I went out on STD for 3 months due to a torn rotator cuff that I became aware of while working. I didn't blame the company because in all honestly I don't know when the injury happened. Employer was okay with this and stated that my job will still be available. I have been out for 2 months and I am to report to work next week. This past Monday my employer called and said that the temp worker they hired while I was out will keep my job and for me not to come back. The employee manual states that when medical leave ends ,the employee will be reinstated to the same position, if it is available or to an equivalent position. Plus the company is hiring more workers because the company is getting 10 million from the President's Stimulus package for the type of work we do.
i am in a similar situation, i am in ca. i was out on fmla/cfra and my employer uses a 3rd party entity to administer their fmla/cfra/std. their 3rd party entity 'approved' intermittent fmla/crfa for the same serious illness that that they 'denied' continuous fmla/cfra time for. this was for 30 days in sept 08 and again feb. 09. i was notified 30 days after submission of fmla/cfra request that it had been denied by the 3rd party entity. a lot of company's are doing this to avoid liability so they can point the finger at the 3rd party entity, however, in ca, the employer is still liable.
anyway, so i sent the medical documentation to the 3rd party entity who kept calling and harrassing the medical office of my physicians asking for more and more info. they never told me what they needed, however, i do know that the 3rd party entity has a policy that i found on the web, that clearly states that they would approved intermittent but not continuous fmla for my condition.
long story short, i knew it was all bogus. my management kept writing me corrective action for using intermittent fmla/cfra that had been approved by the 3rd party entity then denying continuous fmla for the same illness. after 7 months of this mess, repeatedly being written up corrective action for using approved fmla and denials of continuous fmla, repeated verbal harrassment by management and hr for not 'doing my job' while i was on fmla, etc. i filed with the us dept of labor and ca state dept of fair employment and housing. i had an employment atty at one point in a different state and learned a lot from him on the subject, although i am not an atty, i knew my rights were being violated and i was told clearly enough by the state that my rights had been violated as well, so the case is now in their hands. in the man time, and i think i had read another poster said that they had had their employer claim child abuse against her, etc. in retaliation for the claim. interestingly enough, i have found my name and near by city of residence on a website blog with a statement to the effect that i am a child abuser and i am defrauding the state of ca over disability claims. the blog is dated approx. 10 days after the state served papers to my employer.
the employment law atty i had worked with in a different state, told me to be prepared if i ever filed a suit against an employer, that they will try to slam me as a pscyho or a sex maniac...he left out that they would accuse me of being a child abuser, however, it falls right in line with what the employment law atty out of state told me would happen...so there you have it...
i had offered my resignation to the company due to their continued harrassment over my fmla/cfra time because the work enviornment was so completely intolerable. the case against my former employer now s constructive discharge with the state, documented through their own written theats to my job for using fmla and written denials of fmla/cfra with appropriate medical documentation. they documented it all for me for 7 months and everytime they would send me something, i sent it off to the state rep. she finally served the company with the case papers to stop the continued harrassing letters i was getting while still out on disability, so in ca, it also falls under disability discrimination.
