Pregnancy/Miscarriage/Surgery

[rustyinwv]

What is the name of your state? WV

This past August, I found out that I was pregnant for the first time. I was working at an opiate addiction treatment facility as a LPN. The med room was already short one LPN due to her maternity leave. I was considered high-risk pregnancy due to high blood pressure and a very large ovarian cyst. I was forced to work 6 days a week, even though my OB said no, due to the fact that we were short one nurse. I also did the lab prior to my pregnancy, and had to really become assertive to be taken out of the lab after my pregnancy. My reasoning on the lab issue was the fact that most of the patients that I came into contact with in the lab were former IV drug users and many had blood-borne illnesses, and the nurse who was already on maternity leave did not have to work in the lab due to the risk of an accidental needle stick. A couple weeks later, on a Thursday, I had an OB appointment, and my baby was confirmed dead; however, I had no symptoms of miscarriage. I was instructed to go home and let nature take its course, and to return to the office on the following Monday to schedule a d and c. My boss called several times that weekend, harassing me and my family about when I would be returning to work, if I had "done anything yet", and of course to give me updates on my co-workers healthy pregnancy. I ended up having a d and c, and also surgery on my tubes. I developed a post surgical septic infection and ended up being out of work for 4 weeks. I returned to work and ended up only working 2 weeks before I had to have another surgery for repeated infection, and I ended up having major surgery to remove all reproductive organs on the right side. While I was at work for 2 weeks, I was called in on my days off, so I worked 6 days a week. Before I was scheduled to go back after the last surgery, a co-worker that I trust very much called me, and told me that the boss and one of the other girls working there were making fun of me, were broadcasting that I was "mentally unstable", that I used to be ok before I got pregnant, but "something snapped" and I became "crippled" because I would not work in the lab. They gave away personal belongings from my desk, and my boss made several comments about me being on "a vacation" and when I came back I could work 6 days a week for a while since I really wasn't sick. Considering that my work involved large amounts of narcotic drugs that were not closely accounted for, and large sums of money laying around loose with no way to lock up, I was very afraid to go back for the fear of being set up. I did seek another job, but it took me over 2 and 1/2 months to find one. I reported all this to the program administrator, and it was ignored. I feel that I was treated very unfairly, and would like to know if there was anything that I could do.

 

[SuzieWahoozie]

First, please accept my condolences on the loss of your baby.

Before I can answer you about any recourse you may have, please tell me:

1. How long did you work for this company?
2. How many employees did this company have working at the facility where you worked and within a 75-mile radius of your facility?
3. How much TOTAL time did you take off for pregnancy, surgery, infection, miscarriage, etc.?
4. How many hours did you work in the 12 months directly preceding your first absence due to the pregnancy/medical reasons?

I'm trying to determine if there has been an FMLA violation - only the answers to the above questions can help me.

If you were not on FMLA, it appears your boss is a jerk and your employer very unfair, but those things are not illegal.

However, if you were entitled to FMLA, had not exhausted all the time available to you under the FMLA, and were fired before you were released fully from FMLA, your employer has violated the law.

Answer the above questions and I'll reread your post again, as it was a bit hard to follow. If I (or anyone else) sees a FMLA violation, we'll let you know what to do about it.

 

[enjay]

I could be wrong, but it sounds like she wasn't fired, she quit.

 

[SuzieWahoozie]

I agree, but that's not the angle from which I'm examining the issues. I see a potential FMLA violation if she was not allowed to take time off at her doctor's insistance (HAD to work 6 days, even though doctor would not release her to do so), she was "forced" back to work without proper recovery time, etc. That would effectively mean she was "denied" FMLA at appropriate times.

I am not going on the termination alone. I, too, believe she quit. My concern is the treatment throughout the pregnancy and subsequent complications.

