FMLA recert not complete at time of temination

[SlyGuy007F]

I was terminated after my initial FMLA claim did not cover additional intermittent absences. I was asked by my company's Absence Reporting Center to have my FMLA claim re-certified. At the time of my termination, my re-cert was not processed.

8 days after my termination due to unacceptable attendance, I recieved notification that my FMLA claim for the additional absences was approved and covered all the days that I had been absent by the company's Absence Reporting Center.

I know that due to my union affiliation, I will be able to file a grievance and likely get my job back. However, the termination has caused stress to me and embarrassment within my peer group, not to mention some financial hardships that I have experienced and due to loss of health benefits, the difficulty that I have had to get appropriate medical attention for my chronic condition. Due to the termination, I am not too fond of the idea of going back to that job and facing all the questions from my peers.

Do I have any recourse to seek damages since my immediate managers terminated me while my recertification was in process at the corporate level? Should I seek legal advice prior to filing the grievance through my union?

 

[cbg]

How much time total had you missed at the time of your termination? A recert does NOT grant you more than the 12 weeks allowed by statute.

 

[SlyGuy007F]

I was approved for intermittent absences of 2 days a month. The amount above and beyond the initial certification was 8 days. The total amount of days would have been 14 days which 6 were accounted for in the initial approval. The additional 8 days were approved in the recert that I had received AFTER my termination.

I might add that I was approved for a restricted work week of 37.5 hours for a 90 day period but was continuously scheduled mandatory OT. I feel the mandatory OT contributed to subsequent absences. I apparently needed to have this approved as a disability rather than FMLA, according to my local administrator.

 

[SlyGuy007F]

I might add that I was approved for a restricted work week of 37.5 hours for a 90 day period but was continuously scheduled mandatory OT. I feel the mandatory OT contributed to subsequent absences.

I mean my doctor filled this out on the same "blanket" FMLA form for which I was approved for the twice monthly absences but I never got approval for the reduction against OT.