when must I return to work from FLMA

ive been out of work on FMLA for 2 weeks to take care of my father who will not make it much longer. After he passes, can i stay out to take care of his affairs? His estate will be very complicated and I am the only next of kin.
 

JonFrum

Member
Sorry to hear about your situation. I went through the same situation with my mother.

FMLA probably just covers you while your father is alive and being cared for by you, but UPS may give you an extra few days under the circumstances. They are unpaid days after all.

When your father passes on you will be entitled to several days Berevement Leave as stated in your Supplement. It's probably three or four days paid. If you need more time take your sick days and optionals if you have any left.
 

JonFrum

Member
I'm surprised they did not give you a time period when you were approved for fmla?
How would Management know the time of the poster's father's passing in advance? I think you are giving Management a bit too much credit . . . once again.

This may not even be a pre-approved FMLA Leave. Maybe it was unexpected and not applied for in advance. In any event, the leave would be for as long as needed, up to the 6 or 12 week maximum.
 

dillweed

Well-Known Member
I'm also sorry for what you're going through. Yes, they might be able to let you use up any personal or vacation days to clear up particulars. If you need more time, hopefully, your center manager would give you some additional time off.

If not, try seeing your own personal doctor about this. You're under extreme stress and he/she may be willing to write up something to the effect that you need a certain amount of time to maintain your OWN physical and emotional well being. I had a lot of family death, sickness and turmoil years ago and my doctor knew I was about to fall apart. He gladly gave me documentation for my employer. Best of luck with this, take it one day at a time and take good care of yourself.
 

tieguy

Banned
How would Management know the time of the poster's father's passing in advance? I think you are giving Management a bit too much credit . . . once again.

This may not even be a pre-approved FMLA Leave. Maybe it was unexpected and not applied for in advance. In any event, the leave would be for as long as needed, up to the 6 or 12 week maximum.


whether unexpected or not there still is an approval process that the OP needs to go through. He will be given a timeline information and the process will be explained to him to include the possible settling of an estate. He should talk to that person in hr who does the approvals to get his answers rather then the self appointed brown cafe fmla expert here.

**** house lawyers need not reply
 

JonFrum

Member
There is no approval process. FMLA is a LAW. The US Congress already did the approving. The driver has a right to up to 12 weeks FMLA Leave.

UPS is entitled to be informed in advance if practical, or as soon as possible thereafter if Leave is unforseen, but they do not have veto power over the Leave. The main reason UPS needs to know the circumstances of the Leave is so they can be in compliance with the LAW and not get fined. UPS needs to keep track of how many weeks of Leave the driver has used up during the year, and if those weeks are FMLA qualified weeks.

UPS' duty is to obey the LAW. Period.

By the way, it is the responsibility of all people to know all laws, even though that is probably not literally possible. "Ignorance of the Law is no excuse," as the saying goes. Fortunately there are only a limited number of laws that are revelant to most people, so everyone should familiarize themselves with those at least. One way to learn about revelant laws is to learn from the experiences of others before similar events happen to you. You seem to advocate we all stay ignorant of our rights and rely on you and UPS to tell us what's best for us.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
whether unexpected or not there still is an approval process that the OP needs to go through. He will be given a timeline information and the process will be explained to him to include the possible settling of an estate. He should talk to that person in hr who does the approvals to get his answers rather then the self appointed brown cafe fmla expert here.

**** house lawyers need not reply

Am gonna hafta disagree with this one too.

Went thru similar situation here with my mom. Won't go into all boring details, but, briefly, had to unexpectedly stay with her for two months this year. Had visiting Hospice care but they ordered 24/7 in Jan and she would not go to hospital. Had FMLA papers in hand in anticipation of this. center manager merely made copies of a form he had (leaving out the last page, I found out later). No explanation, no reference to HR, no timeline, no nothing.

Gave to visiting Hospice nurse, who took it, then called to say it was incomplete. I couldn't leave but didn't care if I had forms or not. Was still gonna stay w/mom. Luckily, no argument, no hassle, no problem from center manager or anybody else. I called bookeeper to ask for vacations to apply.

