Valid Leave Request? How is this Determined?

My place of employment only allows me to take off leave for adoption using vacation time. Because I am not expecting no sick time can be used. Also, I had to include my first (10 day) trip to Russia IN MY 12 WEEK LEAVE! even though I had plenty of vacation accrued to cover it. I also have to include the next 3 week trip to Russia in my leave so that I am down to 7 weeks of leave (without pay) that I can spend with our son to start bonding and parenting. That case in Michigan is ridiculous. NO NEED for the parent to be present!!! ABSOLUTELY Tell that superintendent to read up on children and bonding!!! Janine

I thought adoption was covered under the Federal Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? My employer made me use up vacation and sick time before I was allowed to be out under FMLA for a different circumstance. Although I do believe employers are often guilty of violating federal and state employment laws. When I took sick leave while in the process of miscarrying twins, I was harassed at home by my supervisor's supervisor wondering when I was going to hurry up and miscarry. When I read about the situation you mentioned, I wondered if her rights were being violated?

Hurry up and miscarry? That has to be the worst thing I've ever heard! I'm so sorry you had that pressure on top of everything else. I, too, wonder about her rights and suspect that's why she's going forward with more appeals. All best Nancy

Hi all. I'm an HR Director, and I can tell you that FMLA is probably the single most confusing issue for employees. Here are the key points:1. If FMLA applies to the company you work for, adoption is covered just as a birth would be. 2. FMLA is just the description of the type of leave and is really just a protection for both the employee and employer. On the employee's side, it protects their job for 12 weeks to cover needed leave for a chronic illness of theirs or a family member or the birth OR ADOPTION of a child. For the employer, it limits the amount of time that a job must be held to 12 weeks.3. FMLA (the act itself) states that an employer can decide if the leave time is paid or not, if the employee must use accrued leave or not, etc. Normally, how someone gets paid or not for the leave wouldn't affect the amount of leave...it's 12 weeks whether you use sick time or vacation for part of it or all of it or none...it's still 12 weeks off. The leave is just a protection of the job...not a promise of pay. The Act refers to it as unpaid leave, and that language is what confuses people...unpaid leave in this case is just the feds' way of saying that they don't care if it's paid or not...that the law doesn't require it to be.4. Disability is an insurance that pays for missed work when you are disabled and has nothing to do with whether or not you are on FMLA leave. I hope that clears it up a bit. The woman who needs time for her adoption is covered under FMLA, provided her employer must adhere to the act (some employers don't...too few employees within a certain radius, etc.).

I was granted the 12 weeks FMLA after some discussion with my HR Mgr. At first she was not willing to allow me the leave since I was not "having the child" Knowing that I was eligable for it I had to go and find the FMLA laws off the internet and take it to her. i guess that this was enough. I was not able however to get short term sick leave. The 12 weeks was unpaid and I had to cover the cost of the health insurance, in the end, I did not return. I resigned when my 12 weeks was over. The one good thing about working there was that we were bought out by one of the largest companies in the US and they offered adoption assistance. That was good.