If the company I work for only has 11 employees, can my employer fires me while out due to surgery?
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If the company I work for only has 11 employees, can my employer fires me while out due to surgery?
My doctor advises me on weekly visits whether he is to release me the following week. I inform my employer after each visit and ask if they want the updated doctor’s excuse, they say no. I received a call from my employer last week stating if I was correctly informing them and if I really had a tentative date to return but I was just informing them weekly. I reminded them of my weekly calls as well as my attempt to give them updated excuses. My employer has a history of firing or threatening termination while others have been out. If I go back it will be part-time.
Asked on February 1, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Mississippi
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, your employer would not be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, since that law only covers employers with at least 50 employees located within a 75-mile radius. Without FMLA protection for you, your employer could fire you if you have to take time off for surgery or recovery, if it chose to. The employer is not required, unless covered by FMLA, to hold a job for an employee who does not or cannot come to work.
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