Long story cut to the chase, she died, I called to inform, they asked how long I was gonna be out (cuz I was executor), they said just keep us informed. I took what was resonable (about a week) to get things started, still no question, no argument, no hassle, no problem.

I finally called to say I'd be back, they said OK, I came back, not another word said, except for condolences.

I DID make it a point, tho, to thank them for being considerate in this case and to know that I wasn't milking the system. They knew that. The DID say, "What else could we do? It's only right".

Point is: I'm sure the OP will find this true also. Sure, in many ways, UPS has become heartless and uncaring, but most of us have had parents, grandparents, sibs and/or friends that we were very close to and had to take care of before and after death. None of us can take a hard, bureaucratic line on issues such as this. And I'm sure the company realizes this worldwide and probably IS trying to do the right thing, whether it be on paper or morally.
 

brownIEman

Well-Known Member
There is no approval process. FMLA is a LAW. The US Congress already did the approving. The driver has a right to up to 12 weeks FMLA Leave.

UPS is entitled to be informed in advance if practical, or as soon as possible thereafter if Leave is unforseen, but they do not have veto power over the Leave. The main reason UPS needs to know the circumstances of the Leave is so they can be in compliance with the LAW and not get fined. UPS needs to keep track of how many weeks of Leave the driver has used up during the year, and if those weeks are FMLA qualified weeks.

UPS' duty is to obey the LAW. Period.

By the way, it is the responsibility of all people to know all laws, even though that is probably not literally possible. "Ignorance of the Law is no excuse," as the saying goes. Fortunately there are only a limited number of laws that are revelant to most people, so everyone should familiarize themselves with those at least. One way to learn about revelant laws is to learn from the experiences of others before similar events happen to you. You seem to advocate we all stay ignorant of our rights and rely on you and UPS to tell us what's best for us.


Actually, there is an approval process. The law was written with certain requiremnt needing to be met before an employee can avail themselves of FMLA (such as the minimum time employed requirements, as well as the various reasons for taking FMLA) and there is a process the company goes through to verify the employee is eligible. For certain medical issues, notes are required from a medical a professional.

I would be willing to bet if I just started taking random days off saying I had headaches and needed FMLA time, I would be disciplined for attendance. I would also bet UPS would not be fined a penny for pursuing such discipline.
 
My father passed away sunday. He owned a house and his own company as well as having an estate overseas that was left to him by HIS father. All of which will take some serious time to work out. Im planning a service on the 10th and going back to work the following monday. Im reluctant to call in to work because im afraid theyll tell me I have to come back before I have time to work all this stuff out. I am his only relative and am all alone doing all this stuff. my head is spinning, not to mention the fact that I just lost my dad.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
My father passed away sunday. He owned a house and his own company as well as having an estate overseas that was left to him by HIS father. All of which will take some serious time to work out. Im planning a service on the 10th and going back to work the following monday. Im reluctant to call in to work because im afraid theyll tell me I have to come back before I have time to work all this stuff out. I am his only relative and am all alone doing all this stuff. my head is spinning, not to mention the fact that I just lost my dad.


I am very sorry for your loss. I have to assume that you father had his own accountant and, most likely, his own attorney, given the fact that he owned his own company. Those would be the first two phone calls I would make. The call to the lawyer would be to make sure his affairs were in order and that the will, if he had one, is followed to the letter. The call to the accountant would be to ensure a seemless transition to whomever will be taking over the company and to ensure that you receive what is rightfully yours during the transition process.

You will need to make arrangements for the funeral. The lawyer may be able to assist you with that as the will may have contained instructions. There is also the chance that your father may have made his own arrangements ahead of time, thus sparing you from having to do so.

I am sorry for your loss. Dave.
 

tieguy

Banned
There is no approval process. FMLA is a LAW. The US Congress already did the approving. The driver has a right to up to 12 weeks FMLA Leave.

UPS is entitled to be informed in advance if practical, or as soon as possible thereafter if Leave is unforseen, but they do not have veto power over the Leave. The main reason UPS needs to know the circumstances of the Leave is so they can be in compliance with the LAW and not get fined. UPS needs to keep track of how many weeks of Leave the driver has used up during the year, and if those weeks are FMLA qualified weeks.

