FMLA when there's no HR

January 28, 2015 7:20 PM

I work for a rapidly growing company that has no HR staff and relatively few policies to speak of. I need to take extended leave under FMLA. Difficulty level: no one else can do my work.

My typically healthy dad has had several health issues recently, culminating today in a stroke immediately following open heart surgery. He is paralyzed on one side and we're not yet sure what the speech and/or cognitive effects are. Even in the best case scenario, he will require a lengthy hospital stay and significant rehabilitation.

I live in IL and my dad and family are in PA. I left last Thursday to be here for dad's surgery and was planning to go back to work this coming Monday. My work has been extremely understanding and is continuing to pay me during this time. My intention was to work remotely as much as possible while I'm here, but that hasn't been realistic because my job often involves hours-long phone calls that are just too much brainpower- and time-wise right now. Given the circumstances, I want to stay for as long as possible to see dad through this process, and I will likely need to come back at some point to assist my stepmom with his care.

My company is 10 years old, but still very much a startup. There is no HR staff and HR issues are handled by the CEO and COO. We have a staff handbook that does not include any information about long-term leave, and the handbook is often deviated from, anyway.

In addition, right now, my work cannot really be handed over to anyone else. I have a portfolio of clients that I work with and have knowledge of their needs. There are two other people in my department who have their own clients and are at capacity right now. In fact, I'm missing job interviews this week for a new hire because our department is so overwhelmed right now.

So:

1) YANML, but what is reasonable to discuss in terms of FMLA time? Is their anything I need to do to protect myself given the lack of a formal company policy?

2) What should I do in terms of the work that I have now? Am I obligated to work as much as possible to take care of this? What are my responsibilities?

posted by anotheraccount to Work & Money (8 answers total)

How large is the company?

FMLA only affects companies with 50 or more employees.
posted by bitdamaged at 7:24 PM on January 28, 2015

To piggyback on the above comment, I also read that it's 50 or more employees, unless your state employment laws allow for less employees. So check your state handbooks too. (Unless you have more than 50.)
posted by Crystalinne at 7:34 PM on January 28, 2015

Response by poster: Not to threadsit, but I just checked the regulations and it is 50+ employees. We have fewer than that. So is any leave at the discretion of my employer?
posted by anotheraccount at 7:50 PM on January 28, 2015

AFAIK, it's up to your company's discretion. However you might get better information from someone like Suzanne Lucas.
posted by radioamy at 8:09 PM on January 28, 2015

As correctly noted, federal FMLA leave regulations only apply when the employer has >50 employees in a 75 mile radius. Any leave the employer provides when <50 employees is up to the employer's discretion.

Many states have FMLA regulations that go beyond federal limitations. For instance, in Maine, employers with 15 or more employees are covered by Maine's FMLA law. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on your state.

What should I do in terms of the work that I have now?

You should not let your employer dictate your life schedule. Any company that can't handle one employee leaving is effectively already insolvent. Employees leave for many reasons - for other jobs, due to personal injury, etc - and the employer needs to be able to handle that. If your employer couldn't handle the workload before, take it as a sign that the company has serious issues and that you were just alerted to that. This is a benefit to you, because it lets you know your employer can't sustain your employment.
posted by saeculorum at 8:39 PM on January 28, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'm sorry you're going through this. While you're SOL when it comes to FMLA, I just wanted to suggest that you speak as candidly as possible with your company's leadership about this and see if there is a short-term solution that can work for both of you (Can you do any of your work remotely? Can you work odd hours so you can still be with your dad during the day?)

I went through a very similar situation five years ago when I lived on the east coast working for a 10-year old "still-in-start-up-mode" company and my father in California was diagnosed with leukemia. My company actually used the situation as a learning experience because it was the first time since their inception that something more dramatic than childbirth had caused someone to take a significant amount of time off. They set policies in place to allow for unpaid leave and remote-working for family care situations, and now a few years later they are large enough that FMLA has kicked in.

But, if that's not possible, family should take priority. YMMV, but I wouldn't give up the time I had with my dad for any job, especially not one where there were so many other gaping holes due to the small size at the time.
posted by DuckGirl at 9:17 PM on January 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

I agree that you should just talk to your boss about working out a solution. A couple years ago I was living away from family and had to suddenly return home for about a month to take care of a family member. We were big enough for FMLA but my boss didn't want me to do that because he wanted me to be able to get some work done. I was able to get some work done remotely (it wouldn't have worked long-term but it was fine short-term). I think since I wasn't working totally full-time I took about a quarter of the time in PTO and they paid me the rest of the time. I bet you could work out something similar so that you can keep up somewhat at work.
posted by radioamy at 8:07 AM on January 29, 2015

The following states have FMLA-like state regulations: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. If you aren't in one of them, you'll probably have to negotiate an agreement with your employer directly. They might want to help you.
posted by Lame_username at 8:36 AM on January 29, 2015