Compassion

By zawbentley - 26/09/2009 07:01 - United States

Today, I called my boss to let her know that I was suffering from severe depression and that my doctor suggested I take a month's leave. Her response? "Glad you are getting help, however we can't hold your job. No need to come to the office, we'll mail your stuff to you." FML
I agree, your life sucks 40 975
You deserved it 6 517
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Top comments

BakerMan_fml 0

Go sue happy. You got the doc's note already right?

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Twinklestar 0

Well unless you had something written from your doctor saying you needed to take leave, your boss had no obligation to hold your job for you. It's most likely going to be an ongoing problem and if you need to take that much leave for it it's most likely going to effect your performance again.

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Comments

flgirlwguitar 2

Have you been at your job at least a year? If so, sue - the Family Leave Act prevents companies from being able to do that.

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AKC1 0

No. 40, it's 12 weeks. It can be taken intermittently, though.

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littlelupie 0

As someone who has a chronic illness and works full time in the US I think the rest of you need to read the fine print of FMLA. You have to apply for it, your doctor has to fill out the paperwork for it, then you have to be approved, and to top that off employers don't have to give you FMLA if you've been employed with the company for less than one year if they don't want to. You can't just call your boss one day and say you are depressed and need a month off and expect any sympathy or rights under FMLA.

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visage 0

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Saluton 18

FYL but did the doctor tell you your diagnosis? AFAIK it's not common practice with mental illnesses. And even if they did, they would also have had to warn you that you should conceal it at work because if you confess at work that you have a mental illness, it just can't be good for your business reputation. So, two strange things, one over the other. Good luck, though

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nica73 0

Remember, not all companies are subject to FMLA laws. If the company employs fewer than 50, it is not subject to FMLA laws. Also, like pp said, FMLA leave must be approved in advance and a doc's note must be provided. You can't just call in and say "Hey, I'm taking FMLA leave for the next month. See ya in four weeks!"

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blastvortex 3

Well, on a technicality, depression is medically termed as a disease (it keeps with the definition of what a disease is, anyway). You could sue, although I don't know if you'll win or not. As far as the depression itself goes, even when it's caused by physical maladies, it's still an operation of the mind making a conscious effort to tell you that there's something wrong with your life. Either try to figure it out or find a way to use happy experiences to cover for it until you can. Some soul-digging honestly isn't a bad idea. If you can find the problem, then you're that much more likely to find a counter for it. You don't need a month of leave for this. In fact, having so much time on your hands carries the potential to make it even worse. I hope you don't take your doctor's advice.

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Katherina_fml 0

Last time I checked, the medical term was actually Major Depressive Disorder, so it's not technically a 'disease' by any means. I won't even attempt to address the rest of the quasi-psychobabble in that rant except to suggest that dishing out medical advice is better left to those who know what they're talking about, from basic definitions through to a broad understanding of a disorder that cannot be treated by a little 'soul-digging'.

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honeyishrnkdakid 2

Disease: "a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, esp. one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury" Oxford English Dictionary I also checked a number of other definitions of a disease (because I'm a nerd) and found that according to each of them, if you subscribe to the theory that depression is the result of an imbalance among the brain's neurotransmitter, then depression would qualify as a disease. ahttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disease Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary

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