What is the name of your state?: California
I need information on the issue of caring for someone that is ill. This is a domestic same sex partnership in California, which I thought had a level of job protection.
In 2002 my domestic partner, who has been a brittle diabetic since childhood, was diagnosed with "impending" kidney failure. He received medical care through the Orange County MSI insurance program and was eventually placed onto Medicare and is receiving SSI benefits. This was done because it was discovered in July of 2003 that his kidneys were near failure and he needed surgery to implant the necessary recepticals to start his in home dialysis treatments. He is currently on the dual organ transplant list.
His problems are severe. After the initial diagnosis of impending kidney failure, he went on a rollercoaster of medications and replacements that triggered serious and sudden diabetic low sugar episodes. These were not merely low sugars, but severe drops from normal down to the low 30's that triggered seizures. (Those not familiar with sugar levels, the average is around 100). Left unattended in this stage would be fatal.
He eventually had his surgeries and that was another long battle. The original implants for the dialysis were done incorrectly and he needed to go in two weeks later for another corrective surgery. In both cases, due to being on disability and SSI, the hospital released him within a couple of hours after these major surgeries. This is where my issues with my employer come in.
They have a policy there of "don't ask why" callouts. They said it didn't matter if your mother was in a car accident and in intensive care or if you needed to take your pet to get bathed-it would count against you for calling out regardless. I did have someone set to cover my shift for the first surgery. Please keep in mind these surgeries were decided on and implemented very quickly due to the threat the condition had on my partners health. I could not give the required two week notice; they both happened in 3 day time spans.
Anyway, the person set to cover the first shift backed out literally 2 hours before I had to go pick my partner up after surgery. It ended up against my callout count, which eventually cost me my job. The corrective surgery was another callout as I did not have time to give the 2 week notice for that one either. It should also be noted that I am the sole emergency contact on all of his hospital paperwork. I had to go. He could not be released without someone to take him home since he was still heavily sedated.
Between caring for him after these surgeries, as well as the ramifications from the drug switching, I had to deal with post surgery care and frequent radical low sugar episodes and seizures. After telling one of my supervisors my circumstances after the first surgery and being told I would have to take an absence hit against my attendance, I just called out in order to deal with all of these issues. They eventually had a layoff, which is where my absence count came in. Everyone with a certain callout total and higher were laid off.
Do I have anything I can still do for job reinstatement or benefit collection? It's been 3 months now and I still have no job and it's at a critical point. My company even had a monthly period where you could change your shifts. In a desperate attempt to get my hours fairly stable (they ranged from starting at 8am to 11:15am) so I could at least deal with the diabetic issues, I requested more even hours. I was rejected for five months straight. They eventually had a period in January 2004 where everyone had to submit to new hours based on seniority. I was able to get fairly even hours, but in order to do so, I had to give up 20 hours a month on my schedule or take a shift one day a week that would have had me gone from home literally from 9am until 11pm since I am on public transportation.
I'm not sure if I should have done more to get the issue resolved, even through corporate, or even if there is any recourse to job reinstatement or collection of any benefits I can still look for. The issue of this person in my care being my domestic partner never came up because of their policy not to question anyone calling out.
THanks for reading this, even though I'm sure it's in a very helter skelter format.
I need information on the issue of caring for someone that is ill. This is a domestic same sex partnership in California, which I thought had a level of job protection.
In 2002 my domestic partner, who has been a brittle diabetic since childhood, was diagnosed with "impending" kidney failure. He received medical care through the Orange County MSI insurance program and was eventually placed onto Medicare and is receiving SSI benefits. This was done because it was discovered in July of 2003 that his kidneys were near failure and he needed surgery to implant the necessary recepticals to start his in home dialysis treatments. He is currently on the dual organ transplant list.
His problems are severe. After the initial diagnosis of impending kidney failure, he went on a rollercoaster of medications and replacements that triggered serious and sudden diabetic low sugar episodes. These were not merely low sugars, but severe drops from normal down to the low 30's that triggered seizures. (Those not familiar with sugar levels, the average is around 100). Left unattended in this stage would be fatal.
He eventually had his surgeries and that was another long battle. The original implants for the dialysis were done incorrectly and he needed to go in two weeks later for another corrective surgery. In both cases, due to being on disability and SSI, the hospital released him within a couple of hours after these major surgeries. This is where my issues with my employer come in.
They have a policy there of "don't ask why" callouts. They said it didn't matter if your mother was in a car accident and in intensive care or if you needed to take your pet to get bathed-it would count against you for calling out regardless. I did have someone set to cover my shift for the first surgery. Please keep in mind these surgeries were decided on and implemented very quickly due to the threat the condition had on my partners health. I could not give the required two week notice; they both happened in 3 day time spans.
Anyway, the person set to cover the first shift backed out literally 2 hours before I had to go pick my partner up after surgery. It ended up against my callout count, which eventually cost me my job. The corrective surgery was another callout as I did not have time to give the 2 week notice for that one either. It should also be noted that I am the sole emergency contact on all of his hospital paperwork. I had to go. He could not be released without someone to take him home since he was still heavily sedated.
Between caring for him after these surgeries, as well as the ramifications from the drug switching, I had to deal with post surgery care and frequent radical low sugar episodes and seizures. After telling one of my supervisors my circumstances after the first surgery and being told I would have to take an absence hit against my attendance, I just called out in order to deal with all of these issues. They eventually had a layoff, which is where my absence count came in. Everyone with a certain callout total and higher were laid off.
Do I have anything I can still do for job reinstatement or benefit collection? It's been 3 months now and I still have no job and it's at a critical point. My company even had a monthly period where you could change your shifts. In a desperate attempt to get my hours fairly stable (they ranged from starting at 8am to 11:15am) so I could at least deal with the diabetic issues, I requested more even hours. I was rejected for five months straight. They eventually had a period in January 2004 where everyone had to submit to new hours based on seniority. I was able to get fairly even hours, but in order to do so, I had to give up 20 hours a month on my schedule or take a shift one day a week that would have had me gone from home literally from 9am until 11pm since I am on public transportation.
I'm not sure if I should have done more to get the issue resolved, even through corporate, or even if there is any recourse to job reinstatement or collection of any benefits I can still look for. The issue of this person in my care being my domestic partner never came up because of their policy not to question anyone calling out.
THanks for reading this, even though I'm sure it's in a very helter skelter format.
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