On FMLA & being deducted pay! Any advice?
I’m a teacher and have taken days off due to migraines. I have also come to school more often than not when I have had migraines. I have an fmla in place faxed to the HR department at central office because of my migraines. They are severe enough that intake topomax twice daily, have an abortive(naratriptan) and in addition am now on Ajovy AND still manage to get a few migraines a month.
My question is even though I have an fmla in place I have gone one day and a half over my allotted 10 days of sick leave. My last paycheck (May) I was deducted (docked) pay. I emailed the hr lady to inquire about it. Her response was that fmla just secured my job and employer portion of my insurance and that according to the law I must still use any remaining day/docks for the duration of my time off. I was under the impression that fmla would prevent me from being docked pay? Am I incorrect or are teachers just treated differently? I’m confused and angry. At this point I will just come to school with a migraine and let my students do absolutely NOTHING in class than take my days.
This is really, really frustrating, ylu6w9! I hesitate to give out legal advice as that's not my speciality and I think in this case, you probably do need to talk to a legal professional. If you happen to live near a university with a law school, they often have free consultation services offered by the law students—though you might just use that to point you in the direction of someone who specializes in workplace discrimination law.
I hope you can find the answers you need.
-Martha
Migraine.com TeamHave you talked to your union about a sick leave bank.?
I encourage you to contact ypur local legal aid office.
My only experience with FLMA was a relative who had a back injury. This person still had to use leave/vacation/sickdays for pay/money. HR said essentially the aame thing. That FLMA permits you to miss work with the security of retaining your job, but financial reimnursement of missed days is seperate.
According to https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/ the days taken are unpaid.
Do talk to legal aid, though.
Hope this helps.If Migraine is causing substantial missed days, you may consider filing for temporary or permanent disability. This is also something legal aid can help you explore.
I fully understand and appreciate the frustration of needing a paycheck and needing to take care of yourself.
I sincerely hope an outcome for you that enables you to get the care you need, stay financially stable, and keeps a supportive education in place for the children.
