanks for the advice and support everyone!!! I really appreciate all of it.

The thing that's funny about this is he requested a work release from my doctor to return back to work Wed 3/9/11, so he had nothing to complain about when I handed it to him. Next thing I know, he's calling me and claiming I called him a liar and that all I do is take prescription pain pills all day, etc. ... and then BAM! He fired me over the phone. Didn't have the balls to do it to my face!

I have been through many emotional stages in the last couple of hours but I've come to the conclusion that it's "divine intervention".

I will move on with my life instead of taking his crap for the rest of my life along with his 2 co-owners. ( brothers no doubt ) It just sucks to be kicked when your down.

I would file a law suite under the americans of diablity act, you would win and he needs to be pushined for that, that was horrible and uncalled for. I am so sorry that happeend to you, I know how that feels I have been fired from so many jobs I have forgotten them all

Hun,

I am sorry that the coward fired you over the phone, obviously he had no cojones to do it in person, shame on him! Well, now you got that issue of your shoulders, take care and I hope that you can find a part-time job were you will be able to do the job without affecting your health too much.

Hugs,

I am sorry to hear that he fired you and he is a wimp to do it on the phone that just shows you how he runs his business.

I always say when one door closes a window opens up, it may be corny but I think everything happens for a reason and I am sure you will get back on your feet in no time. If you worked there awhile do not hesitant to use him as a reference under law the only thing they can say is that you worked there from this date to this date, he can not say he fired you or what kind of worker you were. Other words he can not give you a bad rep it would be nice if he gave you a good one but you never know you just dont want to hide it from your next employer you dont want them to think you have been unemployed for any amount of time.

Also when applying for another job just give your last three places of employment if you had more then that it will look like you jump from job to job not sure how old you are or how many jobs you had, but I know when I was hiring it was important to me that people were going to stay awhile if I was going to pay lots in training dollars.

Alot of times people think if they give lots of experience/different jobs it will look better on a application when it does the opposite.

Good luck and I am sure your luck will turn around

Thank you very much for the heads up Manny!! It's good to know. I will start to work on my resume tomorrow and maybe even apply to a couple places.

This will be a new beginning for me. I wasted 5 years of my life there and didn't deserve to be treated the way I was.

Thank you everyone for your support!!

And I for certain will "Stay Gold"!

first start documenting everything time date what was said any interaction and can use if get fired and it does matter some what u do but even at will jobs have restrictions and law now does not allow to fire even at will if u get sick right away also ask for reasonable accomadation like if u stand all day can job be done sitting is there another sitting job ect

and comments like arnt u ever going to get better at bar is inappropriate and should be documented and yes be careful with tape recorder in most states its illegal with out persons knowledge just document document document

anyway im sorry u are experiencing this and im sure most disbilbled people do at one time or another i hope u are able to continue working should u want and have too i wish u luck in your endevors hugs

I just spoke with a friend of mine who happens to be a VERY powerful labor law attorney. He gave me some really advice and says he will help in any way.

Ya know, it pays to be a nice person your whole life and not let mean people get to you!!

"MIND THE THREE FOLD LAW YE SHOULD

THREE TIMES BAD, THREE TIMES GOOD!"

Stay Gold!

I wish I had all this information when I was fired in 2008. Although I was not officially "disabled" (I didn't apply for SSD till after I was fired), my supervisor knew that I had lupus, DDD, fibromyalgia and lymphedema from breast cancer surgery. I made a point of going to work, even when feeling awful because the rule was you couldn't be absent more than once in a 3 week period (one illness in 3 weeks). So that year, I got the flu, got really sick, and was out 4 days. I brought a doctor note in order to be able to come back. 2 weeks after that I had a bad lupus flare and beside the pain, was running a 103 fever, so I took a day off. I again gave them a doctor note. It was the first time I ever took sick time twice in a 3 week period in 10 years. Around that time, I also started having memory problems with my paper work-sometimes did not complete totally complete tracking forms ( worked at a day program for mentally retarded adults). We had to fill out forms for each client daily. Although I checked my work, I sometimes missed a check box or comment. So I got called into my supervisors office, was told I was fired. The first comment on the sheet she gave me said that I was absent too often (I used, during my 10 years there, an average of 4 sick days a year). I was in shock. They knew my health issues and all. But it didn't matter because NY is a fire-at-will state-they can let you go for any reason. I appealed and met with the CEO and he said because of my breaking the absence rule, and paperwork problems I was terminated. It was my word against his, and with the NY state rules, I couldn't do anything. If I had the money, I would have gotten a lawyer to sue them. I haven't been able to find work since then, and am about to lose my house. I fell and got a MTBI, and applied for SSD. I'm just fed up with everything. If you can document anything, do it-that's the only way you can help yourself. I wish I had a tape recorder to prove what my supervisors said to me. Good luck. God Bless. Kathy

File for FMLA. (Family Medical Leave Act). You CAN use it for intermittent use. Even for a minute, or a half hour, or a hour, or a day. TRUST Me, I did the SAME thing when my job was about to fire me for attendance. It saved my job, although they fought me on it. They dont' want you to know your rights.

If you contact me, I will help you through it. Get the paper work for FMLA. MOst folks think it's used for long-term use. You get 12 weeks I think, and you can use that HOWEVER you want. ONe hour off per day, or you can use it when you need to call off for your medical condition.

For example, I had it for migraines. If I had a migraine and couldn't work, I'd call in and say I'm taking a FMLA day. You need to keep careful track of it, so they can't come back and say you used too much, or whatever. And they can make you use up all your sick days and vacation days before you used the FMLA days, but that's it.

It's been a few years since I had to deal with this, but I remember it well. Most people had no idea you could use FMLA every once in a while, as opposed to using 12 weeks all at once (i.e. for maternity leave, etc).

That will help you and they can NOT fire you if you use it! I'd be happy to help you if you need help. I will try to look it up again and remember everythign I did. Good luck to you.