UPS' duty is to obey the LAW. Period.

By the way, it is the responsibility of all people to know all laws, even though that is probably not literally possible. "Ignorance of the Law is no excuse," as the saying goes. Fortunately there are only a limited number of laws that are revelant to most people, so everyone should familiarize themselves with those at least. One way to learn about revelant laws is to learn from the experiences of others before similar events happen to you. You seem to advocate we all stay ignorant of our rights and rely on you and UPS to tell us what's best for us.
cle
thats why I made the comment that **** house lawyers need not apply. You're posts are being observed by thousands of upsers. you clearly do not know what you're talking about. You need to back out of this discussion before your misinformation causes someone to lose their job. I get emails all the time from my districts nurse informing me of people in my operations who have applied for and been granted fmla time. there is a process involving the OP's district nurse or HR department that the OP needs to go through to get the time approved and to get his questions answered.
 

browned out

Well-Known Member
Make sure that you still have benefits. The law states that your benefits can not be cut off while on family leave. We have a driver who took family leave for new baby and Aetna cut him off. Turns out UPS did not inform Aetna or something to the like; that made him look like he was no longer employed here.

Protect yourself; This bull has cause the driver to pay for all the new baby medical expenses,etc. and will have to fight to get reimbursed. Center mgmt states they had nothing to do with it. Aetna told him it had to start in the center.

Call and document everything.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Make sure that you still have benefits. The law states that your benefits can not be cut off while on family leave. We have a driver who took family leave for new baby and Aetna cut him off. Turns out UPS did not inform Aetna or something to the like; that made him look like he was no longer employed here.

Protect yourself; This bull has cause the driver to pay for all the new baby medical expenses,etc. and will have to fight to get reimbursed. Center mgmt states they had nothing to do with it. Aetna told him it had to start in the center.

Call and document everything.

It is hard to be proactive in this case as the only way that we will know if our benefits are cut off is if we receive a letter from our insurance carrier stating so. In a small center such as mine, where our HR person shares an office with the on-cars, OMS, and center manager, it is much easier to make sure that we will still be covered by simply asking her.
 

FracusBrown

Ponies and Planes
ive been out of work on FMLA for 2 weeks to take care of my father who will not make it much longer. After he passes, can i stay out to take care of his affairs? His estate will be very complicated and I am the only next of kin.

There's a lot of bad information posted. Call 1-800-UPS-1508 the benefits hotline for clarification or look it up on the Department of Labor website. Don't get yourself into hot water for not following the correct procedure. Caring for a sick parent is a covered issue. Taking care of personal issues after the death does not appear to be a covered item.

From the Department of Labor.
Basic Leave Entitlement
FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:
• For incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care or child birth;
• To care for the employee’s child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;
• To care for the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, or parent, who has a serious health condition; or
• For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job.


Employee Responsibilities

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Employees must provide 30 days advance notice of the need to take FMLA leave when the need is foreseeable. When 30 days notice is not possible, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable and generally must comply with an employer’s normal call-in procedures.​
Employees must provide sufficient information for the employer to determine if the leave may qualify for FMLA protection and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. Sufficient information may include that the employee is unable to perform job functions, the family member is unable to perform daily activities, the need for hospitalization or continuing treatment by a health care provider, or circumstances supporting the need for military family leave. Employees also must inform the employer if the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified. Employees also may be required to provide a certification and periodic recertification supporting the need for leave.
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Catatonic

Nine Lives
My father passed away sunday. He owned a house and his own company as well as having an estate overseas that was left to him by HIS father. All of which will take some serious time to work out. Im planning a service on the 10th and going back to work the following monday. Im reluctant to call in to work because im afraid theyll tell me I have to come back before I have time to work all this stuff out. I am his only relative and am all alone doing all this stuff. my head is spinning, not to mention the fact that I just lost my dad.

Sorry for your loss.
I know you are distraught and overwhelmed at this point but you really should contact your management and work out an agreement on this.
 
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