What should I do?
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What should I do?
I’ve been off work for about 5 or 6 months still waiting for long term disability to pay me if they ever will I had a note saying I could return on the 21st of January but I told my job that I’m still having problems and they’re telling me that they can’t send me out on an RMI Request for medical information they’re basically telling me to point out which will then get me fired. I told them that I can’t get back into my doctor until the 30th of this month to see what he wants to do. So I just feel stuck and don’t know what to do because I don’t have enough paid/unpaid time to hold me over until the 30th.
Asked on January 22, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
After 5 or 6 months, unless you had A LOT of PTO saved up--many months worth--your employer could terminate you and does not have to hold your job. You may only stay out of work for medical reasons for a combination of:
1) As much PTO as you have; and
2) If your company was covered by FMLA (at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius) and you were eligible for it (worked there at least a year; worked at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months), then for up to 3 months (12 weeks).
So even if you were able to use FMLA, you could only miss work without losing your job for 12 weeks plus however much PTO you had; and if you were not able to use FMLA, you could only miss work for as much PTO as you had. Therefore, after 5 or 6 months, it is very unlikely that you employer needs to retain you; once PTO and FMLA is used up, you can be terminated. (The law does not make employers retain employees who cannot or do not work for extended periods.) So you may need to return or lose your job.
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