 

[rustyinwv]

I was employed for only 5 months when I had to miscarriage/first surgery. I was out for 4 weeks due to that, went back to work for 2 weeks, then was hospitalized again for second surgery and was out for 8 weeks. This is a very large company. I figure that only about 30 people work at this particular clinic, but there are at least 3 more clinics owned by the same company within a 75 mile radius. The FMLA issue is not what I believe is involved, even though I did have to work 6 days a week after my OB said no. My biggest issue is that there were 2 pregnant employees(myself and another nurse) and we were treated as different as night and day. She did not have to work in the lab or even dose certain patients that were known to have active infections...I did. I actually even was called in to work on my days off (before I knew I was pregnant), because HER legs were swelling and she needed to sit and do paperwork all day. I had to stand from 4:30 am to 2:30 pm, and there were many occasions that my legs were swollen too. I even worked Saturdays for her because she had her blood sugar checked every week. I just feel that it is discrimination to treat one a certain way, and not treat all that way. And, the way that it ended up, she had a healthy baby and I lost my baby.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

I'm sorry for your loss.

There may or not be discrimination, that is why the FMLA issues is key. Personally, for you FMLA isn't an issue because you didn't qualify for FMLA because you had not been on the job long enough. However it may be important whether or not the other pregnant employee qualified for FMLA or not. It wasn't discrimination to ask you to work for her when you didn't know you were pregnant. You were out the maximum time allowed under FMLA and would have been subject to termination after 12 weeks anyway. You may have some claim of discrimination re working in the high risk areas, however, this is a known risk of working with this population. AN employer is not required to make accommodations if you are not qualified to do the work for some reason. I suggest that you file a complaint with the eeoc who may be able to clarify if there was discrimination and consult an employment law attorney.

 

[rustyinwv]

The other nurse did qualify for FMLA, she had been with this company for about 3 years. However, it was my understanding from speaking with my boss that if an employee did not have sick time to cover their absence, that their hire date would be changed to the date when they returned to work. I can remember the other nurse on the phone with HR telling them if her hire date was changed, she would quit. One of the other nurses there had a baby in September 03, and her hire date was changed when she returned to work in November 03. My hire date was also scheduled to be changed, but I found other employment rather than putting my nursing license in jeopardy working with a bunch of very unprofessional people. Another nurse left shortly before I did, and there is a third who is actively seeking employment (if she has not already left there). I have contacted the EEOC and the WV Human Rights Commission concerning this matter, and I am waiting on the required paperwork to file claims with both.

 

[cbg]

If the other nurse was covered by FMLA, it would be against the law for them to take any action that would adversely affect her seniority or her benefits, such as changing her hire date, regardless of what company policy says.

 

[purple2]

my work involved large amounts of narcotic drugs that were not closely accounted for, and large sums of money laying around loose with no way to lock up

This is totally off-topic re your question, but I just had to comment on that information above. These are unusual conditions in any healthcare setting, let alone an addiction treatment facility. I am appalled. Your license was at risk while working under those conditions. At any time, you could have been accused of stealing drugs, with little proof to defend yourself. You are better off not working there.

 

[rustyinwv]

I was not implying that the other nurse should have had her hire date changed. I am glad that she did not because I found that to be very unfair. She had alot of time in with the company, and I am happy for her that she had such a good outcome with everything.


This facility was a horrible place to work. I had never seen such shoddy record keeping in my life. The reason I left was the fact that I felt that my license was in danger every time I walked through the door. The narcotic inventory hardly ever worked out right, but it was always MADE right by whatever means my boss had to use. If the cash drawers came up over, I have known many instances where the money was pocketed. I never did that, I gave any money that was over to my boss to lock in the safe. but I found out that she was using it when her drawer was short or if she needed lunch money for the day. Our cash drawer had to be exactly on the money, if we were short, we had to put our own money in. A friend of mine working there had to put $100 of her own money in, and she is positive that it was stolen from her drawer by one of the other nurses, due to the whispering and giggling that went on that day. She quit the next day. It was a nightmare for a nurse.

 

[purple2]

I say again, wow. So many risks there....insurance fraud (if insurance claims were submitted for drugs not delivered to patients, and they probably were), violation of federal methadone tx facility standards, state DOH rules, JCAHO...not to mention potential police involvement for stolen drugs and $. You made the right decision to leave.

 

[rustyinwv]

I am very happy that I left, but I felt that I was treated very unfairly. I was only 8 weeks post-op when I decided to leave based on the things going on there and the things that my co-workers and boss had said about me. We were put in a horrible hardship financially, but it would have been much worse had I lost my nursing license. Whenever I had job interviews, people would look at me like I was trash because I had even been associated with the place. It has a VERY bad reputation here.