I am fairly new to the site however feel like I need some guidance !!!
I currently work 40 hrs a week as a member service rep. I was on a LOA since August due to having surgery… My employment is very stressful non stop for 8hrs the stress really brings on fibor flare ups that the pain is unbearable…my body seems to react to the stress even though mentally I try not to think about the stress!! What kind of employment do ppl with FM able to keep… By the way to get disability in NV you have to be unemployed for a yr … What are ppl suppose to do in the meantime!!!
If you have been at your job for over a year and have worked 1250 hours in the last year you school should be able to do FMLA. It provides up to 12 weeks a year unpaid time off due to a serious illness. I currently have FMLA up to 48 hours per month (my doctor will give me more if needed). I can leave early or if I can’t make it in, doctors appts or whatever. I work in a call center doing customer relations so I deal with mad angry customers most of the time, we are very busy most days and I run fever daily from my RA so I can’t think straight and have to just go home. Keeps me from getting fired and from getting too sick most days.
I asked my HR department and was told that they do not offer FMLA 
…TY!! I’m at loose ends
They have to it is a federal law … If you have support from drs and you leave work you should qualify for unemployment…but that is tricky also. I would go off on long term disability if you have a supportive dr. Then you can attempt SSDI,
TY!! I just found out since I work for a CO with less than 50 employees …that’s how they get away with it!!!
You are working at a call center that the whole company is only 50 employees?
We have a small staff in Vegas however the. Majority of the CO in California
I work 40 hours a week too. It's not that easy to do. If I could go back to college knowing what I know now I would have looked for jobs that are legit work at home. My son has fibro and I tell him he needs to find a field where he can work at home. I often wonder what other people do, work full-time, part-time or not at all. I have a poll on my blog but so far I have only gotten 3 responses. I'd love to get more responses for statistical purposes just to see how most people with fibro handle this. I can't seem to find much on the net in the way of numbers. That's why I made my own poll.
I work in a call center as a Coach of a team of 16 people. I’m salaried also, so often work more than 40 hrs a week, closer to 50. It is a high stress position. So far I have been able to manage with meds to help me get enough sleep. I’m currently on 25 mgs of amitriptyline, but going up to 50 in the next few days. I take advil for pain occasionally, but nothing else. I wear comfortable clothes and shoes. The clod weather season is just starting so I am unsure how I will cope as my pain increases. I do very little else on days I work and rest during the weekends. Hope that helps you!
Isn't that illegal???
I think you'd get a better response if you asked on the discussion board as this is where people go to talk about fibro. Oh, and in answer to your blog, I am unemployed, permanently disabled. I worked ft with the fibro, then couldn't handle it at then went for a pt job. Within the year, I could no longer handle it, so I left.
Theresa, what about unemployment? If you miss enough work from the fibro, you would be terminated due to it, and then you hopefully could get unemployment, since it was due to your fibo.
And maybe you're looking at a state disability plan vs the federal one? Because I was able to continue working PT while filing for federal disability. I kept the job too, for several months after I won the case, although I was already fried by fibo. I was told I could make no more than $1100 a month with working PT and it might be an impediment to my getting disability. But it wasn't. Hope this helps you a bit.
I think you have a state disability. For example here in Calif you first go on state disability for a year. IF you cannot work still than you can apply for SSDI...federal disability.
You job does not offer family leave? that is Federal law...i am sure it depends on how many people are employed...some small business are except but most are not. To be a small business it usually is less than 50 employees.
I would not believe your HR dept...i would call your state disability or your health insurance might assist you...or you can call Social Security Disability and they will point you in the right direction. If you qualify they do have some immediate programs they offer people who are disabled. Your doctor and or the hospital should have patient's assistance that will also help you with your options.
The main thing is that your doctor is on board that you cannot work. You might just take the time to look for a different job where you enjoy it more. Not working is not a positive thing for one's health. Most doctors encourage their chronically ill patients to keep working as long as possible and to then go down on their hours and see if that helps.
Disability will train you in another field that you might enjoy more and work better with your disability...so again you might want to speak to them about your options.
I do know a few people who did go on disability in Nevada now that i remembered...and first they did go on state disability which was through their doctor. One lowered her hours for a period of time....and than went on social security. I am pretty sure though that in both cases their doctors did help them.
hope you recovery well and that it works out well for you.
Hi,
i had job that i worked with the most difficult customers. I did know most of them...that i dealt with them weekly and /or had met them in person...so we were real to one another.
But i often was sent a phone call from a customer who was angry and their sales rep was not in. I realized they were not mad at me and as long as they just yelled with out swearing horribly i was fine. I just agreed and asked what i could do..which usually calmed them down quickly.
I get that call centers can be difficult jobs and not the same as mine. No employee should be abused period. I hope your boss also supports that...if not your doctor can write a letter stating that you can do your job as long as you are not abused and it can be defined...using f word or making extremely personal etc.
Your doctor can by setting limits that can make your job easier on you enable you hang in there longer...so speak to your doctor. I did not know about his until my doctor did it on his own..wrote one stating no more overtime...i told him it was like his job...i could not just leave if people were in the waiting room...he said well now they have too. HE was RIGHT!
So think about what might make your job easier on you and ask your doctor to write that letter....beats not working. I hope others do this too so one can stay working and feel good about oneself!
Smart idea, Siskya! Good work on thinking of this. It's so hard to figure out how to help people who are in this position, yet I never once thought of this idea. And if her employer refuses to honor the doctor's orders, so much the better for getting unemployment...plus important to keep as evidence for any possible attempt at getting SSDI.
legally they have to follow the doctors orders...federal law.
when my doctor wrote that letter about no overtime my boss would come out at end of my shift and send me home....eventually since it was not realistic in my job we compromised. I than signed another letter from my employer that i on my own accord was staying OT with out threat from them.
The just covered their behinds. So her boss will have too...though i seen some that do not know labor law and think they can bully or threaten ...if this happens call your state labor board your go to hospital advocate center.
I hope people who are still working and younger realize that SSDI will retrain them and /or there are many jobs that are not stressful. It is much easier to find a job while you have one so look while working.So this could be option.
I also knew of person who went on welfare to attend college. I not sure if this is still legal and each state might have different laws about this...i am fairly positive that here in CA it is no longer legal.
Also some larger companies will train you to do a job more suited to your illness..cheaper to train a good employee than take a chance on new one. I hope people at least speak about their options with their employers before just assuming they have none.
I thought this was the discussion board. Maybe I'm not understanding.
The company is a “whole” if the company is over 50 employees as a whole they have to offer FMLA. The others are correct also they have to honor Doctors orders. If you are working for a company with short and long term disability check into that. Call center work is stressful I have done my fair share of it also, and now I am to the point where most of the time even talking to someone about an issue gets me upset.
Yes !! I would that would be GREAT!!
I did temporary then permanent disability at work. Then I started on SSD.